Biden signals new deal for migrants
A tense inauguration day for the new president after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol
US: President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping Immigration Bill on day one of his administration, hoping to provide a path to citizenship for 11m people.
The legislation puts Mr Biden, due to be inaugurated today, on track to deliver on a major campaign promise and reverse Donald Trump’s hostile stance.
PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE Biden 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 11m 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, due to be inaugurated today, on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald 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 a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.
Expected to run hundreds of pages, the Bill is set to be introduced after Mr Biden takes the oath of office on Wednesday.
As a candidate, Mr Biden called Mr Trump’s actions on immigration an “unrelenting assault” on US values and said he would “undo the damage” while continuing to maintain border enforcement.
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. For some immigrants, the process would be quicker.
So-called Dreamers, the young people who arrived in the US illegally as children, as well as agricultural workers and people under temporary protective status could qualify more immediately for green cards if they are working, are in school or meet other requirements.
The Bill is not as comprehensive as the last major immigration overhaul proposed when Mr Biden was vice president during the Obama administration. For example, it does not include a robust border security element, but calls for new strategies.
It does address some of the root causes of migration from Central America to the United States, and provides grants for workforce development and English language learning. Mr Biden is expected to take swift executive actions to reverse other Trump immigration actions, including an end to the prohibition on arrivals from several predominantly Muslim countries.
During the Democratic primary, Mr Biden named immigration action as one of his “day one” priorities, pointing to the range of executive powers he could invoke to reverse Trump’s policies.
Mr Biden’s allies and some Republicans have identified immigration as a major issue where the new administration could find common ground with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and enough other Republican senators to avoid a stalemate.
Undo the damage of... an unrelenting assault on US values. How Joe Biden described Donald Trump’s immigration policies.