The new move from the Biden administration would provide legal status and access to work permits for approximately half a million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years
President Biden’s action is the most significant immigration policy reform since DACA; Senator Murray has long championed comprehensive immigration reform and pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
Washington, D.C, – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement applauding President Biden’s announcement that the Department of Homeland Security will take action to ensure that U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together. This new process will help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence—a status they are already eligible for—without leaving the country. In order to be eligible, noncitizens must have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen, as of yesterday, in addition to satisfying other applicable legal requirements. On average, those who are eligible for this process have resided in the U.S. for 23 years. This move by the Biden Administration will protect these long-term undocumented individuals from deportation, gain work authorization, and access a pathway to citizenship.
The announcement is the most significant immigration policy reform since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created 12 years ago. Nationwide, the Biden administration’s action will protect approximately half a million spouses of U.S. citizens, and approximately 50,000 noncitizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen. Additionally, today the Biden administration also announced a new process to allow DACA recipients and other undocumented college graduates who have received an employment offer from a U.S. employer, in a field related to their degree, to more quickly receive work visas.
“Today’s announcement by President Biden will provide lifechanging relief to undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens—including thousands of undocumented individuals in Washington state. No longer will spouses who have called the United States home for over a decade live in fear that at any moment they might be separated from their families—this is a truly meaningful policy change that will provide stability and new opportunities for American families.
“Immigrants make our country stronger—we desperately need comprehensive immigration reform that will fix our broken immigration system while delivering a fair pathway to citizenship and living up to our values as a nation of immigrants. That’s what I’ll keep fighting for in Congress and I stand ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get it done.”
Senator Murray has championed comprehensive and humane immigration reform throughout her Senate career, repeatedly pushing for legislative solutions that would offer a fair pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and those with Temporary Protected Status. She has long worked on legislative efforts to bring dignity and humanity to our immigration system—from protecting the health and safety of immigrant workers, to recognizing and bolstering America’s historical commitment to refugees and asylum seekers, promoting immigration as an integral part of our communities, and more.
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