The Biden administration unveiled an executive action on Tuesday permitting certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to seek permanent residency within the country, a significant move expected to shield hundreds of thousands from deportation.

The initiative, projected to benefit approximately 500,000 families and 50,000 children under 21, marks one of the largest immigration relief efforts since the DACA program’s inception in 2012 under President Obama.

The action is strategically timed as an appeal to vital Latino voter demographics in battleground states like Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia, pivotal to Biden’s reelection prospects.

It represents a conciliatory gesture to immigration advocates and progressives critical of Biden’s prior stringent policies, including recent restrictions on asylum processing at the southern border, CNN reported.

President Biden formally announced the measure at a White House event commemorating the 12th anniversary of DACA, emphasizing its aim to keep families together by allowing undocumented spouses to apply for residency without the disruptive requirement of leaving the United States, a current legal hurdle.

Written by B.C. Begley