Reactions to Joe Biden’s Executive Order restricting the right to asylum
The US now has the authority to turn away migrants seeking asylum if more than 2,500 people cross the border illegally every day.
President Joe Biden’s “Keeping Families Together” executive order took effect on Monday, initiating a process that could allow more than half a million family members of U.S. citizens to legally stay in the country, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting parole applications for eligible spouses and stepchildren of noncitizen U.S. citizens who are in the country without legal immigration status on August 19.
The announcement follows Biden’s June directive to expand legal options, keep families together and address “our broken immigration system.”
“This is something that will help members of a community, the people who have worked, contributed and built their families in this country,” said Ben Monterroso, co-founder and senior adviser of Poder Latinx, a nationwide civic and social organization dedicated to building and strengthening Latino political power.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that more than two-thirds of noncitizens married to U.S. citizens are in the country without proper admission or parole, making them ineligible for adjustment of status. Through the Keeping Families Together process, 500,000 noncitizen spouses and 50,000 noncitizen stepchildren may be eligible for local parole.
“All too often, noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens – many of them mothers and fathers – live in uncertainty due to unreasonable hurdles in our immigration system,” said Ur M. Jaddou, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in a statement. “This process to keep American families together will remove these unreasonable hurdles for those who would otherwise be eligible to live and work legally in the United States, while making the immigration system more efficient, conducting more effective screening and verification, and focusing on noncitizens who contribute to and have long-standing ties to American communities across the country.”
Applicants who are granted parole under this procedure and who meet the requirements can then apply for lawful permanent residence without having to leave the country.
“We have a chance to step out of the shadows of society and continue to contribute and make a life in this country. That is especially true for the half a million people who have the right to permanent residency to move on and acquire U.S. citizenship,” Monterroso said, adding that he encourages anyone who has the opportunity to apply to do so as soon as possible, including given the current political climate that may deter some potential applicants.
“I was legalized by the amnesty of the ’80s,” he said, referring to the Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986, passed by President Ronald Reagan, which offered legalization and potential naturalization to illegal immigrants and farm workers who had entered the country before 1982.
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In addition to immigration reform in the 1980s, Monterroso said a similar process occurred with the passage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program launched by President Barack Obama in 2012, which made eligible individuals afraid to put their names on official documents proving their presence in the country.
“The bottom line is that we are here and we cannot remain invisible and afraid of being discovered. We have the opportunity to capitalize on this and advance a legalized process in the United States,” he said.
Monterroso said Poder Latinx will continue its efforts to educate the community about the process and their rights, keeping in mind that the greatest opportunity for the citizens of this country will come in November.
“This is a step in the right direction, but it is far from the solution we need. We cannot ignore that there are millions of other people who also deserve a chance to step out of the shadows,” he said, adding that this problem cannot be solved by presidential decrees alone, but by appropriate legislation.
“Those who are family members or married to a citizen should be able to participate in the elections to ensure that elected officials do the right thing for everyone in this country,” Monterroso said.
Who is eligible to apply for the Parole in Place program?
Eligibility requirements for non-U.S. citizen spouses include continuous physical residence in the country since June 17, 2014, and marriage to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024.
Petitioning noncitizen stepchildren must have been under 21 years of age and unmarried on June 17, 2024, and have been in the country continuously since at least that date. Stepchildren must have a noncitizen parent who was married to a U.S. citizen on or before June 17, 2024, and before their 18th birthday.
Both spouses and non-citizen stepchildren must be in the country without immigration clearance or parole and must not have a disqualifying criminal history.
How to apply for the probation program
Interested and eligible individuals must file an Application for Parole for Certain Spouses and Stepchildren of Non-Citizen U.S. Citizens, or Form I-131F, by creating an account online and paying a fee of $580.
According to the USCIS website, fee waiver requests are not accepted for this process.
Immigration Resources in Arizona
Many organizations in Arizona currently offer services that can assist immigrants in the community and can assist in completing this form:
Latinx feeling runs workshops throughout the year to help immigrants apply for residency and become naturalized citizens. They can be found at 1616 E. Indian School Road, Suite 480, Phoenix, [email protected], https://poderlatinx.org/.
Latinos united for change in Arizona offers assistance with DACA applications, residency renewals, and the naturalization process. They can be found at 5716 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix, 602-388-9745, https://www.luchaaz.org/.
Phoenix Legal Aid Network provides legal assistance to non-detained immigrants in Arizona by representing them in court in immigration cases. Reach them at 602-730-1726, [email protected], https://planphx.org/.
The Florence Project provides legal representation for detained immigrants and educational services related to immigration processes in Arizona. Reach them at Phoenix number 602-307-1008, Tucson number 520-777-5600, [email protected], https://firrp.org/.
La Voz reporter Erick Treviño contributed to this article.
