New Protections Unveiled for Undocumented Spouses and Their Kids
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his administration will offer potential citizenship to any immigrant without legal status who has lived in the country for 10 years and been married to a U.S. citizen for an extended period of time. This new policy could affect upwards of half a million immigrants.
The president unveiled the new policy during an event he and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted in the East Room of the White House Tuesday afternoon.
More than 200 guests attended the commemoration of the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era relief program that protects eligible immigrants who came to the United States when they were children from deportation.
Among those in attendance were members of Congress, DACA recipients and advocates for the immigrant community.
Biden’s executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to implement the new policy aimed at helping certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residency — a status they are already eligible for — without having to first leave the country.
Additionally, the president announced the administration will speed up and simplify the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other “Dreamers.”
“This step builds on other actions we’ve taken to support ‘Dreamers’. The action I’m announcing today is to put families together. I’m keeping couples together. These couples have been raising families, sending their kids to church and school, paying taxes, contributing to our country,” Biden said on Tuesday.
Over the past 12 years, the DACA program has provided more than 800,000 “Dreamers” with the ability to work lawfully, pursue an education, open businesses and become full-fledged, contributing members of their communities in the process.
Though the timeline for implementing the new policy is not set, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the administration’s goal as the department puts the final touches on the program is “to make sure the immigration system is more fair and more just.”
The president himself noted from the podium that “over 70% of Americans support this effort.”
Once implemented, the new policy will still require undocumented spouses and families to file legal paperwork and pass a background check as they attempt to change their citizenship status, but permits them to continue to work and live with their families in the United States as they do so.
Approved applicants are given three years to apply for residency and will receive a work permit and deferral from deportation during the application process.
According to a statement from The White House, this new policy could provide legal protection to half a million nonlegal spouses and 50,000 noncitizen children.
“We are a nation defined not by language or ethnicity, by race or religion, but by faith. That America is and always has been defined by us. We the people,” said the first lady ahead of the president’s remarks.
The White House noted that the administration has been steadfast in its defense of DACA since “the first day” of Biden’s presidency. Among other things, the White House has vigorously defended DACA in the face of repeated legal challenges, and extended Affordable Care Act coverage to DACA recipients.
“[Biden’s] actions today will prevent hundreds of thousands of families, like mine, across America from being torn apart, allowing us to continue to contribute to our communities and build a brighter, bigger future for our children,” said Javier Quiroz Castro, a DACA recipient who attended the East Room event.
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