LOS ANGELES: Miguel Aleman, a 39-year-old brought to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of 4, is among the hundreds of thousands of immigrants seeking a path to citizenship through a new program launched by the Biden administration on Monday. This initiative represents one of President Joe Biden’s most significant efforts to provide legal status to long-term U.S. residents who entered the country illegally.
The “Keeping Families Together” program, announced in June, aims to offer legal status to an estimated 500,000 spouses who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17. Additionally, around 50,000 children under the age of 21 with U.S.-citizen parents will also be eligible.
Without this program, Aleman, who works as an Uber driver and has two young children with his U.S.-citizen wife, would face the prospect of relocating to Mexico for an extended period before being allowed to return legally. “My whole family is here,” Aleman said, reflecting the sentiments of many immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador, and the Philippines who attended an information session organized by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles on Friday.
Biden unveiled this legalization initiative before stepping down from the presidential race in July, paving the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee. Harris is set to formally accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday.
In contrast, former President Donald Trump has criticized Harris for the high numbers of migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border since the Biden administration took office. Trump has pledged to increase deportations if reelected, labeling the citizenship program a “mass amnesty.”
“Keeping Families Together” allows eligible spouses to apply for permanent residence without leaving the U.S., a process that would otherwise require them to be out of the country for several years. Once they obtain permanent residence, they can apply for citizenship after three years. However, the program is expected to face legal challenges from Republican opponents and could potentially benefit some individuals currently enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides deportation relief and work permits to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
