President Biden on Tuesday announced sweeping new protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been in the U.S. illegally for years but are married to U.S. citizens.
The new policy will protect nearly half a million undocumented spouses from deportation and provide them with a path to citizenship and to work legally in the U.S. It is one of the most sweeping immigration protections a presidential action in more than a decade.
Biden is expected to praise the program at a White House ceremony on Tuesday marking the 12th anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the program that protects people who arrived in the U.S. as children from deportation.
The decision comes as Biden tries to balance one of his biggest political challenges in 2024. Aware that many Americans want tougher policies at the border, Biden announced a crackdown just two weeks ago that would end a long-standing guarantee that anyone who sets foot on U.S. soil has the right to seek asylum in the United States.
Biden is also expected to announce details of another measure on Tuesday that would make it easier for young undocumented people, many known as “Dreamers,” to obtain work visas.
Soon after the president issued that order, White House officials began privately assuring progressives that the president would also help undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for years, according to people familiar with the conversations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private discussions.
Tuesday’s steps could help Biden address some of the backlash his refugee restrictions have caused among progressive voters, who have accused the White House of betraying campaign promises to take a more humane approach to immigration.
The new benefits for undocumented spouses won’t take effect immediately. Biden administration officials said the program is expected to begin by the end of the summer, and those who qualify can apply for the benefits after that.
Marrying a U.S. citizen usually paves the way for U.S. citizenship, but people who cross the southern border illegally without a visa must return to their home country to complete the green card process.
That means being separated from spouses and families for long periods of time. The new program will allow families to remain in the country while they seek legal status.
Eligible spouses must have lived in the U.S. for 10 years and be married to a U.S. citizen as of June 17. They must have no criminal records. The benefit also applies to the roughly 50,000 stepchildren of undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.
The latest policy could help Biden in battleground states like Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, where more than 100,000 voters each live in “mixed-status” households, according to the American Business Immigration Coalition, which represents hundreds of companies and supports the proposed policy change.
“This is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do,” said Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who said Biden’s action would boost her state’s economy. “The road to the White House runs through Nevada and the people of my state are taking notice.”
Biden is relying on a system known as “parole,” which has been used by others, including military families, that allows foreign nationals to live and work in the United States temporarily without fear of deportation.
In the days leading up to the announcement, allies of former President Donald Trump seized on the policy and accused Biden of being weak on border security. “This is an attack on democracy,” Stephen Miller, an architect of Trump’s anti-immigration policies, said on social media on Monday.
One person who could be directly affected by the change is Ashley DeAzevedo, president of American Families United, whose husband is undocumented and whose organization advocates for undocumented families like hers. The couple have been married for more than 10 years and have an 11-year-old child.
“It would definitely be a game changer not to have to worry about separation, because now we technically could be separated,” she said. “There’s always the worry of being stopped by the police or something like that happening. It could be just devastating for our family.”
While some Democrats have praised Biden’s new policy on undocumented spouses, many immigration advocates remain concerned about the longevity of the original policy the White House will celebrate Tuesday.
Since President Barack Obama created DACA in 2012, hundreds of thousands of young people have received DACA benefits, which have enabled them to secure jobs and live without fear of deportation.
But DACA has not been accepting new applications since 2017, when President Trump tried to end the program. DACA is embroiled in litigation, and while it has been reinstated for existing recipients, its long-term viability is in doubt. The average age of DACA recipients is now in their mid-30s.
Bruna Bouhid Sorod, senior political director at United We Dream Action, an advocacy group for DACA recipients, said recipients who were once children fearing their parents would be deported “are now parents fearing they will be deported.”
Biden appears to be trying to address those concerns with upcoming policy announcements that would simplify the process for Dreamers to get employer sponsorship for work visas and ultimately pave the way for them to obtain green cards. The administration is expected to release guidance in the coming days that would benefit both current DACA recipients and others who have been barred from the program since the Trump era.
“My big fear was that DACA might end,” said Monica Sandoval, 32, an emergency room nurse in Columbus, Indiana, who enrolled in the program shortly after it was announced.
Sandoval renews her license every two years to maintain her job and nursing license.
She hoped the new process would allow her employer, a local hospital, to sponsor her for a work visa and then a green card.
“This is a life-changing thing for me,” said Sandoval, a mother of two young children who immigrated to the United States when she was 12. “It will give me and my children a sense of security and the assurance that I can continue doing the work I love.”
