A federal judge appointed by President-elect Donald Trump has shut down a Joe Biden "parole" program that effectively granted amnesty to illegal immigrants married to U.S. citizens.
The ruling is another blow to a liberal immigration agenda that helped to seal Kamala Harris' landslide election loss to Trump.
The policy would have placed up to 500,000 non-citizens on a fast-track to citizenship, along with 50,000 stepchildren.
U.S. District Judge Campbell Barker said Thursday that Biden's program stretched his lawful authority "past its breaking point.”
“The Rule exceeds statutory authority and is not in accordance with law," the judge wrote.
Judge Barker found that Biden circumvented the law, which allows parole only in exceptional circumstances for newcomers at the border. Biden instead sought to arbitrarily shield hundreds of thousands of migrants who have been living in the country for 10 years.
The administration argued the policy would allow illegal immigrants married to Americans to complete the normal process of getting citizenship without leaving the United States and putting themselves at risk of being denied re-entry.
The rule had already been on pause, but the judge effectively threw it out. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who led the challenge to the program, issued a statement on the ruling.
“Once again we have stopped the Biden-Harris administration’s radical attempts to destroy America’s borders and undermine the rule of law,” he said. “I look forward to the day when the federal government starts following the law again.”
The judge's ruling is likely the final say on the program, with President-elect Trump set to take the oath of office in January. While Biden could appeal, Trump's Justice Department would almost certainly terminate it.
Biden announced the "parole in place" program this summer, even as Democrats attempted to make an election year pivot toward a tough-on-the border message.
Biden's day-one decision to end President Trump's tough border policies led to a massive influx in illegal immigration that eventually became a problem for Democrats on Election Day.
The "parole in place" program was just one example of Biden's unilateral, sweeping use of parole to let millions of immigrants into the country.
The chaos boosted Trump, who campaigned on carrying out the largest deportation operation in American history while highlighting the murders of American citizens by illegal aliens.
