By Juliana Morello, Pittsburgh Latino Magazine

President Joe Biden has unveiled a new immigration program for unauthorized immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

The “Parole in Place” program, a policy through the Department of Homeland Security, will offer undocumented immigrants a more streamlined path toward U.S. citizenship. It will apply to undocumented immigrants who have lived in America for over 10 years, among other requirements, and will allow them to apply for work permits and deportation protections. It is said to go into effect sometime later in the summer.

“Today I’m announcing a common fix to streamline the process of obtaining legal status for immigrants married to American citizens who live here and have lived here for a long time,” said President Biden. “For those wives or husbands and their children who have lived in America for a decade or more but are undocumented, this action will allow them to file the paperwork for legal status in the United States.”

Under current federal law, undocumented immigrants married to a U.S. citizen are eligible for a green card. However, the current process requires people who have entered the country illegally to leave and re-enter legally before applying. This new program will allow undocumented immigrants who fit the criteria to apply for a green card without leaving the country. After they have lived in the U.S. with a green card for 5 years, they will be able to apply for American citizenship.

The undocumented immigrants will still need to file necessary paperwork and pass a criminal background check. Threats to national security and public safety are not eligible for the program.

The program will not apply to future migrants — they need to have been married by June 17, 2024. However, according to CBS, this program will still affect around 500,000 immigrants currently married to U.S. citizens.

The “Parole in Place” program was unveiled at an event celebrating the 12th anniversary of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA. It is the largest immigration relief program for undocumented immigrants since DACA, which protects nearly 530,000 immigrants in America from deportation.

Juliana Morello is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns. Juliana is interning with Pittsburgh Latino Magazine.