President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced that his administration won't deport many illegal immigrants who are married to US citizens, or whose parent is married to a US citizen.
This translates to roughly 500,000 spouses of US citizens, along with 50,000 children, who won't be deported and will be given the ability to gain legal status without leaving the United States, the White House said.
The new program, run by the Department of Homeland Security, will apply to illegal immigrant adults who have lived in the US for at least 10 years as of June 17, and are married to a US citizen.
Biden will read a teleprompter on Tuesday afternoon during an event to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program launched under President Barack Obama while Biden was VP.
As of Sept. 30, 2023, there were 544,690 migrants with protection under the program.
Whose vote is Biden courting here?
According to the White House, the new program "will promote family unity and strengthen our economy, providing a significant benefit to the country and helping U.S. citizens and their noncitizen family members stay together."
As the Epoch Times notes further, typically people who enter the country illegally must leave and obtain legal status before re-entering the United States.
“In the weeks ahead—and I mean the weeks ahead—I will speak to how we can make our immigration system more fair and more just,” he said at the time.
The requirements for the new program mean that it will apply to people who are embedded in communities across the nation. On average, those eligible for the process have resided in the United States for 23 years, according to the White House.
“President Biden believes that securing the border is essential. 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,” according to the White House statement.
The president also said that his administration is making it easier for illegal immigrants who received protection under DACA, earned a college degree, and received an offer of employment from a U.S. business to obtain work visas.
The announcement quickly drew praise from some, who said the program would be welcome news to those affected.
“An estimated 55,000 immigrants in the Houston area are married to U.S. citizens and many of them will now be able to live, work, and raise a family without the fear of deportation,” Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) said in a statement.
Others decried the move.
Stephen Miller, who was a top adviser on immigration during the Trump administration, described it on the social media platform X as an “unconstitutional amnesty to illegal aliens”.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said that the program would incentivize more illegal immigration, and be subject to legal challenges.
Former President Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Monday that he oversaw a safe border but that the situation was “ruined” by President Biden. He vowed to correct the situation if he is elected in November.
