Legal victory for Joe Biden. A federal court has left in force this Friday one of the central programs in immigration policy for the Administration of the Democratic president. The ruling of a district judge allows the Government to continue operating temporary humanitarian permits that allow 30,000 people to enter the United States from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The measure had been attacked in court by the Government of Texas, who claims to the judges that Washington has opened the border doors to create a crisis.
Judge Drew Tipton argued that neither Texas nor the other 20 Republican states that filed the lawsuit proved before the court the alleged damage that the measure implemented by the Biden Administration had caused in their territories. The man, based in Texas and who came to office nominated by Donald Trump, added in his ruling that he is not going to debate the legality of the program. Instead, his decision is based on Texas' failure to show grounds for filing the lawsuit. Last summer, the federal government obtained another judicial victory when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of setting its objectives for deportations.
The accusation was presented in January of this year by a conservative coalition led by Texas prosecutor Ken Paxton. He assured that the arrival of immigrants across the border with Mexico forced the state Administration to invest millions of dollars in health, education and public security services. It is likely that Texas or some other state will appeal to an Appeals Court.
“The judge's decision shows the opposite, that this program provides immense benefits for individuals, families and communities across the country,” said Monika Langarica, an attorney at the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy. The lawyer assures that the continuity of the program is good news for one and a half million people. “It is also a rejection of Texas' effort to control immigration policy throughout the country,” she adds.
The Biden Administration launched the program at the end of 2022. Since then, some 357,000 migrants from the aforementioned countries have entered the United States. The largest group has arrived from Haiti, where some 138,000 people have arrived. They are followed by 86,000 Venezuelans, 74,000 Cubans and 58,000 Nicaraguans. These countries, ruled by autocrats who have caused severe economic crises, have expelled record numbers of people in recent years. The battered diplomatic relations between Washington and those nations made it difficult to deport citizens to their places of origin. In October of last year, the United States announced that it was resuming mass returns to Caracas despite the fact that there is no consular network.
To apply for temporary humanitarian parole, individuals must fill out an online form in the CBP One application from their home countries. To be valid, applicants must have a sponsor in the United States, who may be a family member or someone who is willing to give them a job. If the permit is authorized, those chosen must pay for their flight and have a work permit valid for two years with the possibility of renewing it and extending their stay.
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The Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of border management, has also used this program to allow citizens from countries at war to enter the country. This has allowed the entry of some 80,000 Afghans who escaped the return of the Taliban and more than 100,000 Ukrainians after the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin.
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