Lawmakers have been trying for decades to reform the US immigration system and fall short. The latest attempt will also be a big lift, as Democrats only occupy the House and Senate and face a Republican Party that has moved further to the right on the issue since the two-party bill.
Biden’s bill is also likely to join a series of other immigration measures that narrowly focus on undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children, are in the US under a form of humanitarian relief and work in agriculture – ‘ a dizzying essay number of attempts to legitimize the undocumented population.
Biden reiterated Tuesday that he wants a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., but that he is willing to implement interim other immigration measures in the meantime.
“Yes, there is a whole range of things related to immigration,” the president said during a CNN City Hall hearing when asked if he would sign a bill that does not include a path to citizenship.
Democratic lawmakers hope to have the bills appear on the House floor before April 1, when they can introduce legislation already passed in the chamber without going through the committee.
“It gives us the most options when we send all three pieces of legislation to the Senate,” said Rep. Jim Jim, a Democrat from California. “Yes, it’s ambitious, but we’ve been stopped for four years.”
Immigrant advocates stressed the need for reform of legislation after years of continuous policy changes and executive action that put millions of lives in a limbo. It is a necessity to try different ways to complete the reform.
“We do want to be pragmatic and get things done quickly,” said Kerri Talbot, deputy director of the Immigration Hub, a congressional advocacy organization.
Road to citizenship plan
White House officials recognize the limitations of executive power in amending immigration policy.
“The president does have a lot of authority to fix the immigration system in a number of different ways,” Tyler Moran, special assistant to the president for immigration for the Internal Affairs Council, said last month during the U.S. Mayors’ Conference. said winter meeting.
“But what the president can not really do is give people permanent status, and we have done so many runs for this, but we really have to do it to make sure people are on the path of citizenship,” she said. added.
A group of House Democrats is leading the effort to approve Biden’s immigration bill.
“President Biden has set out his vision for a robust immigration reform. It is now up to Congress to deliver,” California Democratic Representative Linda Sanchez said in a statement. “With a democratic majority in both chambers, and an overwhelming majority of the public on our side – as well as a number of legislative instruments at our disposal – I believe we will eventually succeed in achieving permanent solutions.”
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey will lead on the side of the Senate. The bill is expected to be introduced by the end of the week, according to a Democratic source.
The bill provides an immediate path to citizenship for farm workers, DACA recipients and temporary protected status holders. It also outlines a plan for undocumented immigrants that would allow them to eventually apply for green cards if they pass background checks and pay taxes.
The legislation gives a sign of the Biden government’s approach to immigration – one that focuses primarily on a holistic approach to immigration and not just on the US-Mexico border. For example, the bill would include $ 4 billion in funding to increase aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and establish safe and legal channels for migrants to seek protection.
“The President’s proposal for immigration reform is a starting point for negotiations, but it starts from a strong position, in contrast to proposals we have seen in previous years, which require the legalization of massive increases in immigration enforcement, massive increases in staff and additional barriers to legalization based on criminal conduct, “said Jorge Loweree, policy director at the U.S. Immigration Service.” This is a sensible rethink. ”
Veto threat gone
In the days after Biden was elected, the prospect of immigration reform on Capitol Hill began to shift. While aides and members acknowledged that Republicans would certainly never go as far as they wanted on some issues, the hope was without Donald Trump, but lawmakers could return to the negotiating table.
“There are Republicans who want to do things,” said then-Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia. “Trump may still be there as a private citizen who raises hell, but once you don’t worry about a veto, some things become more possible. That may not be what you have with a strong Democratic majority, but I think there is a prospect of doing more than just a few narrow solutions. ‘
Even Democrats working on the package have indicated they are open to breaking down pieces of a comprehensive bill to get results. Anything that would pass in the Senate would need 60 votes, meaning 10 Republicans would have to come on board.
“I understand that – although I will be leading the White House legislation, I have been here long enough to understand that there is a give and take that is taking place,” Menendez told reporters last month. “I mean, immigration has obviously been difficult in the past to get dual support, even in internal support among Democrats to get on the same page.”
DACA and ‘Dreamers’
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who was part of the gang of eight who helped draft the latest comprehensive immigration bill, told reporters in January that the sweet spot was probably something of the DACA.
“I just think comprehensive immigration is going to be a tough sell-out, given this environment, but to do DACA, I think is possible.”
This is not the first time that the so-called ‘DREAM Act’ has surfaced. In 2001, Sens. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, and Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, introduced the Alien Minors Development, Enlightenment, and Education Act. It tried to give young, undocumented immigrants a path to legal status, and brought the group of undocumented immigrants as children “Dreamers” as children to the US.
But an expected verdict from a federal judge in Texas, which is a case against which DACA is being challenged, is before him, is the looming legislation today.
“I do not believe they are acting with the urgency that a judge can rule any day in Texas,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream, an advocacy organization, of Congress. “We have to leave this year with something in our hands.”
Asked about the expected verdict in Texas, White House press secretary Jen Psaki repeated Biden’s defense of DACA. “This is a program he has long committed to protecting and preserving and taking every step to do exactly that,” she said. “I’m not going to leave the judge’s decision in Texas.”
This story was updated with comments from President Joe Biden.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.