Federal District Court Strikes Down Parole Program for Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens

A federal district court in Texas has determined that the Biden Administration’s Keeping Families Together (KFT) program or “Parole in Place”, which was to offer parole and ancillary benefits to qualifying undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens, exceeded President Biden’s executive authority. The court found that the federal government lacks the statutory authority to grant parole to individuals who are present in the United States. The ruling comes after the court’s earlier temporary halt to the program, which permitted individuals to continue to apply for the KFT program but blocked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from adjudicating those applications. It is not yet known whether the Biden Administration will appeal the ruling.