Undocumented spouses will be allowed to apply for citizenship. Here's what they think

New Jersey immigrant advocates are lauding President Joe Biden's announcement that he will use executive action to allow undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residency with an eventual path to citizenship, and to quicken the work-visa process for DACA recipients.

Biden made the official announcement on the action during a ceremony at the White House Tuesday afternoon marking the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals program. The program was created in 2012 when Biden was vice president under then-President Barack Obama to afford protection against deportation and access to work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, a group often referred to as Dreamers.

The Biden Administration action, according to the White House website, would impact as of Monday 500,000 noncitizens who have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and are legally married to a U.S. citizen, along with 50,000 noncitizen children. Those spouses without legal status who are found eligible to apply for permanent residency, based on assessment by the Department of Homeland Security that includes a criminal background check, will be allowed three years to apply for a green card.

"The reason is simple: It's embracing the American principle that we should keep families together," Biden said.

Biden also announced that the State Department and Department of Homeland Security will work in tandem to speed up the process for DACA recipients who have earned a degree at an accredited U.S. college, and received a job offer in a field related to their field of study to receive work visas.

Rey Amaya, a DACA recipient who is a member of the immigrant group Make the Road New Jersey, which has been fighting for years to protect undocumented immigrants, hailed the Biden Administration action in a statement issued through Make the Road NJ. Amaya was brought to the United States by his parents from El Salvador in 2005 when he was 4 years old, and grew up in Elizabeth.

"President Biden’s announcement today means I can finally feel safe, free and protected. I have lived in the United States since I was a small child, studied here, graduated college and now work here as an engineer. Today’s announcement means I can finally breathe free," Amaya said. "This momentous victory is the result of organizing efforts led by undocumented immigrants for years. On behalf of the members of Make the Road New Jersey I applaud President Biden and urge additional action so that all immigrants can have the freedom to stay."

The Department of Homeland Security's count of DACA recipients has 528,000 living in the U.S. including 12,810 in New Jersey, though immigrant advocates estimate there may be as many as 16,500. The U.S. Census American Community Survey lists 11,000 eligible undocumented U.S. citizens married to a U.S. citizen.

Related: Immigrants take part in workforce at higher rate than native-born in NJ, report states

Action long overdue

Erik Cruz Morales, the policy and advocacy manager for the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said that the group welcomes the Biden Administration actions for giving undocumented spouses a pathway to citizenship, which will make this situation for them becoming citizens less difficult.

"The executive order signed by President Biden is a step forward. It has the potential to establish a pathway to citizenship for many individuals in mixed-status families and for Dreamers who arrived in this country at a young age and have spent their entire lives here," Cruz Morales said.

However, Cruz Morales, a Cedar Grove resident, did express skepticism about the announcement, citing both his status as DACA recipient, having come to the U.S. from Mexico at 8 years old, and as an undocumented spouse who is already near the end of a different process called consular processing to receive legal citizenship.

This process involves applying for a green card through a U.S. embassy or consulate in a foreign country to do an interview and have an immigration official decide eligibility. For Morales, it means leaving the U.S. and going back to Mexico.

""However, this is a step the President could and should have taken much earlier in his administration. Speaking from my experience as an immigrant and an advocate, I can't help but feel that this action comes only as an anticipation of the approaching presidential elections, " said Cruz Morales, who grew up in Teaneck. "We hope that the implementation of this program is efficient and swift, enabling people to benefit from this executive order as soon as possible, but we also urge the Biden administration and Congress to work on immigration policy that stands separate from the polarization of election cycles."

Biden's announcement comes weeks after he announced an executive order that gave U.S. Customs and Border Protection the authority to deport immigrants seeking asylum without processing their claims when a threshold of 2,500 people are apprehended crossing ports of entry. The decision was derided by immigrant advocates.

North Arlington resident Liseth Bermudes was also appreciative of Biden's actions as the undocumented spouse of a U.S. citizen; it will help her obtain citizenship during a difficult time for her family. Her father, Oscar, a truck driver living in Kearny for 20 years after coming from El Salvador, is facing deportation this week after his truck was stopped at a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint in upstate New York in June 2023.

"“I’ve been married to my U.S. citizen husband for almost five years and haven’t been able to adjust my immigration status," said Bermudes. While I feel some sense of relief that I will be eligible for this program, it doesn’t protect my father who has a check-in with ICE this Thursday. We can’t forget that detentions and deportations are still happening."

Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com

Twitter: @ricardokaul

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Biden executive action on undocumented immigrants: How it affects NJ