A radical immigration reform to be proposed this week by President-elect Joe Biden would include a path to citizenship that could make millions of illegal immigrants become US citizens in just eight years.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris told Univision last week that the immigration bill would be “the first order of the day” and would “create a way for people to gain citizenship”. She said the path would be eight years.
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The Washington Post reported on Monday that the bill, to be released on the day of inauguration on Wednesday, would place illegal immigrants in protective status and a five-year path to the green card. If they meet certain conditions, such as paying taxes and checking their background, they can be put on a three-year path to citizenship. Some estimates put the population of illegal immigrants at around 12 million in 2015, other estimates are higher.
The Associated Press, which also reported that the eight-year path is in the bill, noted that it would be one of the fastest paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants in recent years.
A path to citizenship – not just legal status – for illegal immigrants has been a major item on the agenda for liberals and immigration activists for decades and now – with Democratic control of the White House, House and Senate – that goal can be achieved View.
It would also grant immediate green cards to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants protected from deportation under the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) and Child Deferred Action (DACA) programs. President Trump has taken steps to abolish DACA, the 2012 Obama-era executive order that protected those who came to the U.S. as children. But he was rejected by the Supreme Court, and Harris said “we are going to expand the protections for the Dreamers and DACA recipients”.
“These are some of the things that we will do in our immigration bill. And we believe it is a more intelligent and humane way of approaching immigration for immigrants, ”she said.
The Post reported that the project would also include border security provisions and said it would see an increase in technology at the border – but it is unclear what this involves. Biden promised that “not one more foot” of President Trump’s border wall will be built under his administration.
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The project would also include provisions to contain the migration flow, addressing the root causes of migration from the south of the border. Biden had, during the campaign, promised a $ 4 billion four-year assistance plan to be linked to these countries’ reforms.
Regarding legal immigration, the Post said the project would open up a series of new avenues for legal immigration – including the “recapture” of unused visas from previous years, giving work permits to spouses and children of temporary visa holders.
While the bill has a good chance of passing the Democratic-controlled House, it is unclear what the chances are in the Senate. It would take 60 votes to pass the House, which means that 10 Republicans would have to vote in favor. Several previous immigration reform efforts have failed, including a 2013 effort under President Barack Obama.
While Republicans have indicated that they are open to working with Biden on their top legislative priorities, Republican Party lawmakers have traditionally demanded that any amnesty for illegal immigrants be accompanied by vigorous border enforcement. Republicans are likely to face pressure from their conservative base that opposes the legalization of millions of illegal immigrants.
The legislation is one of a series of radical actions against immigration that Biden has promised to take. He promised to implement a moratorium on deportations and end a series of Trump-era programs to prevent illegal immigration, including the Protective Migrant Protocols. He also promised to dramatically increase the number of refugees the United States receives each year.
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In the meantime, the Biden government will face an initial challenge in the form of a caravan of thousands of migrants moving towards the Honduras border. This caravan asked the government to honor its “commitments” to them.
But, in a possible nod to fears of an increase in migrants on the border with a new bill, the Post said the path to citizenship would only apply to those who arrived in the country before January 1.
Jacqui Heinrich and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.