A federal judge in Texas has rejected the Biden administration’s attempt to legalize hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants married to US citizens through a “passwords in place” program.

The program, called “Keeping Families Together,” was introduced by the Biden administration over the summer and would have offered protection from deportation to illegal immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens..

U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker, who was appointed by now-President-elect Donald Trump, ruled Thursday that the program was illegal and exceeded Biden’s executive authority.

“We just WON our lawsuit with Ken Paxton, Raul Labrador and a coalition of 14 states. We have officially STOPPED the illegal attempt by the Biden-Harris Administration to grant mass amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens,” America First Legal wrote in a post on X following the decision.

BIDEN ADMIN GIVEN BY 16 STATES FOR PUSHING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SAVINGS WITH US SPOUSES

This split shows the border with President Biden, Vice President Harris and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images, Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images, Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The program was launched in August but was blocked days later by Barker, who left him frozen while considering a legal challenge brought by Texas and a coalition of US states with Republican attorneys general.

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“From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been dedicated to decimating our immigration system and erasing our borders. Again and again, the States rose. And today, the great state of Texas and brave Ken Paxton, along with a coalition of other brave attorneys general, succeeded in stopping an illegal program that would have granted amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and paved the way for the largest administrative amnesty from American history. We are proud to stand with these patriots in defense of our great nation,” said Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Executive Director.

The administration had estimated that about 500,000 immigrants and about 50,000 children would be affected.

Still, the coalition of states says it would allow more than 1.3 million illegal immigrants to benefit.

States have argued that the rule violates federal law, which bars illegal immigrants from obtaining immigration benefits, including permanent status, without first leaving the country and being readmitted. They argue it does so through an unlawful use of parole, which is limited to use “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit.”

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created a crisis on the southern border, leaving the American people to pay the consequences. With the federal government refusing to act, states like Missouri have had no choice but to step in and take action to secure us. the southern border,” said Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. “We have filed suit to ensure that millions of uncontrolled individuals do not invade our communities.”

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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House about the new ruling, but did not immediately hear back.

In an earlier statement to Fox News Digital, DHS vowed to defend the policy in court.

“The Department of Homeland Security is committed to keeping families together. Keeping Families Together is based on well-established legal authority, and its purpose—to enable families of American citizens to live without fear of separation—is consistent with fundamental American values. will defend him in court, DHS continues to process applications already submitted and to accept and process new applications,” a spokesperson said.

The White House has also previously defended the policy and accused Republican officials of being “more focused on making politics than helping American families or fixing ourselves. broken immigration system”.

“This lawsuit seeks to force American citizens and their families, people who have lived in the United States for more than ten years, to continue living in the shadows. The process is aimed at separating US citizens from spouses and stepchildren who are already eligible for lawful permanent residency and could remain together through this process,” said spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández. “This process is against our nation’s values ​​and we will defend firmly Keeping Families Together and our ability to make the immigration system fairer. We will also continue to secure our border and enforce our laws, which Republicans in Congress have refused to do over and over again. ”

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“Since President Biden announced decisive new executive actions to secure the border, port-of-entry encounters have declined significantly – July 2024 encounters were the lowest since September 2020 and lower than this time in 2019,” he added.

The states in the lawsuit are Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.

Reuters contributed to this report.