President Biden has announced major action to make the immigration system more fair while securing the border.
Biden Announces New Actions To Help Keep Families Together
According to a White House fact sheet, the administration will take the following steps:
• Today, President Biden is announcing that the Department of Homeland Security will take action to ensure that U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together.
• This new process will help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence – status that they are already eligible for – without leaving the country.
• These actions 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.
• In order to be eligible, noncitizens must – as of June 17, 2024 – have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen, while satisfying all applicable legal requirements. On average, those who are eligible for this process have resided in the U.S. for 23 years.
• Those who are approved after DHS’s case-by-case assessment of application will be afforded a three-year period to apply for permanent residency. They will be allowed to remain with their families in the United States and be eligible for work authorization for up to three years. This will apply to all married couples who are eligible.
• This action will protect approximately half a million spouses of U.S. citizens, and approximately 50,000 noncitizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen.
Easing the Visa Process for U.S. College Graduates, Including Dreamers
• President Obama and then-Vice President Biden established the DACA policy to allow young people who were brought here as children to come out of the shadows and contribute to our country in significant ways. Twelve years later, DACA recipients who started as high school and college students are now building successful careers and establishing families of their own.
• Today’s announcement will allow individuals, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers, who have earned a degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education in the United States, and who have received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree, to more quickly receive work visas.
• Recognizing that it is in our national interest to ensure that individuals who are educated in the U.S. are able to use their skills and education to benefit our country, the Administration is taking action to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers.
Biden Strives To Make The Immigration System More Fair And Just
Blas Nuñez-Neto who is Assistant to the President explained to PoliticusUSA during a call with reporters that President Biden’s goal is to secure the border and keep families together:
The Department of Homeland Security will take actions designed to help us citizens with non citizen spouses and children keep their families together. This new process will help certain non citizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence status that they are already eligible for without leaving the country and potentially putting themselves in harm’s way. This action could protect approximately half a million American families and approximately 50,000 non citizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a US citizen. Additionally, President Biden will announce that the administration is taking action to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other DREAMERS.
These measures show that the administration is committed to taking action within its legal authorities to secure our border and ensure that our immigration system is more fair and more just. However, we remain clear eyed that only Congress can deliver the additional personnel resources and policy changes that are needed to secure our border, and only Congress can deliver the comprehensive reform of our immigration and asylum laws that we need to secure our border and make our immigration system work.
Biden Recognizes The Importance Of Legal Immigration
The difference between Biden and Trump on immigration is that Biden wants to fix a broken system, whereas Trump’s solution is to do away with all immigration. The idea of mass deportation would be devastating for the US economy. There is no reason for families to be split up outside of cruelty.
Biden is trying to build an immigration system that would continue to benefit the economy and be fair to all. Trump does not see the importance of immigrants to the US economy.
President Biden is putting families first, as his convicted felon opponent is only telling people what they want to hear.
