Posted on 06/18/24
| News Source: CNN
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced an executive action allowing certain undocumented spouses and children of US citizens to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the country – a sweeping election-year move that could offer deportation protections to hundreds of thousands of people.
The action will provide legal status and protections for about 500,000 American families and roughly 50,000 noncitizen children of immigrants under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a US citizen, a senior administration official said. It amounts to one of the federal government’s biggest relief programs for undocumented immigrants since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was announced by then-President Barack Obama in 2012.
The action is aimed at appealing to key Latino constituencies in battleground states, including Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, that will be crucial for Biden’s chances to claim a second term. The move is an olive branch to immigration advocates and progressives, many of whom have sharply criticized Biden for previous restrictive actions, including taking steps this month to limit asylum processing at the US southern border.
The president formally announced the action during a White House event Tuesday marking the 12th anniversary of DACA: “Today’s a good day,” Biden said during the event in the White House’s East Room.
Under current federal law, an undocumented person who enters the United States and marries a US citizen must first request parole before applying for legal residency. That process requires them to leave the country if they were there illegally, upending their careers and families and creating uncertainty about whether they would be authorized to reenter.
Tuesday’s action allows those spouses to apply for residency without needing to leave the United States – a key change that the Biden administration argues will keep families intact.
CNN first reported last week that the administration was considering the move. The executive action is already facing legal challenges, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that the Biden administration believes the action falls “squarely within our legal authorities.”
To be eligible for the program, the person must have lived in the United States for at least 10 years and be legally married to a US citizen, according to a White House fact sheet. The application process will open by the end of the summer.
Lawful permanent residency, commonly known as obtaining a green card, allows immigrants to live and legally work in the United States. Green card holders cannot vote in federal US elections.