Bernie Sanders' immigration plan announced this week highlighted the importance of immigrants to the United States.

On Tuesday, the Vermont senator stressed out that immigrants should be "welcomed and assimilated, not criminalized and exploited," the New York Times wrote. Sanders hopes to maintain American values, strengthen the rule of law, boost the quality of the economy, and protect and honor families with his immigration agenda..

According to USA Today, Sanders' idea was also shared by his fellow Democratic presidential candidates vowing to provide protection to 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. However, his plan is the first to expand security to immigrants who have already been deported back to their home countries.

Sanders' idea highlighted a tool called "parole in place," which allows undocumented immigrants to apply for legal citizenship in the U.S. but only if they return to their home country to begin the process, USA Today further reported. The Department of Homeland Security has the authority to grant "parole in place" status to some immigrants "for urgent humanitarian reasons," permitting them to live in the U.S. while their applications are being reviewed.

In an email issued on Wednesday, the Sanders campaign said that his vision would include undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, or those who have spouses, children, or parents who are citizens in the country, USA Today wrote.

Sanders thinks that bringing back deported immigrants to the U.S. is a necessity to maintain the bond of family units, the news outlet noted. Immigration activists insisted that the deportation policies of the country often sever families and inflict damages on family units on both sides of the border.

Sanders also promises to use executive authority ahead of what U.S. President Barack Obama did, the New York Times added. His immigration plans confirm the humane and sensible nature of the 2013 Senate bill, which believes that unauthorized immigrants should stay in the U.S. and contribute to its economy, rather than be cut off and expelled to their countries.

Moreover, Sanders plans to "decouple" federal immigration enforcement from local police authorities and defend "sanctuary city" policies that uphold public safety by cultivating trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, the news outlet noted. He also added that immigrants' access to the justice system will be increased.

Sanders' immigration policy puts him beyond what any other Democratic candidate has proposed so far, the New York Times wrote. Hillary Clinton's immigration agenda has similarities with Sanders', but the former's proposals lack specifics and extent.