BOISE – Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador is leading a lawsuit alongside Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenging the Biden administration’s expansion of the Parole-in-Place (PIP) program. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, affects 14 other states and seeks an end to the administration’s recent changes to the PIP program, which allows certain undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States while they apply for legal status.
The PIP program was originally intended to be used in individual cases for urgent humanitarian reasons or when there is significant public benefit, to provide temporary residency to undocumented individuals. Following the program’s recent expansion, undocumented individuals applying for a green card for spouses or children can now stay in the United States during the application process, rather than leaving the country and waiting abroad for visa approval.
Attorney General Labrador expressed concerns about the expansion of the program, stating, “The new interpretation of the Parole-in-Place program further encourages illegal immigration and places undue financial burdens on our states. The Biden-Harris administration is once again ignoring the Constitution and existing federal immigration law.”
The lawsuit argues that the changes to PIP violate longstanding immigration laws that require people who entered the country illegally to wait a certain amount of time outside the U.S. before they are eligible for certain immigration benefits, such as lawful permanent resident status. The lawsuit claims that the law passed by Congress is designed to deter people from crossing the border illegally.
In addition to Idaho and Texas, the following states are involved in the lawsuit: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.
