By Nelson A. King
NEW YORK, Aug 28, CMC – Caribbean immigrant advocates in New York have strongly condemned a Texas District Court ruling blocking an initiative by United States President Joe Biden that allows undocumented Caribbean and other spouses who are married to US citizens the opportunity to adjust their status in the US without being separated from their families, their communities and their work.
Judge J. Campbell Barker in the US Eastern District of Texas on Monday granted an administrative stay barring the US federal government from granting approvals for the “Keeping Families Together” parole in place programme for the next 14 days.
During this period, which could be extended, applications will still be accepted by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), but they will not be processed.
The stay was granted in response to a request from 16 Republican-led states’ attorneys general, led by Texas, in their lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to block the implementation of the “Keeping Families Together” parole process.
“This lawsuit is hardly surprising from a group of attorneys general determined to play politics with people’s lives,” Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) on Wednesday.
NYIC is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York.
Awawdeh said the court-ordered stay is “baffling, given there is no evidence that this program would hurt their states.
“In fact, the ‘Keeping Families Together’ program would strengthen the ability of individuals to continue to contribute to their communities and economy. The stay is heartbreaking for the 20,000 New Yorkers who would benefit from this process to stay with their families and in their jobs.
“We are deeply disappointed in Judge Barker’s decision to grant this hold, and hope that he will consider the impact that this politically motivated lawsuit will have on the lives of thousands of people who are in need of a legal pathway to keep their families together,” Awawdeh said.
Judge Barker, who was appointed by former president Donald J. Trump, ruled that the 67-page complaint filed last Friday by the 16 attorneys general evokes substantial concerns about the authority of the Biden administration to circumvent the US Congress and establish immigration policy.
“The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date,” he wrote in his decision.
But Biden said in a White House statement that “America is not a country that tears families apart,” noting that, in June, his administration announced new action to keep American families together.
“These married couples, in which one spouse is a United States citizen and the other has been living in America for 10 years or more, include our neighbors who have been working, raising their families, paying taxes, worshipping with us, and sending their kids to school,” he said.
“They have become our friends, our neighbors and our co-workers. They’re the parents to our kid’s best friends. They have become invaluable contributors to our communities. They make us a better country.
“Nothing I did changed the requirements people have to meet to adjust their status under immigration law. All I did was make it possible for these long-time residents to file the paperwork here – together with their families.
“But without the Keeping Families Together process, spouses of US citizens won’t be able to stay in the US while they obtain the long-term legal status for which they’re already eligible. They’ll be forced to either leave their families in America, or live in the shadows in constant fear of deportation,” Biden said.
The US President said Judge Barker’s ruling was “wrong”, stating that “these families should not be needlessly separated. They should be able to stay together, and my administration will not stop fighting for them.
“I am not interested in playing politics with the border or immigration; I am interested in solving problems. Nor am I interested in tearing families apart. That is not who we are as Americans. I will continue to fight to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system.”
Awawdeh noted that the Biden administration’s “Keep Families Together” parole process began accepting applications on August 19, 2024 to allow undocumented immigrants who are married to US citizens the opportunity to adjust their status in the US without being separated from their families, their communities, and their work.
“Building off existing authorities, a process for ‘Parole in Place’ will apply to undocumented spouses of United States citizens who have resided in the US for at least 10 years and meet other eligibility requirements,” he said.
“This new process could keep an estimated 500,000 people in the country ,affecting a total of two million family members – and upwards of 20,000 undocumented New Yorkers.”
In June, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), a national network of 40 immigrant rights organizations across the United States, welcomed President Biden’s plan to create stronger protections for undocumented Caribbean and other spouses of US citizens and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries.
But the immigrant rights groups warned that more is needed to restore what they described as “trust in Biden’s leadership on immigration across impacted communities.”
However, FIRM, which claims that it builds power, rooted in, and accountable to diverse immigrant communities across 30 states, hailed the announcement as a victory for immigrant rights organizing.
FIRM co-chairs Mireya Reith and Awawdeh said in a joint statement that the Biden administration’s announcement was “a rare moment of relief for all of us who have fought to keep families together.
“We welcome Biden’s executive actions to protect DACA recipients and the undocumented spouses of US Citizens. These are reforms that immigrant rights organizations have demanded since Biden took office, and the announcement is a clear victory for organizing, and it signals the growing political influence of immigrant communities in the United States.”
Reith and Awawdeh described the announcement is “a step in the right direction,” stating that it “will begin to rebuild trust in Biden’s leadership to make good on promises he made to immigrant communities in the last election.
“This is also the right thing to do. These proposed policies are common sense reforms, and they are long overdue.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams had also welcomed Biden’s executive order expanding work authorization for longtime undocumented Caribbean and other immigrants.
In May, Adams and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson led a coalition of 40 Cities for Action mayors in calling for expanded work authorization for long-term undocumented immigrants.
The letter argued that extending work authorization would be an economic benefit to the entire nation.
CMC/nk/ir/2024