Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti was one of the state attorneys general who joined a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new program process to allow hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who are the spouse or stepchild of a U.S. citizen to “parole in place.”
The 56-page complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Texas U.S. District Court on Friday, challenges DHS’ “Keeping Families Together” program, which began accepting applications on Monday.
The program, which the Biden White House championed in June, would allow approximately 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and approximately 50,000 noncitizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen to parole in place if all who were eligible were to apply.
“If granted parole, these noncitizen spouses and noncitizen stepchildren of U.S. citizens, if otherwise eligible, could apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the country,” DHS explained.
The state attorneys general argued that DHS’ program will “create a perception among potential migrants that illegally entering the United States will result in eventual amnesty and, therefore, whether the policy is exacerbating the border crisis.”
In Tennessee, there are estimated to be 12,000 illegal aliens who are married to U.S. citizens and who would be eligible to apply for DHS’ program, according to data provided by the Migration Policy Institute.
The Volunteer State is also estimated to have approximately 128,000 illegal aliens living in the state, costing its taxpayers more than $593.8 million a year.
“The [Parole in Place] Program will incentivize increased illegal immigration into the State. As the number of paroled and illegal aliens in Tennessee increases, the number of aliens receiving such services likewise increases, and so too the burden on the public increases,” Friday’s lawsuit reads in regards to the effect DHS’ program would be estimated to have on Tennessee.
In addition to Tennessee’s Skrmetti, state attorneys general in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming joined Friday’s lawsuit.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
