Arkansas joins GOP suit to stop program protecting undocumented spouses from deportation

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by Ariana Figueroa, Arkansas Advocate

WASHINGTON — Arkansas was one of 16 states that filed a suit in federal court Friday to block the Biden administration’s program that protects long-term undocumented people married to U.S. citizens from deportation and grants them a pathway to citizenship.

States in the suit, which was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, argue that the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully created the program and that those 16 states will be financially harmed by its implementation.

“Longstanding federal law prohibits aliens who entered the United States unlawfully from obtaining most immigration benefits,” according to the suit. “This includes obtaining lawful permanent resident status — without first leaving the United States and waiting outside the United States for the requisite time — based on an approved family-based or employment-based visa petition.”

The other states in the suit include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.

Applications for the program, known as a parole in place, opened last week.

The Biden administration created the program because under current U.S. immigration law, if a noncitizen enters the country without authorization, they are ineligible for permanent legal status and would need to leave the U.S. and then reenter through a green card application by their U.S. spouse, which is a lengthy process that can take years.

America First Legal is representing the states. The organization was established by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, the architect of the former president’s hard-line immigration policies.

The program is a one-time action, and it applies to long-term undocumented people married to U.S. citizens.

It’s estimated that roughly 500,000 noncitizen spouses and their children will be eligible to apply for a lawful permanent residence — a green card — under certain requirements. It’s expected to roughly include 50,000 children who are noncitizens and have an immigrant parent married to a U.S. citizen.

Those qualifications include that a noncitizen must have resided in the U.S. for 10 years as of Monday, June 17, 2024, and be married to a U.S. citizen since that date as well. That spouse who is a noncitizen also cannot be deemed a security threat.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and X.

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Arkansas joins GOP suit to stop program protecting undocumented spouses from deportation

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