Eric Gay/AP
HOUSTON — The Biden administration can continue to operate a program that allows a limited number of immigrants from four countries to enter the United States on humanitarian grounds after a federal judge on Friday rejected protests from Republican-led states.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton ruled that Texas and 20 other states would suffer financial harm from the humanitarian parole program, which allows up to 30,000 asylum seekers into the United States each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela combined. He said he could not prove that he wore it. This required the state to prove it had legal standing to file a lawsuit.
“In reaching this conclusion, the court does not address the legality of the program,” Tipton wrote.
Repealing the program would undermine broader policies that encourage immigrants to use the Biden administration's preferred routes into the U.S. or face harsh penalties.
States, led by Texas, have argued that the program forces them to spend millions of dollars on health care, education and public safety for immigrants. An attorney who worked with the Texas Attorney General's Office on the legal action said the program “created a shadow immigration system.”
Federal defenders countered that the immigrants brought into the country helped fill America's farm labor shortage.
The Texas Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which have defended the program, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Texas and other states appeared likely to appeal.
Since the program began in fall 2022, more than 357,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have been paroled and allowed into the country through January. Haitians are by far the largest group using the program, with 138,000 arrivals from that country, followed by Venezuelans with 86,000, Cubans with 74,000 and Nicaraguans with 58,000.
Immigrants must apply online, arrive at the airport and have a financial sponsor in the United States. If approved, you can stay for two years and obtain a work permit.
President Joe Biden has made unprecedented use of the parole power, which has been in place since 1952, allowing the president to admit people into the country if there are “urgent humanitarian reasons or substantial public interest.”
Esther Sung, an attorney with the Justice Action Center, which represents seven people sponsoring immigrants as part of the program, said she is looking forward to calling her clients to inform them of the court's decision.
“This is a popular program. People want to welcome other people to this country,” she said.
At an August trial in Victoria, Texas, Tipton refused to issue a temporary injunction halting parole programs nationwide. Tipton is an appointee of former President Donald Trump who ruled against the Biden administration in 2022 on an order prioritizing deportations.
Some states say the plan has helped them. One migrant who entered Nicaragua through this process found work on a farm in Washington state that was struggling to find workers.
Tipton questioned how Texas could claim financial losses if data showed the parole program actually reduced the number of immigrants coming into the country.
“The court has a case where the plaintiffs allege that they were actually harmed by a program that lowered out-of-pocket costs,” Tipton said in Friday’s ruling.
When the policy went into effect, the Biden administration was preparing to end the pandemic-era border policy known as Title 42, which bars immigrants from applying for asylum at ports of entry and immediately expels many who entered the country illegally.
Supporters of the policy also faced scrutiny from Tipton, who questioned whether living in poverty was enough for immigrants to qualify. “Probably not,” responded Elissa Fudim, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal lawyers and immigrant rights groups say in many cases Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans are also fleeing repressive regimes, escalating violence and worsening the political situation, putting their lives at risk.
The lawsuit did not challenge the use of humanitarian parole for tens of thousands of Ukrainians who arrived after the Russian invasion. This is one of several legal challenges the Biden administration faces related to immigration policy.
Supporters of the program say each case is reviewed individually and some people who reached the final approval stage after arriving in the U.S. were denied. However, the number of rejections was not provided.
Friday's decision “is a clear victory and confirmation that Humanitarian Immigration Parole is a vital and necessary model program for the types of smart solutions we need to focus on to ease pressures on our borders and modernize our failing immigration system,” Todd Schulte said. President of immigration advocacy group FWD.us.