In the News: Biden Plan for Immigration
If you were looking at the recent election and thinking that a Biden Administration might make life easier for immigrants, you might just be right. Biden has announced he will be seeking to prioritize immigration in his first ten days in office.
He is already planning to introduce a bill that would create a path to a green card for 11 million immigrants currently classified as “illegal.” The bill would give permanent residents a right to pursue citizenship after an 8-year wait.
The bill would also extend DACA for four more years. The bill would also offer a “shorter pathway to citizenship” for DACA recipients. DACA recipients could become legal residents after 5 years, according to the new plan.
Some believe Biden will have trouble getting Republicans on board, and that he will have to make compromises to move forward with any immigration packages. They have not linked the immigration package to any security measures, which represents a departure from past efforts.
Unfortunately, until and unless this bill passes not much will be changing for immigrants without status, or DACA recipients.
Still, the Trump administration already proved what sort of impact a president can have on immigration with or without Congress’ help, simply by setting agendas and policies for federal agencies.
For example, Biden has said that they want to focus federal agencies on guns, drugs, and criminals rather than immigration status.
Trump made over 400 alterations to immigration policy while he was in office.
Note that unraveling Trump’s policies will not be easy.
“As Trump learned from his efforts to change direction from Obama-era immigration policies, such in the case of DACA for example, President-elect Biden will need to address the rationales behind policies like the travel and visa bans in order to undo them. This is disconcerting news not only in regard to so-called midnight regulations that have been introduced as the Trump presidency winds to an end, but also to his longer-standing policies as well. Like changing the course of a cruise ship at sea, when it comes to changing government policy, slow but steady seems the only way things can be done.” –Forbes
The LA Times also predicts that if this bill does not pass then there would still be some pathways for some immigrants, such as Biden choosing to legalize the 5 million essential workers who are currently serving the American economy without any kind of status.
Need help with your immigration status? Reach out to Hykel Law today. We may be able to provide options you haven’t thought about or help you protect yourself in an ever-shifting landscape of laws, regulations, policies, and public opinions.
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