The Biden administration is taking new executive action to extend legal protections to spouses of U.S. citizens who are in the country illegally.
The "Parole in Place" program applies to those who have lived in the U.S. for 10 years and will allow them to live and work in the country legally without having to leave.
Under U.S. law, illegal immigrants must first leave and apply for legal residency from their home countries when they marry a citizen. In some cases, those migrants can be barred from returning to the U.S. for up to 10 years, ABC News reports.
The White House's new policy will reportedly shield about 500,000 people from deportation and offer them a work permit.
While Biden moved to tighten up on unlawful border crossings nearly two weeks ago, a White House press release explains he also "believes in expanding lawful pathways and keeping families together."
Advocates argue that the policy made political sense for Biden ahead of the upcoming election.
"We anticipate that immigrant and Latino voters will express their gratitude at the ballot box in November," said Gustavo Torres, the president of CASA in Action.
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Families who could potentially benefit from the policy change were expected to attend a White House event announcing the changes on Tuesday afternoon.
Biden is also introducing a policy that would make recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program eligible for visas, rather than the temporary work authorization they currently receive.
This year marks the 12th anniversary of that program created by then-president Barack Obama to protect "dreamers" or young immigrants who lacked legal status.
To be eligible, applicants must have graduated from an accredited higher education institution in the United States and have a high-skilled job offer from a U.S. employer in their field of study.
While Democrats are applauding Biden for the new initiatives, Senate Republicans are criticizing the president.
"They are increasing incentive for people to come here illegally," said Republican Whip John Thune. "I am sure they'll be challenged."
Last month, Jessica Vaughan with the Center for Immigration Studies, warned lawmakers at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to not pass DREAM Act amnesty legislation, which would give the roughly 800,000 illegal aliens enrolled in DACA today a green card and eventually, naturalized citizenship.
She pointed out that there are "legitimate concerns about the lack of rigor in the vetting process for DACA," and "about 12 percent of DACA applicants had arrest records, includ[ing] assault, battery, rape, murder and driving under the influence, and 85 percent of those applicants were approved."
According to Breitbart, DACA illegal alien Luis Perez of Mexico was sentenced last year to five consecutive life sentences or murdering 38-year-old Steven Marler, 23-year-old Josh Hampton, and a woman accused of being an accomplice to Marler and Hampton's murders.
Federal records published by the Trump administration in 2019 reveal that nearly 68,000 illegal aliens with prior arrest records were granted DACA status, the outlet reports.
Some of the infractions include drunk driving, burglary, hit-and-run, sex abuse, child rape, animal cruelty, and manslaughter.
Fox Business host Stuart Varney says the "Parole in Place" policy would be another "political mistake" that every American will pay for.
"Biden's outreach goes a lot further," he explained. "An estimated 1.1 million illegals would be allowed to stay if they've been here for 10 years and are married to U.S. citizens. They would get work permits and could not be deported. It would be the mother of all amnesty programs, it is vote buying."
He pointed out that Trump is calling for deportation and new a CBS poll shows 62% of Hispanics want a "new national program to deport all undocumented migrants."
Mass deportation is now popular.
A majority of registered voters favor “a new national program to deport all undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. illegally,” 62-38%.
A MAJORITY OF HISPANICS favor mass deportation, 53-47%.
Per @CBSNews / @YouGovAmerica poll: pic.twitter.com/EsUaEsE4im
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 16, 2024
"Biden's answer is 'Parole in Place. That's code for amnesty," Vaughn explained. "He thinks that will bring back the Hispanic vote... The open border and now amnesty. A picture of political mistakes and everybody else has to pay for it."
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