Wednesday Briefing: Biden’s plan to help 500,000 immigrants

June 19, 2024

	By Amelia Nierenberg

Good morning. We’re covering a U.S. move to give legal protections to 500,000 immigrants and Thailand’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage.

Plus, South Korea’s saving groups.

President Biden, in a dark suit and tie, staring off to the side. He is surrounded by other men in suits.

President Biden’s election-year move will give some 500,000 people a pathway to citizenship. Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Biden will give protections to undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens

President Biden announced sweeping new legal protections yesterday for undocumented immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for years and are married to Americans. It is one of the most expansive presidential actions to protect immigrants in more than a decade.

Under the new policy, 500,000 people would be shielded from deportation, given work permits and offered a pathway to citizenship. The benefits would also extend to the roughly 50,000 children of undocumented spouses who became stepchildren to American citizens. Biden administration officials said they expected the program to launch by the end of the summer.

“These couples have been raising families, sending their kids to church and school, paying taxes, contributing to our country,” Biden said at the White House. “They’re living in the United States all this time with fear and uncertainty. We can fix that.”

Immediately after the announcement, allies of Donald Trump accused Biden of being weak on the border. Speaker Mike Johnson said the president was “granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.”

Context: The move comes just two weeks after Biden imposed a major crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border, cutting off access to asylum for people who crossed into the U.S. illegally. Polls show Americans want tougher policies on immigration.

A crowd in Bangkok shouts and waves rainbow flags in celebration.

Celebrating the passing of the marriage equality bill in Bangkok yesterday. Patipat Janthong/Reuters

Thai lawmakers approved same-sex marriage

Thai lawmakers passed a marriage equality bill yesterday, putting the country on a clear path to becoming the first in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

The bill would become law after it is reviewed by a Senate committee and the Constitutional Court and gets royal assent from the king, a formality that is widely expected to be granted.

Hundreds of supporters gathered in downtown Bangkok to celebrate the milestone.

Details: The bill calls marriage a partnership between two people age 18 and above, without specifying their genders. The bill also gives L.G.B.T.Q. couples equal rights to adopt children, claim tax allowances, inherit property and give consent for medical treatment when their partners are incapacitated.

A satellite image of the temporary pier in Gaza earlier this month. Maxar Technologies, via Reuters

The U.S. aid pier in Gaza is failing

The $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission, aid organizations say. Operations will probably end weeks earlier than originally expected.

The pier was never supposed to be more than a stopgap measure, but even its modest goals are likely to fall short, some U.S. officials said. In the month since the pier was installed, it has been in service for about 10 days. The rest of the time, the pier was being repaired after rough seas broke it apart, was detached to avoid further damage or was paused because of security concerns.

Arms: Two top Democrats approved the Biden administration’s plan for a major sale of F-15 jets to Israel, one of the largest U.S. arms sales to the country in years.

MORE TOP NEWS

President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un stand on what appears to be an airport runway.

A photo released by the Kremlin shows President Vladimir Putin with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. Kremlin, via Reuters

Diplomacy: Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, arrived in North Korea after vowing to bring ties with Pyongyang to new heights.
Kenya: Hundreds of people gathered in Nairobi to protest a bill that many fear will raise the cost of living by increasing taxes on a range of goods and services.
Tech: Nvidia topped Microsoft and Apple to become the world’s most valuable public company, worth over $3.3 trillion, amid a boom in generative A.I.
Ukraine: Journalists and groups monitoring press freedoms say they’re noticing increasing government restrictions that go beyond wartime security needs.
China: Heavy rains lashed the south, killing at least nine people. See a video of the floods and landslides.
North Korea: Several North Korean soldiers have been killed since last year by land mines in the Demilitarized Zone, where they had been sent to do construction work, South Korea’s military said.
Climate: Though it’s only June, record-breaking heat is set to hit parts of the U.S. every day this week.
Business: Toyota Motor’s longtime leader, Akio Toyoda, was re-elected as chairman despite calls by some big investors to step back.
France: A court ruled that a decision to bar Israeli companies from a large weapons show was discriminatory and ordered the ban to be rescinded.

South Korea: Doctors went on a one-day strike in the latest protest against the government’s plan to train more physicians.
U.S.: A war crimes hearing at Guantánamo Bay gave the public a virtual tour of a secret C.I.A. “black site,” including a windowless cell called Quiet Room 4.
Entertainment: Justin Timberlake was arrested in New York and charged with driving while intoxicated.

SPORTS NEWS

A basketball player surrounded by other players holding up a trophy.

The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, center. Brian Fluharty/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

N.B.A. Finals: The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks to claim an 18th championship, a league record.
Cricket: The U.S.’s unexpected success in the T20 World Cup is likely to boost the sport’s profile in America. The team is playing South Africa today.
European Championship: Belgium lost to Slovakia in the tournament’s first major upset and one of the biggest in its history.

MORNING READ

An illustration of a scrapbook with one image showing three seated women laughing and another depicting three women in a pool looking out at the ocean.

Arsh Raziuddin

In South Korea, friends and families form groups to help each other save for big purchases. Each member of the group, which is known as a gyemoim, contributes somewhere between $10 and $50 each month. This way, they can save for vacations, meals and other social activities equally so everyone can participate, regardless of personal budgets.

Lives lived: Anouk Aimée, the star of Claude Lelouch's “A Man and a Woman,” died at 92.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Iconic eats: Times food writers crisscrossed New York City to compile this list of the 57 sandwiches that define it.
Age better: Our sense of smell diminishes as we age, but basic nose training can reverse the effects.
Baby names: Have you heard of these? Tank? Afternoon? Flick? Orca?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

An animated triptych shows three mothers with a child. From left, the mother lifts her child into her arms; a woman walks with her child down a covered walkway; and in the third a woman carries her child in her arms as she walks.

China wants more babies. Mothers aren’t so sure.

President Xi Jinping has urged women to “play their unique role in carrying forward the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation” by having more children.

We spoke with three Chinese mothers, each of whom is raising one young child, who said they didn’t want more kids — no matter what their husbands say, or what incentives the Chinese government is dangling.

“I divide my time, energy and money into different parts, saving the biggest part for myself, then the rest go to my parents, husband and son,” said Joyce Zhao, 29, who works at one of the biggest tech companies in China and wants to begin studying to take the civil servant exam. “I can’t let them take all of me.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

Several bars topped with sliced strawberries coated in gelatin.

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: Millie Peartree revamped the old-fashioned strawberry pretzel salad, turning it into bars.

Read: Time-management experts actually use these eight productivity books.

Travel: Several tourists have died recently from heat-related sickness. Here are tips to stay safe.

Decorate: Create more space in a small home.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Amelia

Email us at briefing@nytimes.com.

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