On the anniversary of DACA, the Biden government prepares new benefits for migrants

The American president Joe Biden will be hosting an event at the White House next week to celebrate a directive implemented during the presidency of Barack Obama that offered protections against deportation to young immigrants who were in the country irregularly, while its own government prepares possible new benefits for other people whose status in the country is not legal, but who have ties in USA.

White House officials are close to finalizing a plan that would leverage Biden’s executive powers to protect spouses of U.S. citizens who lack legal status from deportation, offer them work permits and ease their path to permanent residency, and, finally, American citizenship, according to five people with knowledge of the deliberations.

The people said those measures would likely be unveiled as early as next week, although a White House official said Thursday that no final decision has been made on what, if any, Biden will announce. As of earlier this week, officials had not submitted the proposal to Biden for final approval, adding to uncertainty around the timing of any announcement. At the moment, the president is in Italy to participate in the G7 summit.

But last week, when he released his directive to suspend asylum claims at the border — a move that has angered immigrant advocacy groups and many Democratic lawmakers — Biden hinted that he would announce other measures that would be more liked by immigrant rights advocates.

“Today I talked about what we need to make the border more secure,” Biden said at the June 4 event held at the White House. “In the coming weeks — and I mean the next few weeks — I will talk about how we can make our immigration system more fair and equitable.”

To protect the spouses of Americans, the federal government plans to use a process called “temporary stay permit in the country”. Not only does it offer protections against deportation and work permits for eligible migrants, but it also removes a legal obstacle that prevents them from accessing a permanent resident card, or “green card”and eventually to American citizenship.

Executive power has already been used for other immigrant groups, such as members of the US military or their family members who do not have legal status.

For Biden’s actions, White House officials were crafting a plan that would offer temporary parole to the spouses of Americans who have been in the country for at least five or 10 years, according to the people familiar with the actions. deliberations, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.

The immigrant advocacy group FWD.us estimates there are approximately 1.1 million immigrants without legal status married to Americans. However, depending on how the Biden administration writes the proposal, the actual universe of people who could be eligible for the president’s plan is likely to be much smaller.

Immigrant advocates were also pressing the White House to include benefits for immigrants without legal status who care for American relatives, according to two people familiar with the discussions, although that provision is much less likely to be enacted by now. Allowing those caregivers to apply for so-called “cancellation of removal” would help immigrants such as family members of Americans with specific needs or disabilities.

Amid those deliberations, the White House has invited lawmakers to an event scheduled Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to a statement. person with knowledge of the event. The program was created on June 15, 2012 by then-President Obama to protect young immigrants without legal status, often known as “dreamers”.

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