Federal Judge Dismisses Texas Lawsuit against Biden’s Immigration-Parole Program; Program That Allows 30,000 Migrants From 4 Countries Into the US Each Month Upheld by Judge

Federal Judge Dismisses Texas Lawsuit against Biden’s Immigration-Parole Program:

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit, filed by Texas along with 20 other Republican states, on Friday against the Biden administration’s immigration-parole program that allows up to 30,000 immigrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to legally enter the U.S.

U.S. district judge Drew Tipton, appointed by former president Donald Trump, ruled that Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who led the multistate lawsuit, has “not proven that Texas has suffered an injury and therefore do not have standing to maintain this suit.” In the past, the judge had ruled against the Biden administration in immigration-related cases brought forward by Texas.

Tipton clarified that he didn’t decide whether the program was illegal or not — only that Texas does not have standing in the suit because it failed to prove that the policy caused any injury.

“The court has before it a case in which Plaintiffs claim that they have been injured by a program that has actually lowered their out-of-pocket costs,” he wrote in his opinion.

Paxton filed the lawsuit in January 2023, arguing that the parole policy harmed the state because immigrants participating in the program increased the costs of public services such as health care and public education. The plaintiffs also claimed it was illegal and beyond the federal government’s authority to use parole.

The program, which began in fall 2022, had admitted more than 357,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela as of this January, the Associated Press reported. Thousands of people from the four countries took advantage of the program, with 138,000 Haitians, 86,000 Venezuelans, 74,000 Cubans, and 58,000 Nicaraguans being granted parole. —>READ MORE HERE

Program That Allows 30,000 Migrants From 4 Countries Into the US Each Month Upheld by Judge

The Biden administration can keep operating a program that allows a limited number of migrants from four countries to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds after a federal judge on Friday dismissed a challenge from Republican-led states.

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton said Texas and 20 other states had not shown they had suffered financial harm because of the humanitarian parole program that allows up to 30,000 asylum-seekers into the U.S. each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela combined. That was something the states needed to prove to have legal standing to bring the lawsuit.

“In reaching this conclusion, the Court does not address the lawfulness of the Program,” Tipton wrote.

Eliminating the program would undercut a broader policy that seeks to encourage migrants to use the Biden administration’s preferred pathways into the U.S. or face stiff consequences.

The states, led by Texas, had argued the program is forcing them to spend millions on health care, education, and public safety for the migrants. An attorney working with the Texas attorney general’s office in the legal challenge said that the program “created a shadow immigration system.”

Advocates for the federal government countered that migrants admitted through the policy helped with a U.S. farm labor shortage.

The White House welcomed the ruling.

“The district court’s decision is based on the success of this program, which has expanded lawful pathways for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who have a sponsor in this country and pass our rigorous vetting process, while dramatically decreasing the number of nationals from those countries crossing our Southwest Border,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment. An appeal by Texas and the other states seemed likely. —>READ MORE HERE

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