Watch Live: Biden announces new immigration program offering legal status to spouses of U.S. citizens
Washington — President Biden is speaking at the White House on Tuesday and is expected to announce a large-scale immigration program that will offer legal status and a streamlined path to U.S. residency and citizenship to roughly half a million unauthorized immigrants who are married to American citizens.
As CBS News has previously reported, the Department of Homeland Security policy, known as “Parole in Place,” will allow these immigrants to apply for work permits and deportation protections if they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and meet other requirements.
The president’s announcement comes during the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Implemented by President Barack Obama, DACA offered deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of children who were brought to the U.S. as children, known as “Dreamers.” A federal judge in Texas last year ruled that the DACA program is unlawful, barring the acceptance of new applications.
“Today I want to tell you an American story,” first lady Jill Biden said Tuesday. “You came to this country over a decade ago to work, to study, to find a future. You made a plan and then you fell in love. So you built a life, a home, one filled with big smiles on little faces. … But hanging over you is a shadow, a missing piece of paper. The possibility that your family may not be able to stay together. It’s a story that too many families all across the country live every day.”
Mr. Biden’s new program is also expected to unlock a path to permanent residency — known as a green card — and ultimately U.S. citizenship for many of its beneficiaries. If upheld in court, the policy would be the largest government program to protect undocumented migrants since DACA.
He is also set to announce another move to make it easier for employers to sponsor “Dreamers” and other undocumented immigrants for work visas.
Administration officials estimate that roughly 500,000 unauthorized immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses will qualify for the Parole in Place program. Applicants must have been legally married to their American citizen spouse by June 17. Those who are deemed to pose a threat to national security or public safety will not qualify.
