[BOISE] – Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced today a victory in federal court against the Biden Administration’s controversial ‘Parole-in-Place’ policy that allowed illegal aliens to remain in the United States instead of returning to their country of origin to lawfully apply for entry. The Idaho and Texas-led suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and joined by fourteen other states.
“The court stopped the Biden-Harris Administration’s attempt to skirt immigration laws. This is a tremendous victory for our nation, the rule of law, and the millions of immigrants who respected our laws and followed the process to reside in America legally,” said Attorney General Labrador. “We cannot and will not abandon the moral position that the rule of law is integral to the survival of our Republic.”
The Parole in Place program was originally used sparingly to allow some illegal immigrants to remain in the United States, specifically for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit” while their application is being resolved. Courts have said clearly that the federal government cannot use that power to parole aliens en masse. The Administration argued they can interpret that rule as they see fit, claiming, “unfettered discretion” and applying their interpretation to 1.3 million illegal immigrants. The District Court disagreed.
“The court declares that defendants lack statutory authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (d)(5)(A) itself…to grant parole “in place” to aliens…or to deem parole “in place” into the United States for purposes of 8 U.S.C. § 1255(s). That agency action is hereby set aside and vacated pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 706(2),” Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court wrote in his final judgement.
Idaho and Texas were joined by the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
The court’s opinion can be read here.