President Joe Biden complied with immigrants and Hispanic voters whom he promised in the campaign that he would promote comprehensive immigration reform, to establish a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, ‘ dreamers’ and people under the TPS program.
“The legislation I sent to Congress will bring much-needed changes to an immigration system that requires reform for a long time.” , said President Biden. “It will responsibly manage the border with smart investments; address the root causes of irregular migration from Central America; will modernize our legal immigration pathways and create a hard-earned path to citizenship for many, including ‘dreamers’, farmworkers and TPS holders. ”
Now it is up to Congress the approval of the “America’s Citizenship Act of 2021” (“United States Citizenship Act). del 2021 ”) , sponsored by Senator Bob Menendez (New Jersey) and the representative Linda Sánchez (California).
The project of 353 pages is made up of five large blocks on the path to citizenship for different types of immigrants; address the causes of immigration and new ways of serving the southern border; modifications to the visa system; adjustments to immigration courts and attention to the most vulnerable people, and the process of authorization of employment and protection of workers from being exploited.
“It is his vision of how the immigration system should be changed … And opens the discussion on immigration after the last four years, “said one of the White House advisers in a telephone call to journalists. “Creates the path to citizenship for 10 millions of immigrants undocumented immigrants with temporary status of between three and five years until they can obtain citizenship ”.
“ Dreamers, immigrants benefiting from TPS and undocumented agricultural workers who can prove their employment history, they will be able to obtain permanent residence immediately and three years later apply for citizenship.
In the case of the rest of the undocumented, a provisional green card will be granted for five years, then they would apply for a permanent and then citizenship. No person who entered the country without authorization after January 1, 2021 You can apply for this benefit.
The proposal also seeks to modify the work visa process, such as H-1B and H-2B; extend to 80, 000 protections under the Diversity Program or visa lottery, as well as increasing to 18, 000 U visas, for crime victims.
Senator @BobMenendezNJ anticipates that President @JoeBiden is willing to negotiate with Republicans to achieve the 60 votes in the Senate for immigration reform #ImmigrationBill pic .twitter.com / 9D3mcdIwHd
– Jesús García (@JesusGar) February 12, 2021
Border, security and cuts
President Biden’s project will focus border security on the implementation of high technology, to avoid trafficking in people, drugs, recognizing that the latter enter through certain ports.
The vision of the proposal on the border it is more humanitarian, since it aims to address the roots of immigration, but without neglecting the public safety aspects. In this way, the reform will open the way to establish programs that help reduce the immigration of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
It is intended to improve the immigration courts, to hire more judges, specialized personnel , acquire more technology and implement legal guidance programs.
Although the E-Verify system will not be mandatory, the Biden Administration increases penalties to those who hire undocumented immigrants, in addition to seeking to establish a work team with unions and employers to verify work permits.
“These are not Democratic or Republican priorities, but Americans. I have set out my vision of what it will take to reform our immigration system and I look forward to working with the leaders of Congress to achieve it ”, announced President Biden.
The president’s team of advisers did not respond to questions about how they will convince Republicans to win the 60 votes in the Senate or if the Democrats would stick to the Reconciliation rule to approve the plan with a simple majority, considering the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris .
Senators Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Alex Padilla (California) and Ben Ray Luján (New Mexico), as well as the representatives Zoe Lofgren (California), Lucille Roybal-Allard (California), Nydia Velázquez (New York), Judy Chu (California), Raul Ruiz (California), Yvette Clarke (New York) and Karen Bass (California), who They held a joint press conference there.
“I applaud President Biden for keeping his promise and sending Congress a bold vision on immigration reform,” said Rep. Lofgren, chair of the Subcommittee on House Judiciary Committee Immigration and Citizenship.
Representative Velázquez stressed that this advance left behind “the last four years” on immigration issues, based on “xenophobia and hatred”, which led “to cruel policies such as separating children from their parents”.
” We cannot afford to shut out the world’s talent or drive away those who call our country home, especially immigrants who now work as healthcare professionals and other front-line employees, ”said Senator Klobuchar, who as an aspiring President Luján also raised his voice in favor of immigrants.
Senator Luján highlighted the new policy to defend DACA beneficiaries, who were attacked by the previous administration, although he recognized the way forward congressmen.
Organizations celebrate
Representatives of groups that defend immigrants celebrated the proposal of the presides over nte Biden and urged Congress to approve it as soon as possible.
Church World Service considered that the project marks “a historic step”, to allow people without documents, but who call this country “Your home” can be protected. “Congress must act now and pass this bill,” he said.
That voice was joined by the Center for American Progress, the United Farm Workers & UFW Foundation; the American Business Immigration Coalition (BIC), among others.
“There is no reason why we shouldn’t do something this year” , considered Rebecca Shi, executive director of the BIC. “There are no excuses, only opportunities to do the right thing for families, businesses and our economy.”
What does it include
The reform is very broad, but in general terms it includes:
- Create the 8-year path to obtain citizenship and establish a temporary 5-year status for undocumented persons.
- Dreamers, TPS beneficiaries and undocumented farmworkers can directly apply for a green card.
- Prioritizes family reunion with recovery of visas from previous years to eliminate arrears, including spouses and children of green card holders.