ABIC Action Political Memo Work Permits for Spouses of U.S. Citizens and Mixed Status Families
May 2024
Overview
Economic Imperative
As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted in a May report, “If every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have more than 3 million open jobs.”
Political Context
Among Latino and Mexican American voters more broadly, there is a significant subgroup of "US Citizen voters” - 10.6 million U.S. citizen adults living with an undocumented immigrant in the same household. .
Legal Authority
The Secretary of Homeland Security already provides parole- in -place to noncitizen spouses and mixed status families of military service personnel. They can update the policy manual to include US citizen non-military personnel and their mixed status families
Mobilizing in Base & Swing State
In swing states, "US Citizen Voters" living in the same household as an undocumented immigrant could determine whether President Biden is reelected. In base states, when mobilized they could motivate political leaders to prioritize immigration reform.
*US Citizen Voters, Top 10 States
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
State
California
Texas
Florida
New York
Illinois
New Jersey
Arizona
Georgia
Virginia
Washington
US Citizen Voters*
1,216,000
749,000
379,000
337,000
217,000
170,000
134,000
125,000
112,000
105,000
Senators
Feinstein, Padilla
Cruz, Cornyn
Scott, Rubio
Schumer, Gillibrand
Durbin, Duckworth
Menendez, Booker
Sinema, Kelly
Warnock, Ossoff
Warner, Kaine
Murray, Cantwell
*US citizen voter living in the same household as an undocumented immigrant
*US Citizen Voters in Swing States
State
Arizona
Georgia
Nevada
Wisconsin
North Carolina
Florida
Pennsylvania
Michigan
Margin
Biden +0.31
Biden +0.24
Biden +2.4
Biden +0.63
Trump +1.3
Trump +3.3
Biden +1.2
Biden +2.8
Vote Margin
10,457
11,779
33,596
20,682
74,483
371,686
81,660
154,188
*US Citizen Voters
134,000
125,000
120,000
28,000
95,000
379,000
63,000
50,000
Multiple of Vote Margin
12.81
10.61
3.57
1.35
1.28
1.02
0.77
0.32
*US citizen voter living in the same household as an undocumented immigrant
A May 2024 New York Times/Siena College poll found President Biden losing support among Latino voters, who now account for nearly 15 percent of eligible voters, a record high. The poll shows Mr. Trump edging out Mr. Biden among Hispanic voters, with 46 percent supporting Mr. Trump and 40 percent favoring Mr. Biden.
This trend illustrates the reshaping of the electorate as younger Latinos enter the voter rolls, many of whom may be the children of undocumented immigrants. This trend is visible in most swing states.
In swing states alone, more than 2 million U.S. citizens live with an undocumented immigrant, and more than 350,000 have an undocumented spouse