President Joe Biden took bold new steps this week to make sure American families can remain together by protecting undocumented spouses of American citizens from deportation.
Apart from being the right thing to do, it also stands in sharp contrast to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s past actions and future promises, so it’s no surprise that Stephen Miller, the architect of the Trump administration’s inhumane immigration policies, is freaking out, calling it an “attack on democracy.”
It is hard to overstate what a big deal this is for the families that will benefit from Biden’s order. On Tuesday, the president unveiled a plan that will prevent the deportation of about 500,000 undocumented immigrants married to American citizens. “These couples have been raising families, sending their kids to church and school, paying taxes, contributing to our country,” Biden said.
Biden’s plan is the biggest step the federal government has made to protect undocumented immigrants since that Obama-era policy began.
The president made the announcement at an event marking the 12th anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which extended similar protection to people who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. Biden’s plan is the biggest step the federal government has made to protect undocumented immigrants since that Obama-era policy began.
The blueprint for Biden’s executive order builds on “parole in place” protections for families of U.S. military members that have been in place since the George W. Bush administration. In addition to protecting spouses of American citizens, Biden’s program will also allow about 50,000 undocumented stepchildren of citizens to remain in the U.S. The new plan also opens the door for a pathway to citizenship.
Biden’s new executive actions to keep families together marks an obvious contrast with the Trump administration’s destructive “zero tolerance” family separation policy. But it also serves as a stark reminder of Trump’s alarming proposals for a second term.
On the campaign trail, Trump has vowed to carry out the mass deportation of immigrants, many of whom have lived in the country for decades. During a rally in Wisconsin after Biden’s announcement, he promised to rip up Biden’s immigration policies on the first day of a possible second term, shattering the lives of millions of immigrants and their families.








