WASHINGTON, D.C.: A new election-year plan this week by President Joe Biden allows certain U.S. citizens' spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship without having to first depart the country.

The president was looking to balance this with his recent crackdown on the southern border that enraged advocates and many Democratic lawmakers.

According to senior administration officials, the action could affect upwards of half a million immigrants.

"The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history. It still stands for who we are," The Associated Press quoted Biden as saying from a crowded East Room at the White House, filled with advocates, congressional Democrats, and immigrants who would be eligible for the program. "But I also refuse to believe that for us to continue to be an America that embraces immigration, we have to give up securing our border. They are false choices."

Biden's action sets up a political confrontation with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has been saying that he will push for mass deportations of illegal migrants, casting them as dangerous criminals "poisoning the blood" of America.

On June 18, while Biden accused his predecessor of preying on fears about immigrants and his zero-tolerance policy at the southern border that led to the separation of families, Trump proclaimed at a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, the same day, "When I am reelected, Joe Biden's illegal amnesty plan will be ripped up and thrown out on the very first day that we are back in office."

An immigrant must have lived in the U.S. for a decade and be married to a U.S. citizen, both as of June 17, to qualify for Biden's plan. If the application is approved, they will have three years to apply for a green card, receive a temporary work permit, and not be deported.

About 50,000 noncitizen children with parents who are married to U.S. citizens could also qualify for the process. There is no requirement for how long the couple has been married, but no one becomes eligible after June 17. According to officials, immigrants who reach that 10-year mark after that day will not qualify for the program.

AP quoted senior administration officials as saying they anticipate the process will be open for applications by the end of the summer. Fees to apply have yet to be determined.

The same progressives infuriated with Biden's asylum order praised the president. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, commended Biden and said the actions would help keep American families together.