Judge rejects Biden plan for undocumented spouses

The Biden administration can appeal the ruling, but it comes as Trump is set to take office and has pledged an overhaul of US immigration rules

A federal judge has struck down President Joe Biden's plan to facilitate a pathway to US citizenship for undocumented immigrants married to American citizens.

US District Court Judge Campbell Barker, an appointee of Donald Trump, said the Biden administration lacked the authority to establish the programme.

The judge sided with a lawsuit filed by 16 Republican-led states that argued the Biden administration should not be able to bypass Congress to enact immigration legislation.

Judge Barker had already temporarily blocked the programme for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants days after it took effect in August.

The White House said in a statement that it strongly disagreed with the ruling and was evaluating next steps.

“This ruling sides with Republican state officials who are seeking to force US citizens and their families, people who have lived in the United States for more than ten years, to either separate or live in the shadows in constant fear of deportation," White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said.

"Our Administration believes in keeping American families together," he added.

The Department of Homeland Security said it was "deeply disappointed" by the ruling.

"We firmly believe Keeping Families Together is grounded in well-established legal authority, and its purpose is consistent with fundamental American values."

Trump-aligned group America First Legal, which was involved in the lawsuit against the plan, celebrated the ruling.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has dedicated itself to the decimation of our immigration system and the erasure of our borders," said executive director Gene Hamilton.

The Republican states "succeeded in stopping an illegal program that would have provided amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens", he added.

The Keeping Families Together programme, which Biden announced in August, has sought to allow undocumented immigrants married to US citizens living in the country for a decade or more the possibility of getting a green card without leaving the US.

After three years, residents with green cards who are married to US citizens would be able to apply for citizenship.

The Biden administration said about half a million undocumented immigrants were eligible for the initiative.

He launched the plan just weeks after taking actions to limit the number of asylum claims at the US border, amid a record number of crossings.

The administration can appeal Judge Barker's ruling, but it's likely to remain in limbo as Donald Trump takes over the White House. The Republican president-elect has pledged an overhaul of US immigration laws as well as "mass deportations".

Biden had argued that the new plan would allow families to remain together, and that the old system separated families.

Critics, meanwhile, claimed that it offered amnesty for migrants who entered the country illegally.