A federal judge in Texas has dismissed a case filed by a group of GOP-led states that took aim at the Biden administration’s parole program for nationals from four countries. 

Humanitarian parole is a broad executive authority that’s been used for decades to allow foreign citizens temporary, emergency entry to the U.S. The program for Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Cubans allows U.S.-based sponsors to apply to bring family members here for two years. The authority has also been used to allow Ukrainians entry to the U.S. 

Germán Cadenas is one of a group of U.S. sponsors who intervened in defense of the case with the help of lawyers from the advocacy groups RAICES, Justice Action Center and UCLA's Center for Immigration Law and Policy. He says the program allowed his uncle to leave Venezuela and join the rest of the family in the US:

"And for him to be reunited with my mom, who is his sister, and for him to be able to have a stable, safe life," he told reporters on a press call Monday.

Texas and other GOP-led states filed suit against the program last year, arguing it would harm their states by using public resources. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Drew Tipton ruled the states did not have standing to sue. 

"Now this is because as Judge Tipton found, the humanitarian parole program has actually reduced total migration of people from the CHNV countries, and thus the program has actually lowered the states’ out of pocket costs," said Monika Langarika, a senior staff attorney at the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy.

The states have so far not appealed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office did not respond to requests for comment.