President and Congress Must Expand Humane Policymaking to Support Immigrants and U.S. Communities

Today the Biden administration announced a new immigration program that will allow some undocumented spouses and undocumented children of U.S. citizens access to permanent lawful status and work authorization without needing to travel abroad to complete the processing of their applications. This program ensures that many U.S. citizens married to undocumented people can keep their families together.

Read NIJC's preliminary guidance for immigrants interested in applying for this program.

National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy responded to the announcement with the following statement:

“We welcome today’s announcement which will provide a pathway to legal status for thousands of undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens. This program will bring relief to many U.S. families who until now have faced the difficult choice between an undocumented spouse continuing to live in the United States without legal protection or the ability to work lawfully — or enduring a lengthy separation to travel abroad to complete the legalization process, with no guarantee they would be permitted to return to the United States at all. This program is an example of compassionate immigration policy that supports immigrant families and U.S. communities. We call on President Biden and Congress to take more steps to advance sorely needed protections for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers and embrace overdue policies that support immigrants and the U.S. communities who love them.”

NIJC will share additional information about the program and our legal services response plan soon.