A judge pauses key Biden immigration program. Immigrant families struggle to figure out what to do.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Maria García began the week full of hope. Swinging by the office of her attorney in Los Angeles, she dropped off required paperwork for the Biden administration’s new immigration policy that could finally give her husband, Roberto, legal residency as the spouse of an American citizen.

But only hours later Monday, that dream was interrupted when a federal judge in Texas temporarily suspended the program that could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the U.S., freezing in place one of the biggest presidential actions to ease a path to citizenship in years.

“They are hurting American families. We are in limbo,” said Maria Garcia, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen who married Roberto in 2017. “I feel a lot of anger, helplessness. Why block families who have a lifetime here?”

The pause issued by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker came in response to a challenge by 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, who filed a federal lawsuit just days after the program began taking applications last week. The order, known as as administrative stay, will be in place for 14 days but could be extended.

“That ruling is wrong. These families should not be needlessly separated,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday. “Nothing I did changed the requirements people have to meet to adjust their status under immigration law. All I did was make it possible for these long-time residents to file the paperwork here – together with their families,” Biden added.

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