Federal courts and California legislatures have issued mixed signals on some of the biggest issues surrounding undocumented immigration.
On August 26, a federal judge put the brakes on President Joe Biden’s executive order granting legal residency to undocumented immigrants. The decision puts a stop to the Parole in Place program, which would have made undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens apply for permanent residency.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Texas by 16 Republican-led states challenging the Biden administration’s policy, Judge J. Campbell Barker ordered a stay of implementation for at least two weeks.
The judge explained that the claims brought by the 16 states are “substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date.”
The policy at issue in the lawsuit is a program that the Department of Homeland Security implemented on August 19 called Keeping Families Together. The policy allows undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. continuously for at least 10 years to apply for permanent residency within three years if they are married to a citizen, and if they and their existing children under the age of 21 meet the requirements and have no disqualifications. The Biden administration estimated that 500,000 people and their children would be eligible.
However, 16 Republican-leaning states, including Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Kansas, recently filed a joint lawsuit claiming the policy violates the Constitution.
“Federal law prohibits undocumented aliens from receiving most immigration benefits, including permanent residency, unless they leave the country and then legally reenter and obtain authorized residency,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led the lawsuit. “Instead of complying with current federal law, the Department of Homeland Security is allowing 1.3 million undocumented immigrants to ignore federal law and apply for permanent residency.”
The policy has been temporarily suspended, but the court could reinstate it after further review. And if the injunction is upheld, it could go all the way to the Supreme Court if the Biden administration appeals.
The following day on August 27, the California Senate passed a bill (AB 1840) to expand eligibility for Dream for All, the state’s first-time homeowner down payment assistance program, to undocumented immigrants.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, would expand the down payment assistance program to undocumented immigrants with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
AB 1840 will take effect once it receives a final vote in the Assembly and is signed by the governor. If enacted, the bill would allow undocumented immigrants to receive a loan of up to $150,000 or 20% of the appraised value of their first home.
BY JOONHO CHOI, JIMIN KIM, HOONSIK WOO [choi.joonho1@koreadaily.com]
