By Ariana Figueroa | AZ Mirror
WASHINGTON — A federal judge late Thursday struck down a White House policy that created a pathway to citizenship for people in the country lacking permanent status who were married to a U.S. citizen.
Eastern District of Texas Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled that the Biden administration overstepped its authority and the program “stretches legal interpretation past its breaking point” of U.S. immigration law. The suit was brought by Texas and other Republican-led states.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s program, called “Keeping Families Together,” would have shielded at least 550,000 immigrant spouses and their children from deportation.
With less than three months before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, it’s unlikely the incoming administration will defend the program, and Trump has vowed to carry out mass deportations.
In a Thursday interview with NBC News, Trump said “there is no price tag” when it comes to mass deportations and that his administration will have “no choice” but to carry them out.
