![Screenshot 2023-02-21 at 1.51.58 AM President Joe Biden Speech](https://www.stephaniemiller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-21-at-1.51.58-AM-696x335.png)
President Biden on Tuesday granted far-reaching new protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been living in the United States illegally for years but are married to American citizens.
Under the new policy, some 500,000 undocumented spouses will be shielded from deportation and given a pathway to citizenship and the ability to work legally in the United States. It is one of the most expansive actions to protect immigrants since Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was enacted 12 years ago to protect those who came to the United States as children.