Senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ bold proposal to use executive authority to open a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented youth—as well as her plan to reinstate and expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while also shielding the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents—could affect as many as 6 million immigrants. Here’s how it would work.

“One of the executive actions Harris would take, is to establish a ‘parole in place’ program,” Vox reports. “Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, only immigrants who are ‘admitted or paroled’ into the US are eligible for legal status. Harris’s action would make it so DREAMers are considered ‘paroled,’ and therefore in the US legally, which would enable them to apply for a green card if they had a spouse who is a citizen.”

Harris’ plan states, “Currently, the INA is interpreted as barring many Dreamers from adjusting their immigration status because they’ve failed ‘to maintain continuously a lawful status since entry.’ However, the INA includes an exception for immigrants whose inability to maintain status was, according to the statute, due to ‘no fault of [their] own.’ Harris will issue a rulemaking clarifying the term ‘no fault of [their] own’ includes being brought to the U.S. as a child.”

“We pored over the INA to find a path to citizenship for Dreamers via executive action,” tweeted Harris’ deputy policy director, Corey Ciorciari. “In memos back and forth, Harris asked for caselaw citations (bluebooked!) to show the plan would hold up in court.” A number of top law and immigration experts believe she’s right. “Harris’s approach is innovative and would likely withstand legal scrutiny, said David Leopold, an immigration law expert who provided the campaign with feedback on the proposal,” Vox reports. “This, in my opinion, will stand up to any assault in the courts,” he said.