WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is planning to announce a sweeping new policy Tuesday that would lift the threat of deportation for tens of thousands of people married to U.S. citizens, an aggressive election-year action on immigration that had been sought by many Democrats.

Biden is scheduled to host a White House event to celebrate an Obama-era directive that offered deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants and will announce the new program then, according to three people briefed on the White House plans.

The policy will allow roughly 490,000 spouses of U.S. citizens an opportunity to apply for a “parole in place” program, which would shield them from deportations and offer them work permits if they have lived in the country for at least 10 years, according to two of the people briefed. All spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the announcement publicly.

Families who would potentially benefit from Biden’s actions were expected to attend the White House event Tuesday afternoon.

For some time, administration officials have been deliberating various options to offer protections for immigrants who lack legal status in the U.S. but who have longstanding ties — even after the White House crafted a restrictive proposal that essentially halted asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Biden is invoking an authority that not only gives deportation protections and work permits but removes a legal barrier to allow qualifying immigrants to apply for permanent residency and eventually, U.S. citizenship.

Biden’s policy would apply only to longtime U.S. residents, but Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, called it a “huge magnet” for would-be immigrants.

Biden was also expected to announce a policy of making recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program eligible for visas, rather than the temporary work authorization they currently receive, according to two of the people briefed.

A Democratic group of lawmakers called the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has advocated for a policy of making graduates of U.S. colleges who came to the country without authorization as children eligible for work visas as well.

The White House on Tuesday afternoon was to mark the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was created by then-President Barack Obama to protect young immigrants who lacked legal status, often known as “dreamers.”