Biden wants balance on immigration
Dems, GOP keeping close eye on border policies
Immigration is a complex issue, and no administration has been able to fix it.
WASHINGTON – Democrats wielded demands to fix the nation’s broken immigration system as a cudgel against Republicans in the 2020 campaign. Elect us, went the argument, and we’ll stop the cruel treatment of migrants at the border, and put in place lasting and humane policies that work.
A year into Joe Biden’s presidency, though, action on the issue has been hard to find and there is growing consternation privately among some in the party that the Biden administration can’t find the right balance on immigration.
Publicly, it’s another story. Most lawmakers are largely holding their tongues, unwilling to criticize their leader on a polarizing topic that has created divisions within the party.
It’s a hard balancing act to pull off, said Douglas Rivlin, spokesman for America’s Voice, an immigration reform group. Especially when Republicans are unrelenting in their negativity toward the president, even a little friendly fire can be a challenge.
“It’s hard but they’ve got to do it,” he said. “They’re going to face voters next year, all the people on the Hill. Biden isn’t, they are. And they have to be clear they’re pushing Biden to be the Democratic president we elected, rather than being scared of the issues because the politics are difficult.”
Democrats have pointed to the recent House approval of a huge spending bill backed by the White House that would allow for expanded work permits and some other, less ambitious immigration provisions. When Biden took office, he promised a pathway to U.S. citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally. Democrats say the measures in the spending bill are enough to show the party won’t shy away from the immigration issue during next year’s midterms.
“I don’t see it as as the fault of the president per se or ... these challenges that we’re facing today, solely falling on the shoulders of the president,” said Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents a district in El Paso, Texas, across the border from Juarez, Mexico. “It is a collective obligation that we have and and I think Democrats have solutions and we need to lean in on them.”
integrated with the nation’s health pass and is aimed at ensuring access to closed lifts only to those who are vaccinated, recently recovered from COVID-19 or have a recent negative test.
The health pass data must be verified in order to purchase a ski pass, a system that was approved by Italy’s privacy regulator, and which spares lift operators from having to check health passes each time skiers board lifts.
Skiers also are required to wear protective masks on lifts, both open chair lifts and closed gondolas, as well as a maintain a social distance of 3 feet in lines – something that the length of the skis will help guarantee.
But it is masks off for the descent. While Italy remained closed all last season to recreational skiers along with neighboring France, lifts in Austria were open to residents, and Switzerland welcomed skiers from anywhere. This year, France and Switzerland are enforcing mask mandates and social distancing, while Austria is limiting skiing to those who are vaccinated or recovered and Germany’s Bavaria region is requiring that even vaccinated skiers show a negative test.
Italy’s South Tyrol, bordering Austria, has the lowest rate of vaccinations in the country, and the government of the German-speaking autonomous province has imposed fresh restrictions in 20 towns in a bid to allow skiing and other holiday activities to resume normally.
They include the world-class Gardena Valley ski towns of Santa Caterina and Ortisei. Both are set to open Dec. 4, but it is not clear if that date can be kept.
“They need to absolutely get out of the red zone,” said Valeria Ghezzi, president of the ANEF ski lift association.
Operators said they are also waiting for word of how Italy’s new super Green Pass will be applied.
Over the holiday season, the government is restricting access to most indoor leisure activities – from museums to dining, theaters to cinemas – to those who are vaccinated or who have recovered from the virus in the past six months. While skiing has yet to be specifically addressed, Ghezzi said she believes the same restrictions will apply to mountains with closed lifts, which account for the vast majority of Italy’s ski resorts. Only a handful of ski areas in the Alpine foothills operate with only open lifts.
Ghezzi said it is important for everyone to follow the rules to ensure that the season can continue without bumps.
“The mood is very positive,” Ghezzi said. “There is still a little worry. It would be superficial not to be worried,” she said, citing soaring rates of contagion in neighboring Austria and nearby Germany, as well as Slovakia and Slovenia.