Biden Offers Legal Path to Undocumented Spouses of Citizens
- Move comes after asylum crackdown that earned allies’ ire
- New policy offers protection to over half-million migrants
Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on June 18.
Photographer: Ting Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
President Joe Biden announced a streamlined path to legal status for more than 500,000 immigrants, launching his broadest effort yet to offer deportation protections while trying to blunt criticism by some allies of his recent border crackdown.
Eligible spouses and children of US citizens who have been in the country for at least a decade can apply for lawful permanent residence without first being forced to leave the country. That’s a radical change from current policy, which requires those people to leave the US — sometimes for years — before allowing them to apply for permanent residency and work permits.