In a major policy shift, President Joe Biden is set to offer legal status and a path to U.S. citizenship for up to 500,000 undocumented spouses of American citizens.
What Happened: The new policy will enable these spouses to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the U.S., offering immediate work permission and initiating their journey to citizenship, Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
This significant reform is the largest since former President Barack Obama‘s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2012. The announcement comes amid pressure on Biden from the progressive wing of the Democratic party and his 2024 presidential election competitor, Donald Trump.
The policy follows Biden’s recent measures to curb illegal immigration from Mexico, including limiting asylum requests for unlawful crossers and enabling expedited deportation.
Democratic lawmaker Henry Cuellar expressed his anticipation for the announcement, stating it would “help keep American families united and strengthen our economy.” Conversely, Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, criticized the expected announcement as an “unconstitutional amnesty to illegal aliens during a border invasion.”
Why It Matters: The increase in illegal border crossings during Biden’s presidency has become a major political vulnerability. This new policy could help alleviate some of that pressure. However, it risks alienating some progressive Democratic voters already displeased with other issues, such as U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Biden was considering this initiative to grant legal status to undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens, potentially energizing liberal voters in an election year.
Notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has advocated for easier legal immigration amid the migrant influx, highlighting the hardships of the immigration of skilled labor.
According to Black Swan author Nassim Taleb, curbing the influx of migrants into the country may lead to explosive inflation, as the U.S. is structurally dependent on cheap labor from ‘illegal’ immigration. This view aligns with Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, who attributes the decrease in inflation to strong labor force growth, largely due to foreign-born workers.
Furthermore, a recent Goldman Sachs note stated that the rebound in U.S. immigration levels has helped stabilize wages and inflation, influencing both the supply and demand sides of the economy.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari
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