On Thursday, November 7th, America First Legal (AFL) and a coalition of 16 state Attorneys General won a legal battle against the Biden-Harris Administration’s Parole in Place (PIP) program. This legal victory halted a policy that could have granted over a million illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship.
In August 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who initiated the lawsuit, argued that the program was an unlawful executive action. The coalition sought an emergency injunction to block the program, claiming it would encourage illegal immigration and provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, including those who had been unlawfully present in the U.S. for more than ten years.
Gene Hamilton, Executive Director of AFL, emphasized the victory as a defense of U.S. immigration law, stating that it prevented the largest administrative amnesty in history. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton echoed his concern that such actions erode the rule of law and national sovereignty. AFL President Stephen Miller also condemned the program, calling it “brazenly unlawful” and warning that it would worsen the immigration crisis by granting work permits and legal status to over one million illegal immigrants.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a final judgment, declaring the PIP program unlawful. The court ruled that the DHS lacked the authority to implement the program, so it vacated the action and set it aside. The ruling emphasized the lack of statutory authority under existing immigration laws.
This legal victory represents a crucial step in challenging what AFL and its allies view as unlawful immigration policies, reinforcing their commitment to upholding the rule of law in immigration matters.
