RICHFIELD, Minn. – As many as half a million people are breathing a sigh of relief about a newly announced measure citizenship plan from the White House, including tens of thousands in Minnesota.
If Daniel del Toro were to get a green card, he always knew he would have to return to his native Mexico, possibly for years.
It is part of the process that undocumented immigrants must go through when applying for permanent residency.
Del Toro has lived in the US for decades and has a career as a carpenter. He also raised a family in Richfield.
Del Toro and his wife, Emilia Gonzalez Avalos, say preparing their children for the possibility of his deportation has been the hardest part.
“My kids were like, ‘Oh my God, why?’ said del Toro. “All your roots are here. You’ve been here for over thirty years. We don’t understand why you have to leave.”
Avalos has her green card, which allows her to live and work here freely. She hopes to obtain citizenship next year.
Thanks to a new policy announced by President Biden on Tuesday, her husband will no longer have to leave the country once she becomes a citizen.
All undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens can stay while they wait for a green card, as long as they are already married and have been here for 10 years without a criminal record.
“It was just emotional to finally be able to say, ‘Oh, my dad will be safe. My mom will be safe,'” said Miranda del Toro, the couple’s teenage daughter.
Julia Decker, policy director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, says the policy is a big step forward.
“This gives the family an opportunity to stay together as they go through this often very long process,” she said.
Unidos MN, an immigrant advocacy group where Avalos is also executive director, estimates there are nearly 40,000 families in Minnesota with mixed immigration status.
But experts say Biden’s policies are likely to face legal challenges.
There is also the possibility that he may lose the election. Families like the del Toros are bracing for the possibility that Donald Trump will reverse the policy.
“There’s one thing we’ve always done as a family, and that’s organizing with others,” Avalos said.
David Schuman
