Posted on 08/26/2024 8:41:01 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked a Biden-Harris administration plan to grant legal status to non-citizens who are married to U.S. citizens, pausing the program for at least the next two weeks while the legal challenge moved through the courts.
U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker issued the administrative stay after the policy was enacted by the Biden administration earlier this year. 16 states challenged the policy proposal, with Texas (one of the 16) claiming "the state has had to pay tens of millions of dollars annually from health care to law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status."
The federal program, announced in June, just opened up applications for citizenship status this week.
READ MORE:
Biden Admin Pushing Path to Citizenship for Half a Million Immigrants With US Citizen Spouses
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If it is allowed to continue, it would give non-citizen spouses of U.S. citizens a quick pathway to citizenship by allowing them to apply for a green card and stay in the U.S. while the citizenship process proceeds. Prior to this policy, the citizenship process for these cases was for the spouse to return to their country of origin and wait for it to play out.
Here's a bit more on the process:
To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and have been married to a citizen by June 17 — the day before the program was announced.
They must pay a $580 fee to apply and fill out a lengthy application, including an explanation of why they deserve humanitarian parole and a long list of supporting documents proving how long they have been in the country.
If approved, applicants have three years to seek permanent residency. During that period, they can get work authorization. The administration estimates about 500,000 people could be eligible, plus about 50,000 of their children.
The states challenging the new program argue that it is bypassing Congress, whose job is to legislate such issues, and accused the Biden-Harris administration of doing so for “blatant political purposes.”
The Constitution clearly gives the Congress the sole authority to grant citizenship. The Executive branch can’t just usurp that authority..................
Can I be a Trans Immigrant if I feel I must have crossed the border illegally?
There are so many benefits to take.
When you don’t have the support of the nation you want to rule, just bring in your own supporters and make them the citizens!
Kinda like losing a football game in the 3rd quarter so you just bring in 10 new players for your side...and keep all the players you already had.
Isn’t that the way the game is supposed to be played?!
This can’t be right. The very popular TV series 90 day fiance has shown thousands of actual foreign spouses of US citizens who entered US with K-1 visa and married their American fiance. Marriage automatically gives them green card visa.
The Texas case might be related to illegal immigrants married to US citizens?
“Marriage automatically gives them green card visa.”
That does not grant voting rights or make her a citizen. It gives here authorization to live here.
Resident status (green card) isn’t automatic upon marriage. It has to be applied for and it’s got costly fees.
Of course any change of visa status needs application and fees. Unless there is evidence of law breaking, green card is automatically approved. Tens of thousands have been approved.
I got expedited green card visa via marriage in 1967. I was naturalized in 1970. It is only 3 years if married to US citizens. 5 years if not married to citizen.
Voted for tricky Dick in 1972. Straight Republican voter in every presidential election.
Agreed. It sounds like the right thing to do and has appropriate guardrails. It also streamlines a process that has been habitually slow.
BUT
It is up to Congress. It should be an easy pass in both chambers.
EC
Back when Pelosi was speaker during the first half of Biden’s term, even she bristled at the POTUS trying to take some of the Congress’ power on some item.............
Yes. Nixon was the first President I cast a ballot for. Today have no regrets about that, except they removed him from office.
I’ve always been a Republican.
When we lived in NM, my wife’s best friend was from Costa Rico, we stood up with her when she received here citizenship. She married a US citizen who worked in the Peace Corp.
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