Washington, DC, June 19 :
In a stark contrast to Republican opponent Donald Trump's plan for mass deportations, President Joe Biden will announce on June 18 a programme that would allow hundreds of thousands of married U.S. citizens to apply for citizenship. This massive legalisation effort is part of a larger effort to end immigration enforcement.
Officials from the Biden administration informed reporters that the programme will be available to around half a million spouses who have been permanent U.S. residents for a minimum of ten years as of June 17. The programme is scheduled to be implemented in the coming months. They also announced that $50,000 in dependents of U.S. citizens under the age of 21 will be eligible. They went on to say that Mexicans make up the bulk of the population that stands to gain.
Simplifying the application process and preventing family separation, the programme will enable spouses and children to apply for permanent residence without leaving the United States. They may be able to apply for U.S. citizenship in the future.
When he joined office, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden promised to roll back many of Trump's draconian immigration policies. Trump is also running for reelection. Though Biden has recently taken a harder stance in response to the unprecedented number of migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Following in the footsteps of a comparable policy enacted by Trump's administration, Biden earlier this month made it illegal for the majority of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum.
As a contrast to Trump's long-standing strong position on immigration (both legal and illegal), Biden's proposed legalisation programme for spouses of U.S. citizens could bolster his campaign narrative of supporting a more compassionate immigration system.
At a White House event on June 18th commemorating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program's anniversary, Biden is slated to deliver the announcement.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, established in 2012 by Obama and Biden, offers work permits and protection from deportation to 528,000 individuals who were brought to the United States as minors.
Additional guidelines that may facilitate the acquisition of skilled-work visas by DACA beneficiaries is anticipated to be released by the Biden administration.
The government is trying to offset the effects of its recent border enforcement actions with the spouse relief, according to Democratic U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat, who was present at Tuesday's event.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump's campaign, said that Biden's new programme was "amnesty" and that Trump would "restore the rule of law" if reelected, in addition to reiterating his deportation promise.
According to polls conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, slightly over half of American voters support the idea of deporting all or almost all illegal immigrants currently in the country.
However, a different survey by the immigration advocacy group Immigration Hub indicated that 71% of voters in seven states that were close in the election supported extending the stay of spouses in the United States beyond five years.
Legal status for spouses was endorsed by independent and Republican voters in focus groups conducted by Rebecca Shi, executive director of the American Business Immigration Coalition.
On a teleconference with reporters on June 17, she noted that it has support from the middle and the right, and it boosts turnout among Latino and base voters. She also mentioned that most people felt that spouses might already be legalised.
More information was anxiously anticipated by one couple who might gain from the move. Working at a restaurant with Juan's cousin and uncle during Megan's college summer break twenty years ago, the social worker from electoral battleground state of Wisconsin met her husband, Juan.
Juan was born into a long line of seasonal workers who emigrated to the United States from the Mexican state of Michoacan. His grandpa was a participant in an agricultural labour programme in the United States. She had no idea that Juan's unlawful status would cause a problem. She spoke as though she had thought somebody may have to pay a fine. "The penalty is completely out of line.
Still haven't figured out how to restore Juan's status, despite having two kids now, ages 4 and 7. Reuters is keeping their identities secret out of Megan's fear that they may be subject to criticism.
They are worried that Juan, a landscaper, could be deported one day because Wisconsin does not provide driver's licences to undocumented immigrants. According to her, if Juan were ever deported back, the family would probably uproot and go to Mexico.
