Top line

A federal judge in Texas on Thursday struck down a Biden administration program that offered legal status to undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens, in a decision that the White House said could affect more than 500,000 immigrants residing in the country.

Key facts

Get breaking news text alerts from Forbes: We send SMS alerts so you’re always aware of the biggest stories making headlines of the day. Send “Alerts” by SMS to (201) 335-0739 or register here.

Crucial quote

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was one of the plaintiffs, tweeted: “The Court has just granted our request to reject the Biden-Harris administration’s illegal on-site parole program, allowing illegal aliens to remain in our country after crossing the border… A HUGE victory for the Rule of law.”

Chief Spokesperson

“Judge J. Campbell Barker not only dismantled the…(Keep Families Together) program, he shattered the hopes of hundreds of thousands of American families,” said Ashley DeAzevedo, president of American Families United in a press release. statement on X. DeAzevedo, whose group supported the law, also told ABC News that “We urge the Biden-Harris administration to immediately appeal Judge Barker’s decision…Families like ours deserve better than this blatant attempt to stop a legal agenda, and we will not stop until the courts do will not have rectified this injustice. »

Large number

550,000. That’s the total number of people the Keeping Families Together program could have helped, the Biden administration said. This includes 500,000 undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens and their 50,000 undocumented stepchildren of U.S. citizens.

Key context

President Joe Biden in June unveiled the “Keeping Families Together” program, which allows undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residency without first leaving the country. Under the previous system, undocumented spouses were required to leave the country and then apply for long-term legal status — a process that could take months or years and kept families separated. The White House said the program would help about 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 children under 21. To be eligible, applicants must have lived in the United States continuously for 10 years or more and be married to a U.S. citizen at that time. of Biden’s announcement. The program was immediately rejected by Republicans, and 16 Republican-led state attorneys general decided to sue the administration.

Further reading

Federal judge ends Biden program providing legal status to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens (Forbes)