WASHINGTON, D.C. – FWD.us President Todd Schulte released the following statement today after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the pending application form for the new Biden-Harris administration parole in place (PIP) policy offering protections to long-time undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens. A full list of eligibility criteria will be published in a forthcoming Federal Register notice on August 19th, when the U.S. government will begin accepting applications from eligible individuals.

“This policy from the Biden-Harris administration to keep families together is set to open for applications on Monday, and has the potential to transform the lives of tens of thousands of American families.

“These undocumented spouses, who have lived in the U.S. for an average of a quarter-century, are parents to hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizen children. Tens of thousands are DACA recipients and Dreamers. Despite having a pathway to citizenship through marriage, too many have been unable to adjust their status due to requirements that would separate them from their families, potentially for a decade or even longer. This program uses the President’s long established legal parole authority to allow eligible individuals to adjust their status without having to uproot their lives and leave their families for years.

“As we await more details, we urge the Administration to ensure the program is as inclusive as possible for the hundreds of thousands of families who could benefit. That said, we know more work remains to ensure this program fully reflects the goal of keeping families together, and does not undermine this objective by adding additional and exclusionary inadmissibility bars. Moreover, we know this program is being threatened by anti-immigrant forces promising to rip apart millions of families—including those who stand to benefit from this policy —by suing to block a program that is the biggest step forward since DACA. We must all stand firm against such a challenge.

“Ultimately, this moment is about the hundreds of thousands of American families who have fought and waited for decades for this type of protection and stability. The credit goes to them, and that is why we are committed to ensuring the success of this program and ultimately for so many others who deserve the same protections.”

For more information about the Keeping Families Together Parole in Place program, click HERE.

Please visit Informed Immigrant’s website HERE for real-time updates and accurate information.