Oddbean

Biden extends protections to undocumented spouses of citizens ========== President Joe Biden announced a move to offer protections to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens on the 12-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The new move could affect approximately half a million spouses of U.S. citizens, plus 50,000 noncitizen children who have a parent married to a U.S. citizen. To be eligible, a person must have lived in the U.S. for 10-plus years and be legally married to a citizen. The eligibility is retroactive, only those married before June 17, 2024, qualify. Those who meet the criteria and have their application approved by the Department of Homeland Security have three years to apply for permanent residency. The announcement also includes a plan to accelerate the process of obtaining work visas for certain DACA recipients with a U.S. degree and an employment offer. The move has received mixed reactions from politicians, with Democratic congresswoman Sylvia Garcia applauding the move and Republican senator Ted Cruz criticizing it as amnesty for illegal aliens. Immigration advocates argue that those who benefit from this policy contribute about $13 billion in spending power to the U.S. economy each year and could increase that amount by $5 billion each year if they become U.S. citizens. The policy is seen as a way to unleash the economic potential of undocumented immigrants who have been contributing to the country for years. #JoeBiden #UndocumentedImmigrants #SpousesOfUsCitizens #DeferredActionForChildhoodArrivals #PermanentResidency #WorkVisas #DacaRecipients #ImmigrationPolicy #EconomicImpact https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-extends-protections-to-undocumented-spouses-of-citizens/7660323.html