According to three sources, U.S. President Joe Biden may soon unveil a new initiative to enable undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status if they marry natives of the country. This election-year move may invigorate some liberal supporters. Two of the people, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal plans that are still subject to change, said that Biden is scheduled to announce the endeavor as soon as Tuesday at a White House event. Under his leadership, a record number of migrants have been apprehended unlawfully crossing the border between the United States and Mexico. To discourage these individuals, Biden just implemented a stringent new asylum prohibition at the border.
Immigration Relief for spouses:
Opponents of immigration and fellow Democrats have urged Biden to defend long-term US citizens without legal status, such as spouses, in response to the asylum prohibition. In April, Reuters revealed that the White House was thinking on how to give the spouses legal status.
Although Biden officials “remain committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez would not disclose any impending immigration relief. In his comments on the asylum restriction on June 4, Biden stated that he would “speak to how we can make our immigration system more fair and more just” in the upcoming weeks.
The 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program’s anniversary will be commemorated at the White House ceremony on Tuesday. 528,000 immigrants who were brought to the country as minors are currently eligible for work permits and deportation relief through the DACA program, which was started by former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
According to one of the individuals, the U.S. State Department may also release new guidelines stating that DACA recipients should be assumed to be eligible for non-immigrant visas in the event that they depart the country. Head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Democrat Representative Nanette Barragan announced that she would be attending the White House event and urged Biden to take action to protect spouses of US citizens and DACA recipients.
In an interview, Barragan stated that Biden could set himself apart from Trump, who has promised to begin the greatest deportation campaign in American history. “I believe it could have a big impact on the lives of these people who are married to US citizens, living in hiding, and in danger of being deported,” the woman stated. According to data from advocacy group FWD.us, there are an estimated 1.1 million immigrants living in the country illegally who are married to citizens, though it’s unknown how many of those would be covered by a potential Biden action.