Biden's Program Offers Citizenship Path for Immigrant Families

Miguel Aleman, brought to the U.S. at age 4, is among many immigrants hoping for citizenship through Biden's new program. The initiative provides legal status to long-term residents who entered illegally, ahead of the November election. It offers a path for spouses and children under certain conditions and faces likely legal challenges.

Miguel Aleman, a 39-year-old immigrant brought to the United States from Mexico as a child, is among the hundreds of thousands hoping to find a path to citizenship through a new program launched by the Biden administration on Monday.

The program marks one of Democratic President Joe Biden's significant efforts to grant legal status to long-term U.S. residents who entered the country illegally. It's a move that comes just months before the November 5 election, where the issue of illegal immigration is a key focus for Republicans. Without this initiative, Aleman, who has two young children with his U.S.-citizen wife and works as an Uber driver, might have to relocate to Mexico for a decade or more before being allowed to return legally.

Aleman, along with immigrants from countries like Mexico, El Salvador, and the Philippines, attended an information session on the program organized by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. Known as Keeping Families Together, the program targets qualifying spouses and is expected to benefit around 500,000 individuals who have resided in the U.S. for at least 10 years by June 17. Additionally, approximately 50,000 children under the age of 21 with a U.S.-citizen parent are also eligible.