Washington
CNN
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The Biden administration on Tuesday announced an executive order that would allow certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residency without having to leave the country, a major election-year move that could give hundreds of thousands of people protection from deportation.
The measure will provide legal status and protections to about 500,000 American families and about 50,000 non-citizen children under the age of 21 whose parents are married to U.S. citizens, administration officials said. It is the federal government’s largest relief program for illegal immigrants since then-President Barack Obama introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012.
The move is aimed at appealing to key Latino voters in battleground states such as Arizona, Nevada and Georgia that are crucial to Biden’s chances of winning a second term.The move is a conciliatory offer to immigration advocates and progressives who have sharply criticized Biden’s restrictive actions so far, such as steps taken this month to limit asylum proceedings at the southern U.S. border.
The president formally announced the measure at a White House event on Tuesday marking the 12th anniversary of DACA’s establishment. “Today is a good day,” Biden said at the event in the East Room of the White House.
Under current federal law, illegal aliens who enter the U.S. and marry U.S. citizens must first apply for parole before applying for legal residency, a process that could force them out of the country if they are in the country illegally, upending careers and families and creating uncertainty about whether they will be allowed to re-enter the country.
Tuesday’s action will allow those spouses to apply for residency without leaving the U.S., a change the Biden administration argues is important to preserve family ties.
CNN first reported last week that the administration was considering the measure. The order has already faced legal challenges, but White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the Biden administration believes the move is “fully within our legal authority.”
To be eligible for the program, people must have lived in the US for at least 10 years and be legally married to a US citizen, according to a White House fact sheet. The application process is expected to open by the end of the summer.
Lawful permanent residence (commonly known as obtaining a green card) allows immigrants to live and work legally in the U.S. Green card holders cannot vote in U.S. federal elections.
Tuesday’s executive order, along with Biden’s broader immigration policy, are likely to be the subject of next week’s debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump, his 2024 presidential rival. Biden said Tuesday he was “not interested in playing politics” on the border but still took the opportunity to criticize his predecessor’s policies.
Biden said of Trump, “When he was president, he separated families and children at the border. And now he’s proposing to separate spouses and children from their families, their homes, their communities and to hold them in detention camps. He is actually saying these things. It’s hard to believe it was said, but he is actually saying these things out loud.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, Biden’s campaign sought to contrast Trump’s immigration policies with measures the Biden administration says would keep families together.
“Families should stay together. That’s all there is to it. That’s why President Biden’s action today is so important. It also serves as a stark reminder of Donald Trump’s outrageous family separation policies, which tore crying children away from their parents,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.
The president hinted at the move last week, acknowledging that many immigration activists were unhappy with some of his actions.
“To those who say the steps I’ve taken are too harsh, I ask for your patience,” Biden said. “In the coming weeks — in the coming weeks — I’m going to tell you how to make our immigration system fairer and more just.”
Immigrant advocacy groups welcomed Biden’s announcement.
“By removing barriers that prevent spouses from being able to join their families, he can deliver on his promise to protect those harmed by our flawed immigration laws,” Todd Schulte, president of the immigrant advocacy group FWD.us, said of Biden in a statement. “We encourage the president to act confidently and boldly, knowing that Americans across the political spectrum support responsible protections for the individuals who live in our communities and have contributed to our country for years.”
Immigration experts say the individuals affected by the change are already eligible for green cards due to their marital status, but can now apply from within the U.S. Previously, individuals had to apply from outside the U.S., and if they were in the U.S. illegally, they had to remain outside the country for 10 years.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, this change in status could affect up to 550,000 people, and allowing these people to seek higher-paying jobs could bring significant economic benefits.
“When you’re undocumented, you’re trapped in an underground economy,” Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, told CNN. “People whose potential has been stifled are free to work anywhere.”
Top Senate Republicans sharply criticized Biden ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, with Republican leader John Thune accusing the administration of creating an additional “pull factor” with its planned immigration measures.
“They’re creating more incentives for people to come here illegally,” Toon said. “They’re definitely going to be challenged.”
A better solution would be to find a bipartisan bill, Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican who has worked on immigration issues in the Senate and voted against a bipartisan border security bill earlier this year, told CNN.
Some Senate Democrats praised Biden’s executive order, but those in vulnerable seats sought to follow suit.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren praised Biden’s decision, but acknowledged that “that’s not how I would have approached” previous executive orders to restrict border crossings.
“But I appreciate that the president is now saying that family is important to Americans and that he will do everything he can to protect spouses of U.S. citizens,” she said.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, declined to say whether he supported the new executive order: “I don’t know enough about this yet,” he told CNN.
“It would be a good idea for Congress to finally pass a bipartisan border bill, secure the border and pass an immigration bill. Presidents of both parties have failed to do so, but I’m hopeful that if we do that it will really make a difference,” he added.
Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, a close district Democrat, also declined to say whether he would support Biden’s executive order. “We’ll have to see what the president thinks. I haven’t seen the proposal yet, so I’m going to wait until I do,” he told CNN.
But he praised President Biden’s executive order earlier this month aimed at restricting border crossings.
“I think it was the right thing to do to make that proposal, but it’s clearly been challenged,” he said.
Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat from Illinois whose husband is a DACA recipient, said the executive order was welcome news, but added that there is still “more work to be done.”
“Hundreds of thousands of people who are still in the shadows will be watching the news today and asking themselves: does this mean I’m finally coming out of the shadows, and for many, that’s not yet the case,” Ramirez told CNN shortly before joining a White House event for Biden’s announcement with her husband, Boris.
Biden also announced Tuesday that he would streamline the work visa process for college graduates with high-skilled job openings.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Sam Fossum, Kayla Touche, Lauren Fox, Morgan Rimmer and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
