President Biden has introduced a significant immigration initiative aimed at providing legal status and a streamlined pathway to U.S. residency and citizenship for approximately half a million undocumented immigrants married to American citizens.
President Biden announced that these measures will take effect “later this summer.”
The new policy allows eligible immigrant spouses and children of U.S. citizens, who have resided in the country for at least a decade, to apply for lawful permanent residence without the current requirement to leave the U.S. first—a process that previously could separate families for years.
Previously, while marrying a U.S. citizen could qualify an immigrant for a green card, existing laws required those who entered the U.S. illegally to exit and re-enter legally to gain eligibility. This new policy permits eligible immigrants to bypass this exit, thus avoiding a potential 10-year ban due to their previous illegal stay.
This initiative, known as “Parole in Place,” enables these immigrants to seek work permits and deportation protection, provided they have been in the U.S. for at least 10 years, among other criteria. The program mandates undocumented spouses to submit the necessary paperwork and clear a criminal background check but does not extend to future migrants.
From the White House, President Biden declared, “Today I’m announcing a common-sense fix to streamline the process for obtaining legal status for immigrants married to American citizens who live here and have lived here for a long time.” He added, “For those wives or husbands and their children who have lived in America for a decade or more but are undocumented, this action will allow them to file the paperwork for legal status in the United States.”
The administration anticipates that around 500,000 unauthorized immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses will be eligible for the Parole in Place program. Those posing a national security or public safety risk will be ineligible.
This announcement coincided with the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, initiated by President Obama, which provided deportation protections. However, a Texas federal judge recently deemed DACA unlawful, halting new applications.
President Biden’s policy aims to facilitate a pathway to permanent residency, or a green card, and eventually U.S. citizenship. If legally upheld, this would become the largest federal initiative to protect undocumented migrants since DACA.
In his remarks, President Biden criticized his predecessor and 2024 opponent, emphasizing that the U.S. can simultaneously secure its borders and offer pathways to citizenship. “The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It still stands for who we are. But I also refuse to believe that to continue to embrace immigration, we have to stop securing our border. We can secure the border and provide legal pathways to citizenship. We have to acknowledge that the patience and goodwill of the American people is being tested by their fears at the border. They don’t understand a lot of it. These are the fears my predecessor is trying to play on.”
The Biden administration’s policy would allow eligible immigrants to obtain a green card without having to leave the U.S. After five years of living in the U.S. as a green card holder, immigrants can apply for American citizenship.
In his concluding remarks, President Biden reiterated the importance of balancing border security with immigration pathways, stating, “The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It stands, still stands, for who we are. But I also refuse to believe that for us to continue to be an America that embraces immigration, we have to give up securing our border. They’re false choices. We can both secure the border and provide legal pathways to citizenship. We have to acknowledge that the patience and goodwill of the American people is being tested by their fears at the border. They don’t understand a lot of it. These are the fears my predecessor is trying to play on.”
