President Joe Biden has directed the Department of Homeland Security to help the undocumented spouses of American citizens obtain lawful permanent residency.
The president vowed that new directives would help keep families together and bolster the American economy. An illegal immigrant who has been living in the United States for 10 years and is married to a citizen would be eligible for the new assistance program. The Biden administration estimates that 500,000 illegal migrants will be impacted by this new policy.
“The steps I am taking today are overwhelmingly supported by the American people, no matter what the other team says,” Biden said at a press conference. Biden says his mass amnesty for illegal immigrants is “overwhelmingly supported by the American people, no matter what the other team says.” pic.twitter.com/YEbL6uoeYk
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Eligible individuals will qualify for a three-year work permit and have three years to apply for permanent residency and – eventually – citizenship. They will be considered “paroled in place” and permitted to stay in the U.S. while they establish an immigration status. The application process is expected to begin at the end of the summer.
“There is no requirement on how long the couple must have been married, and no one becomes eligible after Monday,” reports TIME. “That means immigrants who reach that 10 year mark any time after June 17, 2024, will not qualify for the program, according to the officials.”
The policy will prevent the deportation of 50,000 minors and young adults who are under 21 with a parent married to an American citizen.
“President Biden believes that securing the border is essential,” the White House said in a statement on June 18. “He also believes in expanding lawful pathways and keeping families together, and that immigrants who have been in the United States for decades, paying taxes and contributing to their communities, are part of the social fabric of our country.”
Biden’s announcement has been denounced by advocates for border security and restrictions on illegal immigration.
“Rather than stopping the worst border crisis in history, President Biden has overreached his executive authority to use an unconstitutional process, circumventing voters and their elected representatives in Congress, to send a message that amnesty is available to those who enter illegally into the United States,” said James Massa, the chief executive of NumbersUSA, per the BBC.
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign said in a statement that “Biden doesn’t care about the American lives that will forever be destroyed by the illegal criminals he is importing.”
“Biden doesn’t care about the law-abiding taxpayers, crushed by inflation, are forced to pay for free food, housing, and healthcare for illegals,” said the campaign’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Biden only cares about one thing – power – and that’s why he is giving mass amnesty and citizenship to hundreds of thousands of illegals who he knows will ultimately vote for him and the Open Border Democrat Party.”
Leavitt added: “Biden’s mass amnesty plan will undoubtedly lead to a greater surge in migrant crime, cost taxpayers millions of dollars they cannot afford, overwhelm public services, and steal the Social Security and Medicare benefits from American seniors.”
