United States President Joe Biden has announced a new initiative which may provide citizenship to approximately half a million undocumented immigrants who are married to US citizens, ahead of the upcoming November presidential election.

"The Statue of Liberty remains a symbol of our identity," Biden stated at the White House, emphasizing the Democratic Party’s stance on immigration, a highly contentious issue in the US.

"Believing that maintaining our immigration values means abandoning border security is a false choice," he added, defending the recent asylum restrictions at the US-Mexico border declared on June 4.

This measure will also enable the children of these immigrants to gain US citizenship. The White House noted that the policy aims to "allow US citizens with non-citizen spouses and children to stay united."

Here are the details of the new plan, introduced just months before the presidential elections:

What is Biden’s new immigration plan?

• Under this extended immigration plan, undocumented spouses of US citizens residing in the US can seek lawful permanent residence without leaving the country.
• However, not all requests will be approved; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will evaluate each request individually.
• Eligibility requires that spouses have been married and living in the US for at least 10 years by June 17, 2024, and pose no threat to public or national safety, as per a DHS fact sheet.
• Processing these applications for permanent residence, which allows for applying for US citizenship, may take months to years.
• Before this plan, undocumented spouses had to return to their home country and apply for citizenship at a consulate, a process that could span from three to 10 years.
• “These undocumented spouses have to abandon their families in the US with no certainty of being allowed back. Therefore, they remain in the US, living in fear of deportation and unable to work legally,” Biden explained in a White House address, highlighting the necessity for change in the previous system.
  

  

Who will Biden’s immigration plan benefit?

• According to a DHS fact sheet, around 500,000 non-citizen spouses of US citizens are eligible for the program.
• Additionally, approximately 50,000 children of these spouses can also benefit from this initiative.

What are Biden’s other recent immigration measures?

• Biden revealed a separate policy to assist Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, also known as "Dreamers."
• The DACA program, introduced in 2012 under President Barack Obama, provides temporary relief from deportation for children who arrived in the US as undocumented immigrants with their parents.
• Under the new plan, businesses hiring DACA recipients can apply for a work visa on their behalf, potentially leading to permanent residency.
• The recent measures come two weeks after Biden introduced restrictions on asylum-seeking at the US-Mexico border, following a surge in unauthorized crossings last year. Opponents criticized Biden's asylum restrictions, likening them to former President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Immigrant rights groups have launched legal action against Biden over the June 4 border asylum restrictions.
  

  

How have Republicans reacted to Biden’s immigration programme?

• Donald Trump, Biden’s opponent: “Biden cares about nothing but power, which is why he's granting mass amnesty and citizenship to hundreds of thousands of illegals who he knows will ultimately vote for him and the Open Border Democrat Party.”
• Mike Johnson, House speaker: Biden is “attempting to appease both sides by granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens,” Johnson stated in a social media post. “This clearly evidences the Democrats' plan to convert illegal aliens into voters.”
• Rick Scott, US senator from Florida: “While American families struggle with their finances, Biden is inflating the deficit to provide free housing and food for illegal immigrants,” Scott wrote on social media.

How important is immigration to the 2024 elections?

• Biden’s recent immigration measures come less than five months before the November 5 election, where Biden will face Trump.
• A Pew Research Center survey from January 2024 shows that around 57 percent of Americans believe addressing immigration is a top priority for the president and Congress this year.
• This represents an 18-point increase since Biden’s term began due to growing concern among Republicans.
• Over half of US voters support deporting most or all undocumented immigrants in the US, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
• Conversely, an April 2024 poll by Immigration Hub found that 71 percent of voters in seven battleground states supported allowing spouses who have lived in the US without documentation for over five years to stay.