A Biden administration order that would have allowed spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to legally remain in the country has been thrown out by a federal judge.

Thursday’s decision comes after a group of Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit in August against the Biden administration’s “parole in place” policy, arguing that the president exceeded his authority in granting such amnesty. Judge J. Campbell Barker, appointed by then-President Donald Trump, agreed with the attorneys general.

An estimated 550,000 illegal immigrants in the United States were eligible for the program.

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Currently, spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens who are not in the country legally are required to leave the United States before applying for legal status. If the Biden administration’s proposal had been allowed to move forward, an estimated 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 stepchildren would have received a three-year amnesty.

During this period, spouses and stepchildren could continue to live in the United States while advocating for permanent resident status.

The rule would have allowed spouses of citizens to apply only if they had been in the United States for more than a decade and had no disqualifying criminal history.

The White House implemented the program on August 19, but a court temporarily suspended it a week later. It is unclear whether the administration approved any applications before the program was discontinued.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created a crisis at the southern border, leaving the American people to pay the consequences. As a result of the federal government’s refusal to act, states like Missouri have had no choice but to step in and take action to secure our southern border,” said Missouri Attorney General Bailey . “We took legal action to ensure millions of unchecked individuals do not invade our communities. »

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On average, spouses who could have benefited from the program had resided in the United States for 23 years, White House officials said.

The Biden administration has said its preference is to go through Congress to fix a “broken” immigration system. When first introducing the proposal, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the proposal did not hinder efforts to combat illegal immigration at the border.

With President-elect Donald Trump taking office in January, the in-place parole program is at risk of dying before it is appealed.