President Biden to announce 2 new executive orders on immigration

to other news now today President Biden is expected to announce two new executive actions on immigration they could provide relief to thousands of undocumented immigrants who've been in the country for years ABC's Lionel Moyes has the details this morning President Biden is set to announce two major immigration programs one to protect nearly half a million spouses of US citizens from deportation and another to make it easier for some migrants including so-called dreamers to get work visas that's according to a source familiar with the discussions the First new policy would apply to undocumented immigrants who have been married to US citizens and have been living in the US for more than 10 years allowing them to apply for legal permanent residents without leaving the country some children would also be protected essentially this new policy that would be aimed at keeping families together so a US citizen who's married to an undocumented spouse wouldn't have to be apart from their spouse for for a long period of time just to get this legal status that they are already eligible for another new policy according to two officials would streamline the process for young undocumented immigrants to apply for work visas in order to be eligible for this you have to have received a higher education uh degree from an institution here in the United States and also uh an employment offer in a field that aligns exactly with that uh major degree that you received here Biden has has been under pressure from immigration Advocates after his executive order went into effect last month strictly limiting Asylum requests on the southern border why is this announcement so significant today I believe that this could be the administration's way of showing hey look we are very cleared about the fact that we need to restrict Asylum but that we also need to provide legal Pathways for migrants especially those migrants who have been here for many many years critics claim Biden's policy changes being announced today amount to a mass y program they could face legal challenges lion Moyes ABC News New York