Current:Home > reviewsProgram that allows 30,000 migrants from 4 countries into the US each month upheld by judge -WealthX
Program that allows 30,000 migrants from 4 countries into the US each month upheld by judge
View
Date:2025-04-15 08:20:10
VICTORIA, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas on Friday upheld a key piece of President Joe Biden’s immigration policy that allows a limited number of migrants from four countries to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds, dismissing a challenge from Republican-led states that said the program created an economic burden on them.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton in Victoria, Texas, ruled in favor 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. 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.
Texas and 20 other states that sued 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.
An appeal appeared likely.
Tipton is an appointee of former President Donald Trump who ruled against the Biden administration in 2022 on an order that determined who to prioritize for deportation.
The program started in fall 2022. Migrants must apply online, arrive at an airport and have a financial sponsor in the U.S. If approved, they can stay for two years and get a work permit.
In an August trial, Tipton declined to issue any temporary order that would halt the parole program nationwide.
Some states said the initiative has benefited them. One Nicaraguan migrant admitted into the country through that process filled a position at a farm in Washington state that was struggling to find workers.
Tipton questioned how Texas could be claiming financial losses if data showed that the parole program actually reduced the number of migrants coming into the U.S.
When the policy took effect, the Biden administration had been preparing to end a pandemic-era policy at the border known as Title 42 that barred migrants from seeking asylum at ports of entry and immediately expelled many who entered illegally.
Proponents of the policy also faced scrutiny from Tipton, who questioned whether living in poverty was enough for migrants to qualify. Elissa Fudim, a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice, responded: “I think probably not.”
Federal government attorneys and immigrant rights groups said that in many cases, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans are also fleeing oppressive regimes, escalating violence and worsening political conditions that have endangered their lives.
The lawsuit did not challenge the use of humanitarian parole for tens of thousands of Ukrainians who came after Russia’s invasion.
The program’s supporters said each case is individually reviewed and some people who had made it to the final approval step after arriving in the U.S. have been rejected, though they did not provide the number of rejections that have occurred.
The lawsuit is among several legal challenges the Biden administration has faced over immigrations policies.
veryGood! (7177)
Related
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- North West Meets Chilli Months After Recreating TLC's No Scrubs Video Styles With Friends
- Black Friday Price in July: Save $195 on a Margaritaville Bali Frozen Concoction Maker
- 24-Hour Flash Deal: Save 40% On the Revitalign Orthotic Memory Foam Suede Mules and Slip-Ons
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Shell Sued Over Air Emissions at Pennsylvania’s New Petrochemical Plant
- In the Crossroads State of Illinois, Nearly 2 Million People Live Near Warehouses Shrouded by Truck Pollution
- Keep Up With Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods' Friendship: From Tristan Thompson Scandal to Surprise Reunion
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Methane Mitigation in Texas Could Create Thousands of Jobs in the Oil and Gas Sector
Ranking
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- Get the Know the New Real Housewives of New York City Cast
- RHONY's Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin Have Epic Reunion 13 Years After Feud
- Anthropologie’s Extra 40% Off Sale: Score Deals on Summer Dresses, Skirts, Tops, Home Decor & More
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Federal Hydrogen Program Is Cutting Out Local Groups, Threatening Climate Goals, Advocates Say
- James Hansen Warns of a Short-Term Climate Shock Bringing 2 Degrees of Warming by 2050
- Get the Know the New Real Housewives of New York City Cast
Recommendation
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
Alix Earle Recommended This $8 Dermaplaning Tool and I Had To Try It: Here’s What Happened
California Bill Would Hit Oil Companies With $1 Million Penalty for Health Impacts
RHONY's Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin Have Epic Reunion 13 Years After Feud
Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
Q&A: Kate Beaton Describes the Toll Taken by Alberta’s Oil Sands on Wildlife and the Workers Who Mine the Viscous Crude
An Agricultural Drought In East Africa Was Caused by Climate Change, Scientists Find
Carlee Russell Found: Untangling Case of Alabama Woman Who Disappeared After Spotting Child on Interstate