A judge in Texas threw out a lawsuit brought by 21 Republican-led states against the Biden administration’s parole program. This program lets people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela ask for emergency entry into the U.S.
Judge Drew Tipton said the states didn’t have a good enough reason to bring the case because they couldn’t show how the program harmed them. He noted that since the program started, fewer people from these countries have been coming into the U.S. illegally.
However, Judge Tipton didn’t say whether he agreed with the argument that the Department of Homeland Security went beyond its authority in setting up the program.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the parole program is important for managing migration in the region.
Republican challenge dismissed (Via David Cummins/Getty Images)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton didn’t immediately respond to the decision. President Biden’s administration wants to create more legal ways for people to come to the U.S., which some Republicans, including former President Trump, disagree with.
Although there have been a lot of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under Biden, he blames it on not having enough money for border security.
The states said the parole program made them spend more on things like police and emergency medical care. But Judge Tipton, who was picked by Trump, said it actually saved them money.
In another decision, Tipton told the Biden administration to stop using $1.4 billion meant for the border wall, agreeing with Texas and Missouri. These legal fights show how immigration policies divide the U.S. politically.
