Judge upholds Biden’s plan to allow 30,000 immigrants per month into U.S.

A federal judge in Texas on Friday upheld a key element of President Joe Biden’s immigration policy that would have allowed a limited number of immigrants from four countries to enter the United States on humanitarian grounds, rebuffing Republican leadership. The challenge for states is that the program creates an economic burden on them.

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton ruled in favor of the humanitarian parole program, which allows a combined 30,000 asylum seekers from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the United States each month.

Eliminating the program would undercut a broader policy aimed at encouraging immigrants to use the Biden administration’s preferred pathways into the United States or face severe consequences.

Texas and the 20 other states that filed the lawsuit argue that the program forces them to spend millions of dollars on immigrants’ health care, education and public safety. An attorney working with the Texas Attorney General’s Office on the legal challenge said the program “creates a shadow immigration system.”

Supporters of the federal government counter that immigrants admitted through the policy would help solve the U.S. agricultural labor shortage.

An appeal appears possible.

Esther Sung, an attorney with the Justice Action Center, represents seven people who sponsored immigrants as part of the scheme. She said she looked forward to calling her clients to let them know the court’s decision.

“It’s a popular show. People want to welcome other people to the country,” she said.

A message was left seeking comment from the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

During an August trial in Victoria, Texas, Tipton declined to issue any temporary order that would halt parole programs nationwide. Tipton, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled against the Biden administration in 2022 on who to prioritize for deportation.

Some states say the move has benefited them.

Tipton questions how Texas can claim economic losses if data shows parole program actually reduces the number of immigrants entering the U.S.

Supporters of the policy also faced scrutiny from Tipton, who questioned whether living in poverty was enough for immigrants to qualify. Elissa Fudim, a lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice, responded: “I think probably not.”

In many cases, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans are also fleeing oppressive regimes, with escalating violence and worsening political conditions endangering their lives, federal lawyers and immigrant rights groups say.

The lawsuit does not challenge the use of humanitarian parole for tens of thousands of Ukrainians following the Russian invasion.

Supporters of the program say each case is reviewed individually and some people who reached the final approval step after arriving in the U.S. have been turned away, but they did not provide a number of those who have been turned away.

The lawsuit is one of several legal challenges facing the Biden administration over immigration policies.