This Tuesday, the president Joe Biden would announce actions to offer a path to citizenship for thousands of undocumented immigrantsafter pressure from several civil organizations and Democratic congressmen, Immigration Hub indicated.
“Tomorrow President Joe Biden is expected to announce forms of affirmative aid for Dreamers and immigrant family members of US citizens“, indicates the organization in a statement.
Part of the pressure on President Biden came from Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Gisele Fetterman, the former Dreamer and wife of Senator John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), and other Nevada legislators, in addition to sixty civil organizations.
The Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus and the Nevada Legislative Caucus of the AANHPI even sent a new letter to President Biden.
“We write from the state of Nevada to urge you to take immediate steps to improve our broken immigration system and provide protection to immigrant families who have been calling the United States home for several years,” the letter says.
In virtual conference, several organizations advanced President Biden’s possible decision and they highlighted the urgency of making their decision firm for the greatest number of families possible.
“I will not separate families, President Biden said in the State of the Union address,” recalled Ashley DeAzevedo, president of American Families United, one of the groups that has pushed a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrant spouses of Americans. .
She was born in New Jersey and met her husband on a train to New York, a man of Brazilian origin who lives in the US without papers.
“You should use your executive authority to extend relief to undocumented spouses of citizens like my husband, Sergio,” she said. “Sergio and I met on a train trip to New York City and fell in love immediately. “I grew up on the Jersey Shore and he grew up on a farm in Brazil.”
The group DeAzevedo represents is seeking 1.1 million U.S. citizens nationwide whose spouses are undocumented, although about four million undocumented people are also parents of American children.
“I am hopeful that President Biden, a family man, will take steps to protect my family. The system doesn’t work like it does in the movies. You don’t marry an American and you automatically get a green card,” DeAzevedo recalled. “There are laws that make it impossible for many people. “We have families whose spouses are already deported, or who have left the country due to current laws and are stuck trying to find a way forward this last year.”
This newspaper published that members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) have also pushed for options for undocumented immigrants and even criticized President Biden’s order on the border and accelerated deportations.
Who and how would benefit?
Several reports have indicated that The Biden Administration would allow undocumented immigrants with at least 10 years in the United States can apply for protection.
There are no details about the legal figure that will be used to protect these immigrants, but it is possible, activists said, that the figure of ‘parole’, known as pardon for deportation, will be applied, an essential step for undocumented immigrants to obtain a Green Card.
Currently, undocumented spouses of Americans could apply for a Green Card, but they require a “deportation waiver.”
“So we think it will probably be a residency requirement of a certain number of years,” said one of the activists about who the benefit will apply to. Obviously, these people who are married to American citizens, there are paths for them, it’s just that they are very challenging and sometimes they just pose such huge barriers that, as Ashley says, it’s just impossible to overcome.”
A challenge to come
Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, acknowledged that a decision by President Biden in favor of undocumented immigrants will spark criticism, mainly from Republicans, who could call this decision “amnesty.”
“The Republican Party will always call it amnesty and they are not interested in a solution. They want to use this issue as a political strategy,” said Cárdenas. “We have greatly expanded the reach. “This is for long-time voters, immigrants who belong to American families who are married to American citizens.”
He added that the new presidential order seeks to eliminate barriers that prevent families from advancing with the legal security of their citizenship, but despite this, Republicans could challenge the decision in court.
Keep reading:
• Biden could open the way to citizenship for thousands of undocumented immigrants
• Biden’s order would allow more than a million undocumented immigrants to apply for a Green Card
• Congressional Democrats demand measures to protect “dreamers”