Florida has joined 19 states in challenging a newly-announced Biden administration program to accept 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, Politico reports. The states, led by Texas, filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court against U.S. Homeland Security, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other federal agencies involved in immigration contending that there is no legal authority for the program rolled out by President Biden ahead of a visit to the southern border this month. The lawsuit contends that states will be harmed by an influx of migrants from the four countries covered by the program. “The Biden open borders agenda has created a humanitarian crisis that is increasing crime and violence in our streets, overwhelming local communities, and worsening the opioid crisis,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “This unlawful amnesty program, which will invite hundreds of thousands of aliens into the U.S. every year, will only make this immigration crisis drastically worse.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called the new Biden program “a reckless attempt to continue flooding the country with massive waves of illegal immigrants.” Florida is already home to sizable populations of people who have left all four countries covered by the White House actions. In recent weeks, hundreds of migrants fleeing Cuba and Haiti have made the dangerous 100-mile journey by boat to the Florida Keys, straining resources and moving Gov. Ron DeSantis to activate the state National Guard to respond to the influx. Biden announced the program amid a continued surge of migrants crossing the southern border, many coming in from countries that are ruled by authoritarian regimes such as Cuba and Venezuela. Under the new program, the U.S. said it would grant “humanitarian” parole to eligible migrants who apply from their home countries. Those who have an eligible sponsor and pass background checks are allowed to come to the U.S. for two years and receive work authorization. The program was an expansion of one created for Venezuelans last year.