Sixteen Republican-led states have filed a lawsuit against a federal program introduced by President Joe Biden that aims to offer a path to citizenship to immigrants without legal status who are married to U.S. citizens. The program, which launched in June and recently began accepting applications, allows those spouses to apply for “parole on the spot”, an authorization to remain in the United States, apply for a green card and, eventually, citizenship.

The coalition of states, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed the lawsuit on Friday, arguing that the Biden administration bypassed Congress to create a path to citizenship for political reasons. They claim that the program encourages illegal immigration and harms the states, which bear the additional costs, such as health, safety and impact on the labor market.

The lawsuit accuses the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, of abuse of power by trying to give mass parole to the spouses of U.S. citizens. The states have also asked for the suspension of the program while the process is underway.

The Biden administration, for its part, defends the program, arguing that it complies with the law and aims to keep families together by allowing spouses of American citizens to live without fear of separation. The White House criticized the lawsuit as an attempt to force families to live in the shadows and as a form of family separation, according to the Associated Press.

The FWD.us organization, which supports the program, said the lawsuit is politically motivated and aims to separate families. Other advocates, such as the Justice Action Center and Americans for Immigrant Justice, also condemned the action as cruel and harmful to mixed-status families who contributed to their communities in the United States.

The program, which could benefit up to half a million people and 50,000 of their children, requires applicants to have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat, and pay an application fee, among other requirements. The states' lawsuit argues that the costs of additional immigration would be detrimental and that the program would lower wages for local workers.