poncapost – President Biden is set to announce extensive new protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been living in the U.S. illegally for years but are married to American citizens, officials with knowledge of the plan said.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden will unveil the policy at the White House, coinciding with the 12-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which protects individuals who came to the U.S. as children from deportation, according to the officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity since the policy had not been formally announced.
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The new policy will shield undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation, provide them with work permits, and offer a pathway to citizenship. Officials familiar with the discussions indicated that up to 500,000 undocumented spouses could be affected, though the precise scope of the program remains uncertain.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Generally, marrying an American citizen provides a pathway to U.S. citizenship. However, those who crossed the southern border illegally, rather than arriving with a visa, must return to their home countries to complete the process for a green card.
This often results in long separations from their spouses and families. The new program aims to allow families to stay together in the U.S. while they pursue legal status.
Officials familiar with the discussions said this announcement could be the most extensive unilateral action by a president to provide relief to unauthorized immigrants since President Obama implemented DACA. Additionally, on Tuesday, Mr. Biden is expected to unveil new initiatives to help DACA recipients, known as Dreamers, gain access to work visas.
The decision comes as Mr. Biden seeks to find a balance on one of the most prominent political issues in 2024. Recognizing that many Americans desire stricter border policies, Mr. Biden recently announced a crackdown just two weeks ago that suspended longstanding guarantees allowing anyone who steps onto U.S. soil to seek asylum here.
Shortly after issuing that order, White House officials began privately reassuring progressives that the president would also assist undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for years, according to individuals familiar with the discussions. These sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, noted that the program Mr. Biden is expected to announce on Tuesday is known as “parole in place,” previously used for other groups like families of military members. This program provides unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. with protection from deportation for a certain period and grants access to a work permit.
“This could well be the most significant development in common-sense immigration policy since the DACA program in 2012 helped childhood arrivals stay,” said Mari Urbina, a former senior aide to Senator Harry M. Reid and managing director of Indivisible, a progressive nonprofit.
Republicans have already criticized the policy. “This is an attack on Democracy,” said Stephen Miller, the architect of former President Donald J. Trump’s anti-immigration policy, on social media on Monday.
However, the action could benefit Mr. Biden in battleground states like Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia, each of which has more than 100,000 voters living in “mixed-status” households, according to the American Business Immigration Coalition, which represents hundreds of companies and supports the proposed policy change.
