by Bethany Blankley
President Joe Biden announced a modern plan Tuesday that would speed up the path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of foreigners who have lived in the country illegally for more than 10 years and married a U.S. citizen. He also expanded protections for DACA recipients, according to several reports.
In a statement released by the White House, the president blamed Republicans in Congress for failing to secure the border and fix a “broken immigration system.”
With Republicans prioritizing “partisan politics over national security,” he announced additional measures to implement deportation protections for some illegal aliens. Doing so reflects his commitment to “expanding legal career paths and keeping families together,” he said, arguing that those who came to the country illegally, “who have been in the United States for decades, who pay taxes and contribute to their communities, are part of the social fabric of our country.”
His modern measure, according to the statement, will support “people who have been here for many years keep American families together and enable more young people to contribute to our economy.”
First, the Wall Street Journal. reported that the plan focuses “on the population of mixed-status families, where typically the children and one parent are U.S. citizens, because they think the demographic is most compelling, according to administration officials and advocates who have talked to them.”
One way to accomplish this would be to implement another parole policy called “parole in place,” allowing illegal alien spouses of U.S. citizens to obtain a green card and U.S. citizenship. They will also receive work permits and protection from deportation, according to several reports Monday.
To be eligible for the modern parole program, individuals who were not U.S. citizens as of June 17, 2024, must have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen. A White House statement released Tuesday shows that eligible people have been in the U.S. for an average of 23 years.
Supporters of amnesty estimate that more than a million spouses could apply for the modern parole program, according to the daily.
The announcement came at the White House on the 12th anniversary of former President Barack Obama’s creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by executive order. DACA protected children from deportation who were brought to the country illegally by their parents and has been in court for 12 years. A federal judge has twice ruled the program illegal. The latest ruling involved a multi-state lawsuit led by Texas seeking to end DACA once and for all, The Center Square reported. The case is expected to ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Biden announced an expanded program for DACA recipients aimed at “streamlining the process” for them “and other undocumented immigrants to apply for waivers that would make it easier for them to obtain temporary visas, such as H-1B visas for highly skilled workers” – CBS News reported.
DACA recipients who earned a degree from an accredited U.S. university and received a job offer from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree will be able to quickly obtain work visas, according to a White House statement.
Numerous reports suggest that between 700,000 and 800,000 people living in the U.S. are DACA beneficiaries. Los Angeles Times. reports as of March 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had registered 578,680 DACA beneficiaries.
After announcing earlier this month that he would limit asylum applications, the president is now proposing measures to ensure that people in the country illegally are not deported. Both statements published five months before the elections are not solutions but political ploys and will only encourage illegal immigration, critics to argue.
“This is definitely an incentive and will increase illegal immigration,” former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan told The Center Square. “At a time when we are seeing historic numbers at the southern border, President Biden is announcing another giveaway program, another bounty for illegal entry into this country.
“This confirms that you can enter this country illegally and if you can hide long enough, you will gain legal status. This will increase illegal immigration, they know it and that is why they are doing it.”
If the president really cared about border security and reforming immigration law, he would “reimplement the Migrant Protection Protocols; … restore cooperation agreements on asylum with Central American partners; complete construction of the new border wall system that Congress funded many years ago [which he halted]; and … end mass catch-and-release,” U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-TN, said in a statement. The president “could stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of people coming into this country through the illegal mass parole programs created by his DHS secretary. He could also encourage Senate Democrats to pass H.R. 2, the only border bill passed by either chamber of the 118th Congress, to further close loopholes and end cartels’ ability to exploit our borders.
“But he won’t because the rabidly anti-law enforcement open border left is driving the Biden administration’s decision. And the rest of us pay the price.”
Any executive actions taken related to newly created parole or DACA programs will likely be challenged by GOP attorneys general.
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Bethany Blankley is a contributing writer Central Square.
Photo “Illegal Immigrants” by Chief Jason Owens.
