The decision of Judge Drew B. Tipton regarding the humanitarian parole program of the Joe Biden administration is not expected to be made public before the end of next month.
After two days of hearings, the federal magistrate is preparing his verdict, which could be announced at the end of September or the beginning of October. This was stated by several immigrant rights organizations.
During a press conference held this Monday, representatives from the Justice Action Center, RAICES, and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy expressed their optimism about the possibility of maintaining the program.
Over the course of the two days of hearings, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as immigrant rights organizations, advocated for the program’s continuation. They took the opportunity to present testimonies from several sponsors and beneficiaries.
Conservative Judge Drew B. Tipton questioned the motives of the legal action taken by the state of Texas and 20 other Republican states, considering the program’s benefits, according to representatives of the organizations involved in the legal proceedings. The federal magistrate also asked the plaintiff states to explain why they wish to end the program for the four American countries while ignoring Ukraine, which also benefits from the program. This information was shared by representatives from the Justice Action Center, Haitian Bridge Alliance, RAICES, and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy during Monday’s press conference.
The U.S. government touted the positive results of the program, which has significantly reduced the number of people attempting to cross the U.S. southern border illegally. Initially created for Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Guatemala, and El Salvador, several other countries have been added to the humanitarian parole program, commonly referred to as the Biden program.
This includes countries such as Colombia, Honduras, and Ukraine. The latter country is exempt from the legal action brought forth by Republican states that are eager to counter the Biden administration’s immigration policy, which was implemented to try to reduce the migratory flow at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The representatives from the organizations who participated in Monday’s conference are: Monika Langarica, Senior Attorney at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy; Guerline Jozef, Co-Founder and Director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance; Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of the Justice Action Center; and Javier Hidalgo, Legal Director of RAICES.
