Joe Biden to legalise status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented spouse

US president, Joe Biden, has announced plans to announce a new policy that would protect hundreds of thousands of undocumented spouses of US citizens from deportation.

The move will apply to those who have been in the country for at least 10 years and will also allow them to work in the US legally, according to BBC report.

The report said the action by the US President marks the most significant relief programme for undocumented migrants already in the US since the Obama administration announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or Daca, in 2012.

The White House believes more than 500,000 spouses of US citizens will benefit, in addition to 50,000 young people under 21 whose parents are married to an American citizen.

Earlier in June, Biden vowed to make the US immigration system “more fair and more just” while polls show that immigration is a primary concern for many voters ahead of the presidential election this November.

The announcement comes ahead of an event on Tuesday marking the 12th anniversary of the Daca programme, which shielded over 530,000 migrants who came to the US as children – known as Dreamers – from deportation.

The White House, according to reports, is also planning to ease and speed up the visa process for highly skilled undocumented immigrants who have received degrees from US universities or who have received a job offer in their field, including Dreamers.