Tipsheet

Biden Lays Down Illegal Alien Relief Just After His Border Crackdown Order

Jamie Parsons
Jamie Parsons  |  June 19, 2024 3:00 PM

President Joe Biden issued more immigration relief on June 18, making it easier for illegal aliens married to U.S. citizens to stay in the country and work legally. 

Biden’s new policy, also known as the “Parole in Place” program, caters to illegal immigrants married to U.S. citizens for at least a decade who have not been approved for permanent residency or a work permit. Currently, undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens seeking permanent residency must first request “parole,” requiring them to leave the country. Their request could take three to 10 years to process. Under Biden’s new “parole in place” program, eligible undocumented spouses can jump straight into applying for permanent residency. 

“The purpose of this process is to facilitate the adjustment of status process domestically, to avoid people having to travel abroad and be separated from their family if they are otherwise eligible to adjust,” an administration official told reporters Monday.

The Hill reported that the "parole in place” program could benefit between 500,000 and 1.1 billion illegal aliens who are spouses of U.S. citizens. Eligible applicants will be given three years to apply for permanent residency, receive a three-year work permit, and be deferred from deportation. When granted permanent residency, applicants are also given a “pathway to citizenship.”

On June 17, the National Immigration Center for Enforcement pointed out in a tweet that Biden's new program would also increase the number of illegal aliens eligible for federal benefit programs such as “welfare, food stamps, and Medicare.” 

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Announced two weeks after Biden’s executive order to secure the border – which is unfavored by many Democrats – “parole in place” also coincides with the 12-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a deportation waiver program announced by former President Obama and then Vice-President Joe Biden in 2012, The Hill reported. The timing of Biden's announcement has made people believe that "parole in place" is simply a part of his political scheme to gain last-minute democrat votes before the presidential election. 

Although Biden’s crackdown at the southern border did not settle very well with the Democrat party, his “parole in place” program is favored more amongst Democrat politicians. 

For example, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to Biden in May claiming that helping illegal alien spouses of U.S. citizens would “keep families together” and “expand our taxpayer labor force,” according to The Hill. On June 18, Suozzi turned to Twitter to rejoice over Biden’s announcement, saying his message to Biden in his “bipartisan letter” was “resonating at the White House.” 

Meanwhile, Republicans are referring to Biden's announcement as " mass amnesty" and a "shady shortcut" to permanent residency, reported The Hill.