President Joe Biden and lawmakers on Capitol Hill unveiled a long-awaited immigration plan Thursday, a comprehensive overhaul of the United States immigration system, which has been criticized as ineffective and convoluted by both sides of the aisle.
The legislation builds on Biden s proposed immigration reform package that was released on his first day in office. It is sponsored by Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., in the House of Representatives and by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., in the Senate.
The bill is the latest among a series of immigration proposals making their way through Congress. The U.S. government has not passed a major citizenship bill since 1986. Biden s proposal could be the most sweeping since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.
After four years of brutish immigration restrictions, advocates are breathing a sigh of relief and seeing a clear opening to push through ambitious reforms under the new Biden administration and a pro-immigration movement in Congress.
âWe have just been through four years of cruelty and chaos brought to you by the Trump Administration; they weaponized an already miserable and dysfunctional immigration system,â said Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of Americaâs Voice, which advocates for progressive immigration reform, speaking at a Jan. 29 briefing hosted by Ethnic Media Services.
âI think that the tectonic plates underlying the debate have shifted,â he said, noting that former president Donald Trumpâs demonization of immigrants has backfired with the majority of Americans.
This story was originally published by Borderless Magazine, an independent, nonprofit newsroom that humanizes stories of immigration. Sign up for the Borderless Magazine newsletter for weekly updates.
By Diane Bou Khalil, Borderless Magazine
On Wednesday, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. His presidency follows four years of dramatic changes to the nation’s immigration system and unprecedented restrictions on refugees and asylum seekers.
Already, Biden has promised to reverse many of President Trump’s immigration policies early in his tenure. A memo from incoming chief of staff Ron Klain, sent to senior staff on Saturday, indicates that Biden intends to sign close to a dozen executive actions on and shortly after Inauguration Day, including a measure to end Trump’s Muslim ban. The president-elect also plans to submit a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress. The proposed plan will allow DACA recipients and others to apply f
Biden will introduce legislation that includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for nearly 11 million immigrants living in the United States without legal status.