Biden Touts Executive Order To Help Undocumented Spouses Of U.S. Citizens

last year

At an event celebrating DACA, President Biden touted a new executive order to help undocumented spouses and children of citizens.

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Transcript

00:00My name is Joe Biden. I'm Joe Biden's husband. Thanks to all the members of Congress and

00:12Homeland Security Secretary. I'm not sure I'm going to introduce you all the way. But

00:19I'll keep this high. Secretary Maricas, as well as Secretary Becerra and advocates and

00:25families, law enforcement, faith leaders, everybody who's here. Two weeks ago, I did

00:32what Republicans in Congress refused to do. I took action to secure our border. That included

00:37restricting unlawful crossings at our southern border, making decisions on asylum more quickly,

00:43and so much more. And so far, it's working. Since you implemented my order, encounters

00:48have dropped 25% at the border. And we're seeing the lowest number we've seen in a long

00:53time. So, folks, we took this step after the bipartisan agreement one of the most conservative

01:02Republican senators had helped work through in over a four or five week period. The strongest

01:09bipartisan security agreement that's ever been seen. But we were about to move forward

01:15when Republicans walked away from the deal for the most pathetic and petty of reasons.

01:20Donald Trump got on the phone, literally, and started in the press conference and calling

01:25the senator saying, don't, don't go ahead and do this. Don't support this. That had

01:32bipartisan support. And when you ask why, he said it wouldn't it would hurt him politically

01:40and help me instead. So much for Republicans caring about the border. I also know many

01:46people in this room also had concerns about steps I'd taken. I heard and respected from

01:51many of you and many people behind me of the concerns you felt as president. I had to take

01:56these actions. Every nation must secure its borders. It's that simple. And if Trump and

02:01the Republicans wouldn't do it, working with me, and I would do it on my own. And I did.

02:07At the time it took these steps to secure the border also said that I would move to

02:11fix problems that made our immigration system unfair, unjust, and provisions that simply

02:17made no sense at all. Specifically, steps that will be good for dreamers, married couples,

02:24and for Americans. That's why we're here today. A few days ago, we marked the 12th anniversary

02:30taking care of dreamers as President Obama and I put in place. There are a few of these

02:35immigrant of these immigration areas that have had most positive area impact and gotten

02:41more support from the American people across the board. These young people known as dreamers,

02:45Hispanics, South Asians, and more who came to America as children only know America as

02:50their home have been able to live and learn out of the shadows, out of the shadows. So

02:55many of them have graduated from high school and college and are starting families on their

02:59own, building successful careers, serving our nation in uniform, and so, so much more.

03:05We're much better and stronger nation because of dreamers like Javier, who just introduced

03:11me. So today, I'm announcing new measures to clarify and speed up work visas to help people,

03:15including dreamers, have graduated from U.S. colleges and universities, landed jobs in

03:20high-demand, high-skilled professions that we need to have to grow, to see our economy grow.

03:25That's right there in the middle.

03:27I want those who have been educated at U.S. colleges and universities to put their skills and knowledge to work for here in America.

03:45I want to keep building the strongest economy in the world with the best workforce in the world.

03:49We've already created 15 million new jobs, a record. We're seeing record economic growth,

03:54a record small business growth. And I doubt why the action we're taking today matters.

03:59If you wonder about that, just ask business leaders, ask labor leaders, ask economists,

04:04ask elected officials. They know it's good for American business. They know it's good

04:08for the American economy. They know it's good for America, period. This step builds on other

04:13actions we've taken to support dreamers, from defending dreamers in the courts and expressing

04:19expanding access to healthcare for millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act,

04:23including for dreamers.

04:34The second action I'm announcing today is about keeping families together. My dad used to have

04:39an expression, he'd say, Joey, family is about the beginning, middle, and the end, about keeping

04:45couples together who are married, where one spouse is a U.S. citizen, the other is undocumented.

04:50They've been living in the United States for at least 10 years. These couples have

04:54been raising families, sending their kids to church and school, paying taxes, contributing

04:59to our country for every, for 10 years or more. Matter of fact, the average time they've spent

05:04here is 23 years. People are affected today. But living in the United States all this time,

05:11there's fear and uncertainty. We can fix that. And that's what I'm going to do today.

05:20I'm going to require any fundamental change in our immigration law.

05:47There's already a system in place for people we're talking about today, but the process is

05:51cumbersome, risky, and separates families. Under the current process, undocumented spouses of U.S.

05:56citizens must go back to their home country, for example, Mexico, for example, to fill out paperwork,

06:01obtain long-term legal status. They have to leave their families in America with no assurance that

06:08they'll be allowed back in the United States. So they stay in America, but in the shadows,

06:13living in constant fear of deportation without the ability to legally work.

06:18All this, even under the law today, they are eligible for long-term legal status.

06:24Today, I'm announcing a common-sense fix to streamline the process for obtaining legal

06:29status for immigrants married to American citizens who live here, who lived here for a long time.

06:37For those wives or husbands and their children who have lived in America for a decade or more

06:42but are undocumented, this action will allow them to file paperwork for legal status in the

06:47United States, allow them to work while they remain with their families in the United States.

06:52Let's be clear, this action still requires undocumented spouses to file all required

06:57legal paperwork to remain in the United States. It requires them to pass a criminal background check.

07:02That doesn't apply to anyone trying to come here today. It only applies — this action is a better

07:09way. It doesn't tear families apart by requiring every undocumented spouse to fulfill their

07:14obligations under the law. Look, the action I'm announcing today will go into effect later this

07:20summer. And, by the way, just as was true for the protection of DREAMers, the steps I'm taking

07:26today are overwhelmingly supported by the American people, no matter what the other team says.

07:31In fact, polls show over 70 percent of Americans support this effort and keep families together.

07:37And the reason is simple. It embraces the American principle that we should

07:53keep families together. In 2013, President Obama and I took a similar action to allow

07:58undocumented spouses and children — America's servicemen — to stay together while they apply

08:04for legal status in America. Servicemen protecting our nation should not have to worry about keeping

08:09their families together, for God's sake. This policy has been in place for over a decade,

08:13and it's working well. And so will the new one. Look, let me close with this. I refuse to believe

08:19that to secure our border, we have to walk away from being an American.

08:23For decades, generations have been renewed, revitalized, and refreshed by the talent,

08:28the skill, the hard work, the courage, and determination of immigrants coming to our

08:32country. Look, the Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It stands — still

08:39stands — for who we are. But I also refuse to believe that for us to continue to be America,

08:45that, embracing that vision, we have to give up securing our borders.

08:49Like false tourists, we can both secure the border and provide legal pathways for citizens.

08:55We have to acknowledge that the patient

Biden Touts Executive Order To Help Undocumented Spouses Of U.S. Citizens

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