U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (DFL) responded Wednesday to President Biden’s executive order that shields undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation.
The plan, with few details at this point, offers potential citizenship to certain U.S. citizen's spouses.
Omar says many who fall into this category in Minnesota have made the U.S. their home and have contributed greatly to their communities.
"We are talking about people whose lives have been very entwined in American communities for a really long time," Omar explained. "You know, we meet with families who have one, two, three, four children who have been here in this country."
Community leaders say there is no way to apply yet, but there will be later this summer. They say people should beware of scammers who claim to be able to help with the application process too.
President Biden announced the new program that would provide hundreds of thousands of undocumented people married to United States citizens a path to citizenship. The action by Biden, a Democrat, could affect upwards of half a million immigrants, according to senior administration officials.
“The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It still stands for who we are,” Biden said from a crowded East Room at the White House, filled with advocates, congressional Democrats and immigrants who would be eligible for the program. “But I also refuse to believe that for us to continue to be America that embraces immigration, we have to give up securing our border. They’re false choices.”
Local Immigration Lawyer Michele Garnett McKenzie says children of those residents could also benefit from this policy, and that it's been decades in the making.
"The changes will ensure that spouses of us, citizens who qualify, are not barred from long term family unity solely because of the way they entered the country," says McKenzie.
The announcement was quickly denounced by former President and GOP candidate for 2024 Donald Trump, who said that he would reverse the action if he becomes president again. Trump's hardline stance on immigration includes a push for mass deportations and rhetoric casting migrants as dangerous criminals “poisoning the blood” of America.
On Tuesday, Biden accused “my predecessor” of preying on fears about immigrants as he chastised Trump administration moves, such as a zero-tolerance policy at the southern border that led to the separation of families. But Trump has leaned into his own policies as Biden has faced disapproval of his handling of immigration throughout his presidency. At a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, Trump proclaimed, “When I’m reelected, Joe Biden’s illegal amnesty plan will be ripped up and thrown out on the very first day that we’re back in office.”
To qualify for Biden’s actions, an immigrant must have lived in the United States for 10 years and be married to a U.S. citizen, both as of Monday. If a qualifying immigrant’s application is approved, he or she would have three years to apply for a green card and receive a temporary work permit and be shielded from deportation in the meantime.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.