“As Attorney General, I will enforce the laws as written, which includes ensuring that the Biden Administration cannot create unlawful immigration programs without the express permission of Congress,” said Attorney General Bailey. “States are the vanguard in the fight against the rise of the administrative state, and attorneys general are the tip of that spear. I am proud to stand with 19 other states against the Biden Administration’s blatant disregard for the law.”

The DHS program would establish a new visa system that would allow for up to 360,000 aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to be “paroled” into the United States every year. Parole allows noncitizens to physically enter and remain in the United States even though they do not have a legal basis for being admitted.

Although Congress authorized a limited parole power for foreign aliens who meet very specific and stringent standards, the Biden Administration’s new program does not meet these standards. Even worse, contrary to existing law, the program creates a pathway for program participants to apply from their home country and gain lawful status to enter and stay in the U.S. for up to two years, or even longer.

The Biden Administration also instituted this program without engaging in the usual notice and comment rulemaking process required by law. This program is another instance of the Biden Administration abusing its executive authority to further its dangerous open borders agenda at the expense of the states and their taxpayers.

In addition to Missouri, the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming also filed suit.

The full lawsuit can be read here: https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/tx-immigration.pdf?sfvrsn=ab7f3fca_2

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