President Joe Biden announced Tuesday a program that could grant lawful permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens— the most sweeping immigrant protections in a decade during a presidential year when concern over migration tops voter priorities.
US President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on June 12, ... [+]
The Biden administration estimates the “parole in place” program will offer amnesty, and a path to legal permanent residency, to 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 children under 21.
Prior to Monday, many of these individuals were required to leave the country and wait for their applications to be processed abroad, often resulting in a “prolonged, potentially indefinite, period of separation” from their families, DHS said.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Eligible applicants must have lived in the U.S. for 10 or more years and have been legally married to a U.S. citizen as of Monday.
The new program will clear barriers to apply for citizenship by allowing eligible applicants to obtain a green card without leaving the U.S. and risking the threat they could be banned from re-entering for living in the country illegally.
Qualifying participants would be allowed to live and work in the U.S. for a three-year period while they apply for permanent residency, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which will review applications on a case-by-case basis, including an assessment of potential threat to public safety or national security.
The initiative will also speed up the work visa application process for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), Dreamers and other immigrants without full legal status who have earned a college degree in the U.S. and received a U.S. job offer related to their degree.
The announcement comes on the 12th anniversary of DACA, which was enacted by former President Barack Obama and protects individuals who arrived in the U.S. as children and have lived here for at least five years from deportation. Biden is scheduled to speak about the program at 2:45 p.m. EDT.
24%. That’s the share of respondents in a February Gallup poll who said immigration was the most important problem facing the country, outranking 14 other issues, including the economy, inflation, crime and healthcare.
The political response from Republicans, which will likely be critical—but possibly cautious, out of concern for alienating potential Latino swing voters who have moved more toward the GOP. Though Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Green, R-Gal, was quick to already call it “a vote-buying free citizenship executive order for illegals bypassing Congress’s law making authority!”
The announcement comes as immigration issues have vexed the Biden administration throughout his presidency, amid a surge in border crossings and backlash from Republicans who, at the behest of former President Donald Trump, have blocked Congress from passing legislation to address the issue. Earlier this month, Biden implemented a new, higher standard for asylum applicants who cross the border illegally, prompting backlash from his progressive base and activists, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the administration to block the policy. Tuesday’s announcement is expected to placate critics of Biden’s asylum restrictions and appeal to Latino voters, a constituency that polls show increasingly support Trump over Biden, despite the former president’s anti-immigration rhetoric.
Trump Doubles Down On Border Deal Attacks After Biden Vows Tough Reforms (Forbes)