On January 24, 2023 Texas and 19 other states filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, against the Department of Homeland Security and related parties, alleging the agency "has effectively created a new visa program - without the formalities of legislation from Congress - by announcing that it will permit up to 360,000 aliens annually from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to be 'paroled' into the United States for two years or longer and with eligibility for employment authorization." See Complaint, State of Texas v. Department of Homeland Security (S.D. TX 2023), 2023 WL 425142, and also available at: https://www.greatlakeslaw.org/Texas_v_DHS_complaint.pdf.

You are an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Department of Homeland Security and other federal parties in this action. Your clients have asked you for a memorandum addressing the merits of the states' action, the federal government's relevant defenses and responsive arguments, the potential and likely outcomes in court, and any recommendations for the Biden administration to advance its immigration and asylum policy goals with less litigation risk. If you need additional information to advise your client, please specify the information needed and how it would relate to your answer in the memorandum to the client. Note: do not address venue in this memorandum.