Colorado Democrats on Tuesday applauded President Joe Biden’s executive order to shield from deportation hundreds of thousands of individuals who are living in the country illegally and are married to American citizens.  

Some Republicans, meanwhile, denounced the move as “madness.”  

The new policy would provide a path to citizenship to some 500,000 people, as well as the ability to legally work in the country.

The Biden administration characterized the latest move — one of the most sweeping actions in several years — as aiming to help some immigrant families to stay together.

The administration also said some recipients of “deferred action” would be able to more swiftly get work visas if they have earned a college degree at an accredited U.S. institution and received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree.

Biden announced the order on the 12th anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era policy that allows undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally as children to avoid deportation and obtain work permits, social security numbers, and driver’s licenses.   

“President Biden is stepping up once again as Congressional Republicans fail to pass the bipartisan border security, workforce and asylum reform bill,” Gov. Jared Polis said. “I thank President Biden for expanding pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and others who have been in the U.S. for more than a decade.”

Polis added: “Here in Colorado, we know that our immigrant community is an important part of our community, our culture, our economy, and our success, and this is a critical step toward fixing our broken immigration system. I continue to call on Congress to follow the President’s lead and secure the border and pass comprehensive reform.”

“Dreamers” refer to immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children and who would have benefited from federal legislation called the DREAM Act, which sought to allow them to lawfully remain in the U.S. if they met certain requirements. Various iterations of the legislation had been proposed in the last two decades, all providing a pathway to legal status. Despite bipartisan support, none of the versions made it into law. 

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston echoed the governor’s sentiment.  

“In Denver, we believe that all immigrants deserve a fair shot at the American dream, whether they’ve been here for 10 days or 10 years,” Johnston said. “In Colorado alone, there are thousands of DACA recipients and up to 200,000 more residents at risk of deportation who contribute to our economy and the fabric of our communities every day. By extending protections to Dreamers and longtime residents alike, President Biden is protecting families and ensuring our economy has the firepower it needs to compete on the global stage.”

Republicans decried the White House’s latest move, saying it is “unsustainable.”

“On day one, we will SHUT DOWN THE BORDER and start deporting millions of Biden’s Illegal Criminals,” former President and presumptive Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump posted on his social media site. “We will once again put AMERICANS First and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”

Rep. Lauren Boebert called the order “unconstitutional.”

“They will later get citizenship from this Regime’s unilateral action that bypassed Congress,” she Tweeted on Tuesday. “He has already let 9+ million illegals into the America (sic). This madness has to end!” 

“Mass amnesty will lead to mass chaos, mass confusion and mass criminality. Biden’s desperate attempt at gaining votes is pathetic and this executive overreach MUST be stopped!” she said in another post. 

The illegal immigration crisis at the border has been spilling over into America’s interior cities. In Colorado, the crisis has strained Denver’s resources, leading to cuts in services and hiring freezes. Early in the crisis, city officials decided that Denver taxpayers would assume the cost of temporarily sheltering the immigrants — many fleeing political and social unrest in Venezuela — as well as tickets to their final destination.

To date, the city has received 42,323 immigrants at a cost of more than $71 million. While Denver has received state and federal funding, taxpayers are shouldering the bulk of the expenses.

In January — when Denver was sheltering about 5,000 immigrants nightly — Johnston warned that the costs could reach up to $180 million this year. He has since proposed roughly $40 million in cuts, primarily to public safety, to various departments. The city’s spending on the crisis is now expected to be about half that or $90 million.

Despite officials in El Paso Texas blaming onward travel for drawing immigrants to Denver, officials here have doubled down on its onward travel policy as part of the city’s new long-term strategy designed to pivot away from an emergency response. In the city’s so-called “Newcomer Program” immigrants receive at taxpayers’ expense six months of rental, food and utility assistance, a computer, prepaid cell phone and metro bus passes.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration issued an order to halt asylum requests at the Mexican border once the average number of daily encounters reaches 2,500. While Democrats were divided on the order, Republicans quickly criticized it, saying it was “too little, too late.”

A senior administration official said the new program would “promote family unity and strengthen our economy, providing a significant benefit to the country and helping U.S. citizens and their noncitizen family members stay together.”

“It is in our national interest to ensure that individuals who are educated in the U.S. are able to use their skills and education to benefit our country,” the official said, adding that new process is expected to be “open by the end of the summer.”

A fact sheet released by the administration said the move would “facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers.”

The action comes after some Democrats criticized Biden for issuing an order on June 4 that would limit immigrants’ asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border and allow immigration officials to swiftly deport individuals who illegally enter the United States. Republicans called the move too little, too late, or said it was motivated solely by election year politics.

Advocates for immigrant families praised the White House’s plans ahead of an event at the White House on Tuesday.

“Through his actions, President Biden is helping half a million non-citizen spouses and step-children of Americans to remain with their families, including many from Asia and the Pacific Islands who have lived here for years. Easing visa processes for Dreamers will cut red tape and allow young people to secure a job of their choice and contribute to our communities and economy,” Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said in a statement.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a Judiciary Committee member and candidate for Senate Republican leader in the next Congress, accused Biden of playing election year politics.

“This is what the Border Patrol calls a pull factor. It’s like a magnet, attracting people into the United States who know that if they wait long enough, President Biden will find some way to allow them to stay in the United States, even though they circumvent legal means of coming into the country,” Cornyn said in a statement.

“Now, I don’t think anybody is fooled by President Biden’s sudden interest in what’s happening at the southern border,” Cornyn added. “This is a last-ditch attempt to turn down the heat on the border crisis in the lead up to the election, and the American people aren’t buying it.”