Raising hope for the American dream, President Biden announced a new initiative allowing undocumented migrants to live and work in the United States.
Under this initiative, the number of beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will receive employer-sponsored work visas for the first time. This will also enable immigrants to apply through their employers for green cards, or permanent lawful residency.
The new policy is one of several measures taken on immigration by the Biden administration. Prior to this initiative, immigrants enrolled in the DACA program were only able to temporarily live and work in the United States. However, the status of those enrolled in DACA has always been uncertain, as there was no proper procedure to apply for permanent legal residence or citizenship.
Meanwhile, the White House has directed federal agencies to streamline the process for undocumented college graduates to obtain official work visas. Despite this, it remains unattainable for most, as they were living unlawfully in the U.S.
However, details of who might qualify under the new program have not been announced.
President Biden announced this initiative at a ceremony on Tuesday in the East Room of the White House to mark the 12th anniversary of DACA. During the ceremony, President Biden said that the new measures would clarify and speed up work visas to help people, including those who graduated from U.S. colleges and universities and are currently employed in high-demand, high-skilled professions.
Since 2012, DACA has successfully shielded more than half a million undocumented people from deportation and provided them with work permits. With this initiative, many young people who grew up in the United States will have the ability to work legally without fear of deportation. Some of these individuals have become nurses, teachers, and doctors, and they have bought houses and paid taxes.
