(PatriotWise.com) — President Biden on Tuesday announced a pending election-year executive order to grant legal status and a pathway to citizenship to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, hoping to quell the anger of open borders Democrats who opposed his recent order restricting asylum seekers at the southern border.
Under the new executive order expected before the election, illegal aliens married to US citizens would be able to apply for permanent residency, and ultimately citizenship, without having to first leave the United States.
To qualify for amnesty, the illegal alien must have lived in the US for a minimum of 10 years and be married to a US citizen. Those whose applications are approved will receive a temporary work permit and have three years to apply for a green card. During that time, they would be shielded from deportation.
According to the White House, the executive order could legalize as many as half a million illegal aliens currently living in the United States.
In remarks at a White House event celebrating the 12th anniversary of President Barack Obama’s DACA executive order, President Biden invoked the Statue of Liberty to justify his unilateral action, saying it “still stands for who we are.”
Biden also paid lip service to securing the border, saying he refused to believe that America had to “give up securing our border” to be a country “that embraces immigration.”
In his remarks, Biden also attacked his Republican rival, Donald Trump, accusing him of fearmongering over immigration.
But the president’s attempt to appease his far-left base could cost him support in November.
A recent CBS poll showed that 62 percent of respondents, including 53 percent of Hispanic voters, favored deporting all of the illegal aliens currently in the United States.
A YouGov poll found that a mere 29 percent of respondents approved of President Biden’s handling of illegal immigration, while 60 percent disapproved.
While campaigning in Racine, Wisconsin, last Tuesday, Trump vowed that if he defeated Biden in November, the president’s new amnesty order would be “ripped up and thrown out on the very first day.”
Barring any lawsuits seeking to block the order, White House officials anticipate that the process to apply will be ready by the end of the summer.
Copyright 2024, PatriotWise.com
