The Biden-Harris administration plans to issue millions of dollars in refunds to undocumented immigrants who applied for amnesty programs that were rejected by the courts.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to refund the $580 application fees to about 94,000 people who paid in hopes of benefiting from the administration’s Family Reunification Program. According to Go to CBS News. If the program were not deemed illegal, it would have provided a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of potential illegal immigrants living in the United States and married to Americans. (Related: Illegal immigrant accused of burning sleeping woman alive pleads not guilty)

“The court order is [Keeping Families Together] “This process resulted in applicants paying fees on their applications for immigration benefits, which are through no fault of theirs and cannot be considered,” USCIS said in a statement to CBS News. . The agency also said the refunds are “in the public interest and consistent with applicable law.”

USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

President Joe Biden first announced the executive order in June 2024 during a White House event commemorating the 12th anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the last major amnesty program launched by the federal government. . The order, called the Keep Families Together Program, allowed illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for legal permanent resident status without first leaving the country, the newspaper’s fact sheet said. revealed. plan Released by the administration.

Under current law, undocumented immigrants can apply for legal status after marrying an American citizen, but they must leave the United States to proceed. Biden’s order expands the statutory authority known as “parole,” which allows noncitizens to remain in the United States while awaiting their applications.

According to the White House plan, undocumented immigrants approved to participate in the program would not only be granted legal permanent residence and work permits, but also a path to citizenship. The administration had anticipated the order. influence While there are approximately 500,000 illegal immigrants, Other quotes The number is thought to be over 1 million.

Opposition to this order was swift. America First Legal partnered with Texas and Idaho and a coalition of 14 state attorneys general in August to sue the Biden-Harris administration to block the pardon order, resulting in the The district court ordered a stay of the pardon order. program later that month.

The plaintiffs argued that the Department of Homeland Security was exceeding its statutory authority by attempting to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants already in the country. According to on court documents. The plaintiffs argued that the Immigration and Nationality Act only allows parole for immigrants to the United States, not for immigrants already in the country.

Biden initially vowed to continue fighting to protect the amnesty program, but the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ultimately ruled in November that the order was illegal. With just days left until President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power, the outgoing administration’s plan to provide refunds looks like a white flag of surrender to mass pardon attempts.

According to internal documents reviewed by CBS News, refunds to applicants amount to about $55 million.

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