Biden announces new protections for a half million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens

At an event marking 12 years since the start of the DACA program, President Biden announced a new policy to allow undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who have been in the country for 10 years to remain in the U.S. while applying to become a legal permanent resident, as well as offering a possible pathway to citizenship.

Video transcript

The second action I'm announcing today was, was about keeping families together.

My dad used to have an expression.

He said Joey family is about the beginning, middle and the end about keeping couples together who are married where one spouse is a US citizen, the other is undocumented.

They've been living in the United States for at least 10 years.

These couples have been raising families, sending their kids to church and school paying taxes contributing to our country for every, for 10 years or more.

Matter of fact, the average time they've spent here is 23 years.

People were affected today, but living in the United States all this time with a fear and uncertainty.

We can fix that and that's what I'm gonna do today.

Fix it.

It doesn't require any fundamental change in our immigration law.

There's already a system in place for people we're talking about today, but the process is cumbersome, risky and separates families.

Under the current process, undocumented spouses of us citizens must go back to their home country.

For example, in Mexico, for example, fill out paperwork and obtain long term legal status.

They have to leave their families in America with no assurance that the bill out back in the United States.

So they stay in America.

But in the shadows, living in constant fear of deportation without the ability to legally work all this.

Even though under the law today, they are eligible for long term legal status.

Today, I'm announcing a common sense fix to streamline the process for obtaining legal status for immigrants.

Married, excuse me, two American citizens who live, live here and lived here for a long time for those wives or husbands and their Children who have lived in America for a decade or more but are undocumented.

This action will allow them to file the paperwork for legal status in the United States, allow them to work while they remain with their families in the United States.

Let's be clear.

This action still requires undocumented spouses to file all required legal paperwork, to remain in the United States requires them to pass a criminal background checks and it doesn't apply to anyone trying to come here today.

It only applies to this action is a better way.

It doesn't tear families apart while requiring every undocumented spouse to fulfill their obligations under the law.