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States File Lawsuit Challenging Keeping Families Together Program

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On August 23, Sixteen Republican-led states, led by Texas and America First Legal, filed a complaint to block DHS’s Keeping Families Together parole-in-place program which was announced in June 2024 and implemented on August 19, 2024. The rule allows for humanitarian parole and a path to permanent residency for certain immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens without them having to leave the country.

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. They argue that only congress has the authority to enact legislation that would authorize a program like this.

On August 26, a group of undocumented immigrants and their families filed a Proposed Intervenors’ Motion to Intervene as Defendants and Incorporated Memorandum of Law, seeking to intervene in federal court to join the government in defending the Keeping Families Together program.

Judge Barker of the E.D. Texas issued an administrative stay of the Keeping Families Together Parole-in-Place Program for a period of at least 14 days. During this time, applicants may still submit Keeping Families Together parole applications to USCIS, but USCIS may not grant parole in place. The administrative stay could be extended for good cause or if all adverse parties agree to an extension. The court notes that given the discovery schedule it “expects that good cause may exist to extend this administrative stay for additional periods through mid-October.”

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Dana Davidson - Full Bio

Dana T. Davidson holds degrees from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and State University of New York at Stony Brook and has been practicing immigration law since 2003 in New York and nationwide. She represents corporations, individuals, and families in a broad range of immigration matters. Attorney Davidson has offices in New York City and Glen Cove.
 

Education

  • Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York, New York
  • Juris Doctor – 1988
  • Honors: Moot Court Board, Member, Judge
  • State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York
  • Bachelor of Arts – 1982
  • Major: Political Science
  • Concentration: Business


Pro-Bono Activities

  • Safe Passage Project, Volunteer Attorney, 2013-Present
  • Educating the Educators, Founder, 2012-Present
  • Momentum Project, Board Member, 1991-1994 Bar Admission
  • New York, Eastern District
  • New York, Southern District
  • Washington, D.C.

Speaking Engagements
 
  • AILA RDC-EMEA Spring Conference 2018, Berlin, Germany, Speaker on “Public Charge” panel
  • AILA RDC-EMEA Fall Conference 2018, Johannesburg, South Africa, Speaker: “Practice Management in the New Age” panel
  • AILA RDC-EMEA Spring Conference 2018, Madrid, Spain, Speaker: “El Traje de Luces: Self-Sponsored Petitions – EB-1A and NIW”  AILA RDC-EMEA Spring Conference 2017, Brussels, Belgium, Speaker: “Continuing Blanket L Challenges”
  • Safe Passage Project, March 2017, Speaker: “Representing Unaccompanied Minors: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and the Effects of President Trump’s Executive Orders on Immigration”
  • AILA RDC-EMEA Fall Conference 2016, Speaker: “It’s Not About Money: I-864”
  • AILA RDC-EMEA Spring Conference 2016, Vienna, Austria, Speaker: “K-Visa: Differences Between K-1 and I-130 Processing”
  • New York Institute of Technology’s Center for Entrepreneurship, January 2016, Entrepreneur/Executive-in-Residence
  • AILA Fall Conference 2015, London, UK, Speaker: Impact of joint sponsors on family-based cases
  • Goldman-Sachs 10,000 Small Business Education Program, October 2014, “What is required to grow a business?”
  • Dowling College, May 2013, Keynote Speaker at the first annual Latino Summit at Dowling College
  • International Taxation Conference, 2010