Biden immigration rule would protect undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens | The Excerpt

On Tuesday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY White House Correspondent Michael Collins looks at today's announcement of a new immigration rule from the Biden administration. Severe heat bakes much of the country, while the first alert of the 2024 hurricane season is issued. Firefighters battle a wildfire 60 miles from Los Angeles. USA TODAY Trending News Reporter Kinsey Crowley breaks down U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy's calls on Congress to pass a warning label for social media. What do we know a year after the Titan sub disaster?

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.  This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Tuesday, June 18th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.

Today, a look at President Biden's announcement on immigration. Plus, severe heat bakes much of the country and the US Surgeon General is calling for a warning label for social media.

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Thousands of immigrants, who are married to US citizens but are in the country illegally, would be protected from deportation and would be allowed to work while they seek permanent legal status under a new government program to be announced later today by President Joe Biden. I spoke with USA TODAY White House correspondent, Michael Collins, to learn more. Michael, thanks for hopping on.

Michael Collins:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

What does this program functionally do and who's eligible?

Michael Collins:

Well, what the program does, it's designed to protect people who are in the country illegally, but are married to US citizens. It's designed to protect them from deportation and to allow them to work while they seek permanent legal status in the US. The White House estimates that it would impact about 500,000 spouses of US citizens and it also would provide protections to about 50,000 people who are under age 21, and are the children of a migrant who is married to a US citizen, or in other words, they're the stepchild of a US citizen.

So to be eligible for this program, these migrants have to have resided in the United States for 10 years or longer as of June 17th, 2024. They also have to be legally married to a US citizen by that same date. And they have to meet other qualifications as well, for example, they can't be on parole, they can't pose a threat to the public safety or the national security of the United States.

Taylor Wilson:

And how is this really part of a broader immigration strategy from the Biden White House, especially coming in this election year? And what else have we seen from his administration on this?

Michael Collins:

Well, the president has been under a lot of pressure to do something about the border. He's been under pressure to do something about it for a long time, but the pressure on him has really been ramped up in the last few months because, as you know, we're in the middle of an election cycle. He's running against former President Donald Trump, who is a real hardliner on immigration. So this is the latest thing the president has done to try to ease the situation on the border. Just last week, he announced a new rule that would turn away migrants entering the country without legal permission with the number of cross exists high.

Taylor Wilson:

Michael, what might we expect next on immigration after this move from the administration?

Michael Collins:

Well, I think the next thing you're going to see is probably some sort of legal action from opponents of this new program that they're putting in place. Two immigrants rights groups have already sued the president over the new restrictions that he put in last week. They're looking to bar those restrictions on the grounds that it violates the nation's immigration laws because it in essence bars migrants from seeking access to the asylum system which they're allowed to access. So I think, probably what's next, my guess is you will see some sort of legal action from opponents who will try to stop it from taking effect.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Michael Collins is a White House correspondent with USA TODAY, joining us from Washington. Thanks, Michael.

Michael Collins:

Thank you for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

A heat wave, expanding from the Central Plains into the Eastern US, is expected to remain across the Northeast until at least midweek. As of yesterday morning, nearly 60 million Americans were under heat advisories. The National Weather Service's Heat Risk map showed a huge splash of red for the eastern half of the country through Friday. You can see that map with a link in today's show notes. Meanwhile, snow blanketed parts of the Northern Rockies yesterday, and elsewhere, hurricane season is heating up. A system in the Gulf of Mexico, that will soon become Tropical Storm Alberto, has prompted a tropical storm watch for the Texas coast, the first alert of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.

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Thousands of people across California remained under evacuation advisories yesterday, as authorities battled wildfires that erupted over the weekend and torched thousands of acres, while weather officials warned of more strong winds and dry conditions. The so-called Post fire broke out Saturday along Interstate 5 in Gorman, some 60 miles from Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Fueled by powerful wind gusts, the blaze had burned more than 15,000 acres of dry mountainous land by yesterday afternoon. 8% of the fire has been contained, according to Cal Fire.

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US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, called on Congress to pass a warning label for social media in an essay published in the New York Times yesterday. I spoke with USA TODAY trending news reporter, Kinsey Crowley, for more. Kinsey, thanks for hopping on.

Kinsey Crowley:

Hi, Taylor. Great to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So Kinsey, let's just start here. What exactly is the US surgeon general calling for on this?

Kinsey Crowley:

So Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling on Congress to pass warning labels. If you think about the Surgeon General warning labels, you've probably seen them on cigarette packets and alcohol, warning consumers about potential health risks. And so Dr. Murthy is asking for something similar to warn users of social media platforms of potential associations with the images to kids' mental health. Again, this is something Congress would have to pass. So he published this in a New York Times op-ed calling on this action. And he did note too that it is only part of the solution. And it's worth noting here that there are several states that have tried to pass legislation, kind of getting at something similar, to limit kids' access to social media. And many of those have passed the House but ran into legal troubles down the road.

Taylor Wilson:

What reasons does he cite for this? What research does he point to?

Kinsey Crowley:

He put out a advisory last year that got to the point that there is not enough research to show exactly what the harms are, but there's also not enough research to show that it's safe for kids to use. He did cite some evidence specifically in the op-ed, saying that kids who spend more than three hours a day on social media face two times the risk of anxiety and depression. And the average kid spends more than four hours a day on social media. So he listed some personal anecdotes in there, having spoken with a parent who lost a child by suicide after online bullying, and some stories that he heard from kids themselves who said that social media doesn't make them feel good about themselves. So his plea was really based in urgency and emotion, saying that even though we don't have all the answers, it's still worth taking action to protect kids.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah, so we're talking through the downside here, Kinsey, does research point to any potential benefits of social media?

Kinsey Crowley:

In that same advisory he put out last year, one of the points that he made is that there's research that suggests that social media can foster connection and self-expression. And that might be especially true for LGBTQ communities and girls of color who are able to connect with other people within their communities and offer support and find themselves in a more diverse pool on the internet.

Taylor Wilson:

Are we hearing from the social media companies themselves at all in response to Dr. Murthy's opinion essay here?

Kinsey Crowley:

So I mentioned earlier the legal troubles coming out of the laws on state social media limits. There's a company called NetChoice, which represents a lot of social media companies, including Meta and Snap Inc. So they have successfully blocked some of those state laws all on First Amendment arguments, and they wrote to say that any mental health issues that kids may be having should be left to the parents to work out and not have the government or technology play the role of the parent.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Kinsey Crowley covers trending news for USA TODAY. Thanks, Kinsey.

Kinsey Crowley:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

Today marks one year since the Titan submersible imploded, killing five people on their way to see the wreck of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean. And a year later, little has changed. No official reports have been issued detailing what happened to the Titan sub, how it happened, who was responsible, and how such a massive implosion could have been prevented. The US Coast Guard says its investigation is taking longer than initially projected. Officials hope by the end of the year to hold a hearing providing answers to the public and devastated family members, like Christine Dawood, who lost her son and husband.

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Meanwhile, another adventurer has announced plans to take passengers to the Titanic in a submersible. As for the company at the helm last year, two weeks after the incident, OceanGate said on its website, it had suspended all exploration and commercial operations. Its headquarters in Washington State were shuttered and its business license expired on June 7th, according to Washington State Department of Revenue records. As for who's been held accountable, according to an analysis by the law firm of Holland and Knight, the Titan accident involved a non-US flagged vessel and occurred in international waters, making oversight and regulation responsibilities a complex question.

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And the Boston Celtics are NBA champions. They rolled past the Dallas Mavericks last night, 106 to 88, to win the finals in five games. With their 18th championship, the Celtics now stand atop the NBA in all-time titles, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers. You can read more about their run with USA TODAY in Sports.

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Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden immigration rule to protect undocumented spouses | The Excerpt