President Biden announced a large-scale immigration program Tuesday that will provide legal status and a streamlined path to U.S. residency and citizenship for approximately half a million people. illegal immigrants married to American citizens.
The Department of Homeland Security policy will allow such immigrants to apply for work permits and protection from deportation if they have lived in the United States for at least 10 years and meet other requirements, senior officials said. administration officials before the announcement.
But perhaps more importantly, Mr. Biden’s decision will pave the way to permanent residency — colloquially known as a green card — and, ultimately, U.S. citizenship for many of the program’s beneficiaries.
“For wives or husbands and their children who have lived in America for a decade or more, but are undocumented, this action will allow them to complete paperwork to obtain legal status in the United States, allowing them to work while staying with their family in the United States,”Mr. » Biden said.
The policy, if upheld in court, would constitute the largest government program for undocumented immigrants since the Obama era. Deferred action for child arrivals initiative, which currently protects from deportation 528,000 so-called “Dreamers” who were brought to the United States as children.
Mr. Biden announced the measure at a White House event Tuesday marking the 12th anniversary of DACA, alongside another measure aimed at making it easier for employers to sponsor “Dreamers” and other undocumented immigrants for jobs. work visas.
This is the second time in a month that Mr. Biden has taken sweeping — and legally risky — executive action on immigration. Earlier in June, he invoked a presidential power frequently used by former President Donald Trump to disqualify most migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. asylum.
How Biden’s immigration plan would work
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The Biden administration’s program for undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens will provide two key immigration benefits.
It will allow eligible applicants to work and live legally in the United States on a temporary basis under the control of the Immigration Parole Authority. This policy, known as “Parole in Place,” will also help these immigrants remove barriers in U.S. law that prevent them from obtaining permanent legal status without having to leave the country.
An immigrant who marries a U.S. citizen is generally eligible for a green card. But current federal law requires immigrants who entered the United States illegally to leave the country and return legally to be eligible for a green card. Leaving the United States after living in the country illegally for certain periods of time can trigger a 10-year ban, leading many mixed-status families not to pursue this process.
The Biden administration’s policy would allow eligible immigrants to obtain a green card without having to leave the United States. After 3 to 5 years of living in the United States as a green card holder, immigrants can apply for U.S. citizenship.
Administration officials estimate that about 500,000 immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses will qualify for the program. Applicants must have been legally married to their U.S. citizen spouse as of June 17. Those deemed to pose a threat to national security or public safety will not be eligible.
The policy is also expected to benefit about 50,000 children of immigrants whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen, officials said. Undocumented stepchildren of U.S. citizens – who also must leave the country to obtain a green card – will be able to apply for the parole process if they are under 21 years old.
A senior administration official said the government plans to open the on-site parole program to applications “by the end of the summer.” The policy will almost certainly draw legal challenges, possibly from Republican-led states, which have repeatedly sued the Biden administration over its immigration policies.
For more than a decade, the U.S. government has overseen a more limited in-place parole policy for illegal immigrants who are immediate relatives of U.S. service members or veterans. In 2020, Congress confirmed this policy.
The State Department also announced Tuesday a streamlined process to make it easier for DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants who graduate from U.S. universities to obtain employment visas, such as H-1B visas for high-skilled workers. .