On Tuesday, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and a coalition of 20 state attorneys general filed a brief supporting the federal “Keeping Families Together” program, which allows certain undocumented family members of U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residency without leaving the country, emphasizing that family unity is a long-standing U.S. immigration policy.
BALTIMORE, MD (October 29, 2024) – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Texas v. DHS in support of the federal program “Keeping Families Together,” which allows certain undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residence. The brief, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, argues that the federal government has the authority to implement this program to protect family unity. The coalition also argues that protecting family unity has been a hallmark of U.S. immigration policy for decades and should be upheld.
“Our country’s immigration policy should not split families apart but aspire to keep them together,” said Attorney General Brown. “Immigrants are an essential part of our State, and those with family members who are citizens should be allowed to remain in the country as they pursue their own path to permanent residency.”
In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a process, Keeping Families Together (KFT), under which certain undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens living in the United States can apply for permanent residence without first needing to depart the United States.
The coalition argues in its brief that the federal government has the authority to determine and implement immigration parole programs. The brief points to several previous parole-in-place immigration programs, going back decades, as an example of the federal government’s authority over immigration parole programs. Moreover, the coalition writes that keeping families together is a core principle of U.S. immigration policy and has strong benefits for families as well as neighborhoods, communities, and local economies.
In filing the brief, Attorney General Brown joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.