Washington (CNN) -
- The Supreme Court held Monday that the government can prevent non-citizens, who are in the United States under a program that temporarily protects them from deportation in certain situations, from applying for a green card if they entered the US illegally. country.
The case, which pitted the Biden administration against immigrant rights supporters, could affect thousands of the 400,000 people who have been granted "Temporary Protected Status."
The Biden administration's position on the case, although less stringent than that of the Trump administration, dismayed supporters of immigrant rights.
This case concerns a New Jersey couple who came to the country illegally in 1997 and 1998 and now have four children.
The minor was born in the United States and is a citizen.
After a series of earthquakes in El Salvador in 2001, they requested and received “Temporary Protected Status”.
Such a status protects foreign nationals present in the US from expulsion if they have been subject to armed conflict or environmental disasters in their home country.
In 2014, the couple sought to apply to "adjust" their status to become lawful permanent residents and apply for a green card.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services denied their application, stating that they were not eligible to apply because they had not entered the country legally and had never been formally admitted to the United States.
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