US President Joe Biden is set to announce a new policy that will protects against deportation hundreds of thousands of spouses of American citizens (men and women) without the necessary documents according to government officials.

Biden’s decision on legalization will apply to those already in the country for at least 10 years and will allow them to work legally in the US.

The White House believes that more than 500,000 spouses of American citizens they will benefit reports the BBC.

Earlier in June, Mr Biden promised to make the US immigration system “fairer”.

Those who qualify will have three years to apply for permanent residency and will be eligible for a three-year work permit.

The White House believes those eligible for the process have been in the US for an average of 23 years. The majority of them was born in Mexico.

NumbersUSA, an “immigration reform” group, denounced the new policy as “unconscious”.The organization’s CEO, James Massa, said that “instead of stopping the worst border crisis in history, President Biden exceeded his executive authority to use an unconstitutional process, bypassing voters and their elected representatives in Congress, to to send the message that amnesty is available to those who enter the United States illegally.”

Biden’s announcement comes two weeks after he issued an executive order allowing US officials to quickly remove immigrants who enter the US illegally without processing their asylum claims.

Polls show that immigration is a primary concern for many voters ahead of November’s presidential election.

The day marks the 12th anniversary of the Daca program, which protected more than 530,000 immigrants who came to the US as children – known as Dreamers – from deportation.