Biden to be sworn in as US president
JOE BIDEN is set to be sworn in as 46th president of the United States today, bringing the Donald Trump era to an end in an inauguration ceremony under tight security.
He will take the oath of office in Washington, with Kamala Harris being sworn in as vice president.
The Democrat has given himself an imposing to-do list for his earliest days as president.
Overshadowing everything is Mr Biden’s effort to win congressional approval of a $1.9 trillion plan to combat coronavirus and the economic misery it has caused. He is also set to announce that the US will rejoin the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organisation.
But climate change, immigration, health care and more will be competing for attention – and dollars.
Mr Biden has laid out an ambitious if not always detailed set of plans and promises.
He plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on day one of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the US without legal status.
It is a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies.
The legislation puts Mr Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of Mr Trump’s restrictive policies and mass deportations. It provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favoured by many Republicans, making passage in Congress in doubt.
The bill is set to be introduced after Mr Biden takes the oath of office today. Under the legislation, those living in the US as of January 1 2021, without legal status would have a five-year path to temporary legal status, or a green card, if they pass background checks, pay taxes and fulfil other basic requirements. From there, it’s a three-year path to naturalisation, if they decide to pursue citizenship.
Mr Trump has previously said he will not be attending the inauguration, and it remains to be seen whether he will leave a note in the Oval Office for its new occupant.