President Biden has made unprecedented use of parole authority, which has been in force since 1952 and allows presidents to let people in for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
Justice Action Center attorney Esther Sung, who represented seven migrants sponsored by the program, said she was excited to call her clients to inform them of the court's ruling.
Valerie Laveus, one of seven Justice Action Center members, sponsored her brother and nephew from Haiti’s conflict-torn country to Florida in August. She said they're thriving in their new life, and her nephew can play basketball outside without worrying about safety. Sibling works in construction.
Tipton refused to temporarily block the parole program statewide during an August trial in Victoria, Texas. Former President Donald Trump appointee Tipton overturned a 2022 Biden administration decision determining immigration priorities.
If data revealed that the parole program reduced migrant arrivals, Tipton wondered how Texas could claim financial losses. “The Court has before it a case in which Plaintiffs claim that they have been injured by a program that has actually lowered their out-of-pocket costs,” Tipton ruled Friday.
When the policy took effect, the Biden administration was poised to repeal Title 42, a pandemic-era border regulation that banned migrants from requesting refuge and swiftly removed thousands who came illegally. Tipton questioned whether migrants might qualify if they lived in poverty. U.S. Department of Justice lawyer Elissa Fudim said, “I think probably not.”
Federal government attorneys and immigrant rights groups say many Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans are escaping harsh governments, rising violence, and dangerous political conditions. The complaint did not question humanitarian parole for tens of thousands of Ukrainians who arrived following Russia's incursion. It is one of numerous immigration policy lawsuits against the Biden administration.
Fans of the program said each case is assessed individually and some people who reached the final approval phase after landing in the U.S. had been rejected, but they did not specify a figure. Todd Schulte, president of immigration advocacy group FWD.us, said Friday's decision “is a clear win and affirmation of humanitarian immigration parole being an indispensable, necessary and model program of the type of smart solutions we should be focusing on to relieve pressure on the border and modernize our failed immigration.
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