Jan. 25 (UPI) — Twenty GOP-led states have filed a lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden‘s recently unveiled plan to stymie irregular migration, saying it illegally creates a pathway into the country.
Republicans have assailed Biden during his tenure over the surge of migrants attempting to enter the United States via the southern border, with some Democrats joining calls for a solution as the situation has deepened.
In an effort to lessen the stress on the border, the Biden administration earlier this month announced a new parole program for entrance of up to 30,000 eligible migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Under the new plan, a migrant must have a U.S. sponsor. Those who do not use the parole process to enter the country will be returned to Mexico.
The plan is an expansion of the Biden administration’s initiative that went into effect in October for eligible migrants from Venezuela, and which has produced a 90% drop in the number of Venezuelans encountered at the border, according to Department of Homeland Security statistics.
Parole processes are permitted under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which arms the Homeland Security secretary with powers to allow noncitizens into the country due to humanitarian reasons of for significant public benefit.
However, the Republican-led states accused the administration in their lawsuit Tuesday of exceeding the limits of the parole power given it by Congress and of circumventing the rules-making Administrative Procedure Act.
In the lawsuit, the states described the new parole initiative as the Biden administration creating “a new visa program that allows hundreds of thousands of aliens to enter the United States who otherwise have no basis for doing so.”
“This flouts, rather than follows, the clear limits imposed by Congress.”
The lawsuit argues that it exceeds the parole limits as it is not case-by-case, is not for urgent humanitarian reasons and advances “no significant public benefit.
It continues that in order to establish the program, the Department of Homeland Security “did not engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking,” as required by the APA.
The 20 states argue that the new law will increase strains on their resources and abilities to provide essential services.
“The Biden open borders agenda has created a humanitarian crisis that is increasing crime and violence in our streets, overwhelming local communities and worsening the opioid crisis,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “This unlawful amnesty program, which will invited hundreds of thousands of aliens into the U.S. every year, will only make this immigration crisis drastically worse.”
The White House responded with a statement to CBS News that accuses the Republican state officials of seeking political points by filing the lawsuit as they haven’t worked to find a solution to the situation.
“They’ve blocked comprehensive immigration reform and funding for border security, and are now trying to block a program that has dramatically reduced the number of migrants attempting to enter the country illegally all while providing a safe, lawful and orderly pathway for migration for people fleeing communism or economic collapse,” the White House said.