Biden announces new immigration protections affecting 500,000 people

(NewsNation) – President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that people benefiting from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will be able to receive work visas more quickly.

“These young people known as Dreamers – Hispanics, South Asians and others – who came to America as children, who know America only as home, were able to live and learn out of the shadows “Biden said. “Many of them have graduated from high school and college and are starting families of their own, building successful careers serving our country in uniform and much more. We are a much better and stronger nation because of the Dreamers.

At an event marking the 12th anniversary of DACA, Biden also spoke about a program he unveiled called “Parole in Place,” which gives some immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens a path to citizenship while remaining in the country.

Parole in place, Biden said, is intended to keep families together.

“These couples are raising families, sending their children to church and school, paying taxes to our country for 10 years or more… but living in the United States, all that time, in fear and uncertainty “Biden said. “We can fix this. And that’s what I’m going to do today.

Both measures come just two weeks after the president announced a series of executive actions aimed at limiting the flow of illegal border crossings between the United States and Mexico. This included measures making people who cross the southern border illegally ineligible for asylum unless in unusual circumstances, as well as higher standards for what constitutes threats of violence or torture in a person’s home country. .

Biden, speaking before a room full of immigration advocates and Democratic politicians, acknowledged the concerns they had about these executive actions, while saying that as commander in chief, he must take them.

“Every nation must secure its borders,” he said Tuesday. “It’s so simple.”

Despite the frustration resulting from these executive actions, one immigration advocate told NewsNation that Biden’s policies on DACA and immigrant spouses are a “step in the right direction.”

New DACA regulations make it easier for recipients to qualify for long-established work visas. This protection is stronger than the work permits currently offered by DACA, as they currently face legal challenges.

To be eligible, young immigrants must have earned a degree from an accredited U.S. institution of higher education and also have a job offer from a U.S. employer related to their degree, the White House said.

At the same time, new protections for immigrant spouses will grant legal status to about 500,000 American families and about 50,000 noncitizen children of immigrants under the age of 21.

To be eligible for in-place parole, non-citizen spouses must be legally married to a U.S. citizen and have lived in the United States for at least 10 years. However, immigrants reaching that 10-year milestone after Monday will not be eligible for the program.

While current law states that spouses present in the country must leave the United States illegally to seek legal status based on marriage, in-place parole would allow them to remain in the country pending as long as they do not constitute not a threat to national security. The plan would also allow a pathway for stepchildren of U.S. citizens under the age of 21.

If an eligible immigrant spouse’s application is approved, they will have three years to apply for a green card and receive a temporary work permit.

Republicans, including President Biden’s rival in the 2024 election, former President Donald Trump, have criticized the plan. Trump’s campaign said in a statement to NewsNation that it was a “mass amnesty plan.”

Andrea Flores, vice president of FWD.us, an immigration advocacy organization, noted in an interview with the Associated Press that Biden’s announcement on immigrant spouses expands the authority used by Republican President George W. Bush and Biden’s predecessor, Democratic President Barack Obama. . The previous two presidents had implemented a “parole” policy for family members of people who served in the military, Flores said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.