Advocates blast efforts to separate spouses of U.S. citizens from their families as Paxton, GOP-led states try to block Biden’s “Keeping Families Together” program from implementation
Groups urge courts to reject lawsuit, allow swift and generous implementation of program to prevent family separations
Today, the American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC Action) and American Families United (AFU) issued the following statements in response to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and sixteen other Republican-led states filed an anti-immigrant lawsuit attempting to block the Biden-Harris administration’s “Keeping Families Together” program:
“Blocking bipartisan legislation in Congress, encouraging family separation, and preventing the growth of our workforce does not move the country forward,” said Al Cardenas, CEO of the VITAL Health, and Co-Chairman of the ABIC Action, representing over 1,400 CEOs and employers across the country. “Common-sense policy solutions like the Biden-Harris ‘Keeping Families Together’ program are morally right and economically crucial. These are spouses of U.S. citizens who’ve worked in the United States for decades paying taxes and raising families—granting them work permits and legal status benefits us all. Republicans like Paxton should join the Biden-Harris push for bipartisan solutions that will protect our neighbors and strengthen the economy instead of wasting taxpayers’ time and money on frivolous lawsuits.”
“It’s extremely disheartening to hear that the party that claims to be for family values is actively trying to separate families again. The beneficiaries of this program must have been in the U.S. for a minimum of ten years as of June 17, 2024, be married to an American citizen, and have no disqualifying criminal history,” said Ashley DeAzevedo, President of American Families United, representing 1.1 million U.S. citizens married to undocumented spouses. “These are our loved ones, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Republicans promised to be tough on the border and criminals, but it is clear they are going after our communities. Separating families at the border just was not enough, now they are coming for American families—and we won’t forget that in November.”
“As expected, Texas and other Republican-led states are asking a Trump-appointed judge to block the Biden-Harris administration from keeping American families together,” said Marielena Hincapié, Distinguished Visiting Immigration Scholar at Cornell Law School. “At every step, Gov. Abbott has tried to block the Biden-Harris administration from creating sensible immigration policies. We’ve seen this playbook before, and American voters and their families should not allow themselves to be bullied. Unless the federal court blocks the implementation of this important policy, the spouses of U.S. citizens who meet the eligibility criteria should continue filing their applications so they can stay with their loved ones in the country they call home.”
Additional Background:
On June 18, 2024, the Biden-Harris administration announced executive actions to “protect half a million spouses of U.S. citizens” and “approximately 50,000 noncitizen children” to ensure families are together and to recognize their contributions to our economy.
ABIC Action and AFU have long supported common-sense solutions like this, welcoming the Biden-Harris’ Administration’s first step toward fulfilling their commitment of relief for 500,000 American mixed-status families. This week, following their release of the “Federal Registrar Notice” to guide the implementation of the “Keep Families Together” Program, ABIC Action and AFU urged the Biden-Harris administration to include as many families as possible in the program.
The creation of the program comes on the heels of the groups’ “Here to Work” campaign, which worked to shine a light on impacted families, advocates, and business leaders in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Nevada, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and numerous other states across the country. Lawmakers, business leaders, and impacted families have rallied communities across America together in support of these wildly popular and common-sense immigration solutions.