Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
For: David Torres Updated 19 Jan 2022, 20: 37 pm EST
Joe Biden arrives at his first year in office not exactly empty-handed, but with many rather blurred expectations, especially in the area of immigration. After arriving at the White House after a harrowing period of threats against American democracy by the previous administration, his promises to undocumented immigrants now literally taste like nothing.
In effect, there is nothing concrete in this 2022 that could immediately revive the enormous hope of facilitating the path to citizenship of those 11 millions of human beings who devotedly considered that, now, things for them and their families it would change for the better. In such a way that day after day they continued to contribute with their work and contributions –as they do to this day, of course– to the country in which they have lived for decades, while listening during campaign times how they were taken into account in speeches and debates with a deeply inclusive language.
However, the political circumstances, the migratory reality and the electoral conveniences of some political actors during 2021 – both Democrats and Republicans – changed priorities more than abruptly, affecting plans to bring millions of undocumented immigrants out of the shadows . Also, many in the country learned, for the first time, of the existence of a Parliamentarian, or legal adviser to the Senate, who could literally decide on the fate of millions of people. His three times did NOT shake the tangible and intangible structures of all hope.
Okay, all that and more has happened in this first year of the Democratic presidency of Joe Biden, which, moreover, took place in the context of a public health crisis caused by the Covid-pandemic 19. But the historical moment that the United States is experiencing requires not only recognizing that, in effect, the most affected have been undocumented immigrants and their families, but also how the party that promised them so much is going to manage the situation to fulfill them this year that begins.
Because it is not about using a group of human beings as a banner to come to power and then leaving them lying on the road as if nothing had happened . Not only would that not be fair, it would be morally unacceptable. And in political terms, the panorama would become even more complicated for the Democrats.
It is precisely there where political intelligence must refine all strategies, not only to show that the commitment to the undocumented persists, but to verify that the American 21st century deserves to claim its plural and diverse character in the face of a migratory reality that can no longer be avoided, but rather at the risk of losing more than what has been gained since the fight for civil rights.
Thus, the absurd idea propagated by the most conservative wing of Trumpism of the “ethnic replacement” of whites by part of the color minorities is another of the obstacles that the current White House has to deal with this and the years to come; which, instead of complicating the fight against racism, should be a key element to develop new strategies, in order to defend the pro-immigrant agenda to its ultimate consequences. But this time no longer with words, but with concrete steps.
That is to say, if the Democrats in this year of intermediate elections are going to return to to use the immigration issue as an electoral shield, it would be better for them not to make new and hollow promises, but first to fulfill the ones they have already made, so that their level of credibility among minorities and their families rises again. That is, what it is about now is that they recognize that the electorate that has indissoluble ties with the migratory issue, especially for family reasons, has matured politically and cannot be played with easily or with impunity.
It is no longer a question, in conclusion, of saying utopianly “this is the year” of immigration reform, as was assured throughout 2021, but to say with your feet on the ground that “2022 is the year of immigrants and their families”. Because whether a particular party remains a political option or not, whether Republican or Democrat, will largely depend on its benefit or detriment to the American political class.
There are many fears of political failure, but above all, the threat of the rise and return to power of that xenophobic and racist agenda that for four years endangered the democracy of this nation must be taken into account.