President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a major new policy initiative shielding tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States from deportation, in what amounts to one of the most sweeping immigration measures of his tenure in office.
Under the initiative, the Department of Homeland Security will take action to effectively grant federal protections to some undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens. The new program, known as “parole in place,” will affect an estimated 500,000 spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 children under the age of 21, administration officials said. It’s the same immigration policy that has been used for qualifying military families since 2007.
The timing of the proposal is nearly as notable as the substance, coming just weeks after the president unveiled a restrictive new measure to clamp down on asylum at the southern border. That policy drew sharp rebukes from progressive allies, who accused the administration of adopting a wholly conservative framework toward immigration.