For many undocumented South Floridians, new Biden policies offer a welcome chance to stay

For a decade, Lowell Laban mixed drinks for the passengers of cruise ships that bobbed between South Florida, the Caribbean, and other harbors around the world.

Laban, 47, would visit his home town, the port city of Bluefields on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, from time to time. But during a visit to the United States, Laban decided to not get back on the boat. Perhaps, he reasoned, he would have more opportunities here.

That was 16 years ago. Laban lived in Nashville for two years before making his way down to South Florida. Since then, he’s worked as a home health aide and sells home-cooked Nicaraguan food on the weekends. He’s been married twice, both times to American citizens. But Laban never pursued a marriage-based green card, he said, because lawyers told him he would need to leave the U.S. and have his case processed abroad.

Contrary to popular belief, marrying a U.S. citizen is not a straightforward path to permanent residency or citizenship. To get an application approved, many undocumented immigrants must leave the country and face uncertainty in ever being able to come back, which has kept many spouses of U.S. citizens from sorting out their immigration status.

“I know people who are in the same situation, friends who are married and have children. And it has taken them three to five years before being able to come back while waiting for their green card,” Laban said.

But that could soon change for hundreds of thousands of people in Laban’s shoes. On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced it will allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented husbands and wives of Americans to apply for their green cards without setting foot outside the country. An estimated half a million people and about 50,000 of their children could benefit.

Undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens will be able to apply for green cards in new policy

Laban was cautiously studying news reports to figure out whether he can apply for the program. To be eligible, undocumented spouses must have lived in the U.S. for a decade or more; not be a threat to public safety or national security; and already be eligible to apply for a green card. Altouhg until the federal government puts out an official public notice about the program in the Federal Register, “the public does not know exactly” who qualifies, according to the American Immigration Council.

But if Laban is eligible and gets residency, he hopes to be able to start a business of his own and get a driver’s license. He also looks forward to visiting family in Nicaragua that the hasn’t seen for years, including his daughter.

“My wife and I are so, so happy. I will submit the application on the day it opens up,” he said.

It’s hard to say how many Floridians will benefit from the new policy. But data shows the impact could be significant U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who commended Biden for the move, said in a statement that the policy would keep about 27,000 mixed-status families in the state together and inject $317 million into the economy. Meanwhile, the American Immigration Council estimates that nearly 600,000 Americans in Florida are living with at least one undocumented relative.

‘Put my college degree to use’

The Biden administration also announced on Tuesday it will make it easier for undocumented college grads and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to get temporary worker visas, which can lead to green cards. The Obama-era program gives protection from deportation and work permits to people who came to the U.S. as children.

But Dreamers, as program beneficiaries are known, cannot receive a permanent immigration status like residency or citizenship through the deferred action program. Court challenges have also barred eligible younger applicants from receiving the protections altogether.

Harold Silva, a nursing student at the University of Central Florida, came from Guatemala to Fort Myers when he was a year old. Silva, who also got a scholarship from TheDream.US, the nation’s largest aid network for undocumented youth — wants to work in an emergency room or an oncology department. He told the Miami Herald that he hoped Tuesday’s announcement would make his “career goals and aspirations to be a U.S. citizen more achievable.”

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“I want to put my college degree to use by not just treating people in their time of need. I also want to be able to give my patients the feeling that their quality of life is cared for aside from all the medical and personal problems they might be going through,” he said.

Some immigration advocates have described Tuesday’s policy announcements as the biggest win for the immigrants’ rights movement since former President Barack Obama announced DACA in 2012. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden commemorated the 12th anniversary of the program and formally announced the administration’s new policies at the White House. A Dreamer who is a Texas nurse and father of two introduced the president. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was also present.

“I refuse to believe that to secure our border we have to walk away from being an American,” Biden said. “The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It still stands for who we are.”

Advocates celebrate

Some South Florida Republicans blasted the new Biden measure. U.S. Rep Mario Diaz-Balart called it a “blatantly political move, of questionable constitutionality, in an election year” that “did nothing to alleviate the ongoing chaos at our southern border.”

Meanwhile, South Florida, immigration advocates and lawyers celebrated the new measures as a common-sense solution that uses already available tools within the immigration system to protect families and communities. On average, undocumented spouses eligible for the new process have been in the country for 23 years..

“The new program strengthens and advances one of the traditional cornerstones of our immigration policy — that of keeping families together — by streamlining antiquated and bureaucratic barriers which have frustrated our historic commitment to family unity,” said Randy McGrorty, the executive director of Miami-based Catholic Legal Services.

Maria Bilbao, campaign coordinator at the American Friends Service Committee, called the announcement a “great relief for hundreds of thousands of families and a very necessary step forward.” She said Tuesday’s actions gave her and other advocates hope that the Biden administration would act on other immigration issues that are important to South Florida, such as expanding Temporary Protected Status for Nicaraguans. Advocates in South Florida have led a campaign so more Nicaraguans can benefit from the federal program, which allows people from countries in turmoil to live and work in the U.S.

The Florida Immigrant Coalition welcomed the new policies, but said it was “disappointed” that the benefit for spouses excludes those who had lived in the United States less than 10 years. Tuesday’s announcement is the latest executive action that the administration has taken on immigration, including establishing a parole process for Nicaraguans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Cubans last year.

The new policy comes weeks after the Biden administration announced restrictions on asylum access for undocumented immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully. The decision has caused intense furor among immigration experts and advocates. They say the policy will make immigration issues worse and keep people from receiving protections they are entitled to under U.S. and international law.

“While his recent asylum ban order was the wrong approach, we commend President Biden for meeting the moment with this order. This proves that leading with morality, compassion, and a smart approach is possible. With this, he also starts fulfilling the promises he made to our communities during his 2020 campaign. said Yareliz Mendez-Zamora, who leads advocacy efforts at the federal government level for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “More of this, please!”