A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected an effort led by Republicans Friday to block President Joe Biden’s migrant parole program.
The parole program enables up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) to enter the United States every month and stay for up to two years, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Texas and 20 other Republican-led states sued the administration over the program, which U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton dismissed, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate how they have been “injured” under the policy.
We are pleased that today’s court ruling means that the parole processes for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will continue. Read my full statement ⬇️ https://t.co/vXN0Zxtc4d pic.twitter.com/jgg3EnSl8X
“Plaintiffs … are unable to demonstrate that they have been injured by the Program, and as a result, they lack standing to bring these claims,” Tipton wrote. “In reaching this conclusion, the Court does not address the lawfulness of the Program. The Court may only reach that question after a plaintiff has established that it has standing.”
Over 541,000 migrants have been granted entry into the U.S. through parole under the Biden administration, according to CBS News, which cited internal government statistics, court records and public reports.
Republican states sued over the program in January 2023, arguing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is operating “under the false pretense of preventing aliens from unlawfully crossing the border between the ports of entry.”
Parole is used to grant temporary entry to migrants who need humanitarian relief or are deemed to be a “significant public benefit,” according to USCIS.
“The number of CHNV nationals entering the United States since the Program’s implementation has dramatically decreased by as much as 44 percent,” according to the Friday ruling.
The DHS pointed the Daily Caller News Foundation to Secretary Mayorkas’ Friday statement on the ruling.
“We are pleased that today’s court ruling means that the parole processes for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will continue,” Mayorkas said. “These processes — a safe and orderly way to reach the United States — have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of these individuals encountered at our southern border.”
Jason Cohen on March 9, 2024
