Biden set to streamline US immigration process
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will call Tuesday for his administration to streamline the naturalization of nine million migrants, senior officials said, as part of a raft of steps aimed at rolling back the “failed” policies of his hardline Republican predecessor.
The Democratic president is set to sign a series of executive orders overhauling the US immigration process Tuesday, officials said, signalling a return to a more inclusive policy. Biden is also set to order a review of all legal obstacles to immigration and integration that were put in place under Donald Trump.
“The review will likely lead to dramatic changes in policies,” according to a senior government official, saying the goal is
“to restore faith in our legal immigration system, and promote integration of Americans.”
“President Trump was so focused on the wall that he did nothing to address the root cause of why people are coming to our southern border,” the official said.
“It was a limited, wasteful and naive strategy, and it failed.” In line with campaign promises, one of the orders will put in place a working group tasked with reuniting migrant families separated by Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy put in place in 2018. That policy allowed officials to prosecute and deport adults who had entered the US illegally and place their children into federal custody.
A second executive order echoes a similar policy under the Barack Obama administration allowing prospective immigrants in their home countries to apply for residency, allowing them to avoid dangerous smuggling routes.
The third decree will make naturalization more accessible to immigrants who are currently eligible to apply” for citizenship.