President Biden’s administration is considering a far-reaching step that would unlock temporary legal status and could pave the way to American citizenship for hundreds of thousands. immigrant live in the US illegally, five people familiar with internal discussions told CBS News.
A plan being considered by the White House would grant work permits and deportation protection to certain illegal immigrants through immigration parole authority, as long as they have a spouse who is an American citizen, the source said. The policy, known as “parole in place,” can also make beneficiaries eligible for U.S. permanent residency and eventually citizenship, by helping to overcome barriers to U.S. law.
The sources, two current US officials, two former officials and a congressional official, all spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about internal plans. He said the final details of Biden’s administration proposal had not been approved or finalized.
The plan, the sources said, would benefit undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years, if not decades — not recent arrivals.
In a statement to CBS News, White House spokesman Angelo Hernandez Fernandez said officials “continue to explore a number of policy options, and we remain committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.”
The proposal the administration is considering, first reported by The Wall Street Journal in late April, would be the last ambitious step by Mr. Biden to act unilaterally on immigration amid decades of congressional chaos on the issue. Last week, in the toughest policy by a Democratic president, Mr. Biden sought executive authority to bar most migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from asylum.
But the parole plan in place could benefit the state’s large undocumented population. There are about 11 million illegal immigrants living in the US, according to estimates by the federal government and research groups. Advocacy groups Fwd.US approximately 1.1 million people have US citizen spouses.
Lawmakers and progressive lawyers also argued that the proposal would also help Mr. Biden politically, energizing some voters, including Latinos, ahead of the November election. Polls over the years have shown that Latino voters widely supported border security measures and programs to legalize illegal immigrants who have been living in the US for years.
If approved, the plan faces a legal challenge. The Biden administration has faced lawsuits by Republican state officials over its use of parole authority, and in 2016, the Supreme Court, in a 4-4 deadlockprevented the Obama administration from granting work permits and deportation protection to parents of undocumented US citizens and green card holders.
The Biden administration has used its immigration parole authority on an unprecedented scale, calling for the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees from Afghanistan, Latin America, Haiti and Ukraine. The plan discussed in the administration would use the same authority to provide immigration relief to some people already in the US
A grant of parole in place would allow illegal immigrants married to US citizens to obtain temporary work permits and legal status. But perhaps more importantly, it will also allow some people to circumvent rules in US immigration law that prohibit immigrants from obtaining permanent legal status if they are not officially admitted or released to the US.
Immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally, for example, generally must leave the country and re-enter legally to obtain a green card based on an application from a U.S. citizen spouse. However, those immigrants could face years of bans from re-entering the US, prompting some to refrain from traveling abroad and pursue that option.
Parole in place will give undocumented spouses of American citizens the chance to become permanent US residents, if they meet other requirements, without having to leave the country. Unlike other categories, green cards for spouses of American citizens have no restrictions. After a few years, green card holders can apply for US citizenship.
Since the Bush administration, the US government has operated a smaller parole program for illegal immigrants who are immediate family members of members of the US military. In 2020, Congress confirmed the policy.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez
