Washington.- The administration of the president of United States, Joe Biden, Announced on Wednesday that it will suspend enrollment in the “Stay in Mexico” program from tomorrow, which allowed the government of its predecessor, Donald Trump, to return to neighboring countries in the asylum seekers, And clarified that it will maintain restrictions at the border.
“The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) announces the suspension of new enrollments in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program,” as this initiative that Trump implemented in January is also known of 2019, the agency in charge of security, immigration and borders said in a statement.
“However, the current travel restrictions are not essential for Covid-19, Both on the border and in the region, remain in force at this time. All current MPP participants must remain where they are, pending further official information from U.S. government officials, ”the statement said.
He further points out that “people outside the United States will not be eligible for legal status under the bill that President Biden sent to Congress today. The legalization provisions in this bill apply only to people already living in the US “.
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After four years of hard work against the immigrants of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, Biden’s transition team announced Wednesday the details of the bill the Democrat is sending to Congress today as part of its commitment to “modernize” the immigration system, dubbed the “Citizenship Act.” EU 2021 “.
The initiative, which will have to be approved by the two legislatures, dominated by Democrats, aims to “responsibly” manage and protect the border, keep “families and communities safe, and better manage migration throughout the hemisphere.” , said a statement.
If passed, Biden’s bill would be the largest immigration reform since the government of Republican Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), which legalized 3 million undocumented people in 1986.
Not in vain, and as its name suggests, its key point is to offer a path to citizenship in 8 years to the 11 million undocumented immigrants estimated to live in the US.
Immigrants will be able to obtain a temporary legal status that will give them the option to reach 5 years after the residence permit (“green card”), if they meet a number of requirements such as not having a criminal record and pay their taxes.
But a significant group of them, the minors who came to the country as children at the hands of their parents, also undocumented and known as “dreamers”, as well as those protected by the Temporary Protection Status (TPS), mostly Central Americans, and immigrant agricultural workers will be able to aspire to a “immediate” legal residency and 3 years later to citizenship, the note noted.
To prevent an avalanche of immigrants, the bill states that such a measure would affect immigrants who are “physically present in the United States on or before January 1, 2021.”
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Deportees during the Trump presidency, since January 20, 2017, and who were physically present for at least three years before the expulsion may claim the same benefit for “family unity and other humanitarian purposes,” but already this process will depend on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, in English), for which Biden has nominated the Cuban-American Alejandro Mayorkas.
In his confirmation hearing before the Senate on Monday, Mayorkas pointed out that citizenship will be granted to “individuals who have been in the country for many years, who have contributed to our communities and the nation’s economic prosperity.”
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez announced Wednesday that he will lead the legislative effort in the upper house to pass this bill and present it to his colleagues to achieve a “fair, humane and functional” migration system. .
“The last four years have been traumatic for immigrant communities that have suffered relentless attacks from the Trump Administration. Today, we turn the page on this dark chapter of our history and begin the arduous work of repairing the damage and rebuild a better union that reflects the values of our nation, “he said.
In the lower house, the bill will be sponsored by Hispanic Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, who said in a tweet that she has waited too long for this reform, so she doesn’t plan to waste time getting her hands on it. work “to achieve it.
From “alien” (foreign) to non-citizen
One of the modifications included in the Biden initiative is semantic, but it picks up on a long-standing order from pro-immigrant organizations and activists, who have expressed their displeasure at being linked to this community with terms like “foreigner” illegal “.
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“The bill recognizes the United States as a nation of immigrants by changing the word‘ foreigner ’to‘ non-citizen ’in our immigration laws,” the statement notes.
Another aspiration of the law will be family reunification, giving special importance to LGBTQ + family groups and also allowing immigrants with approved family sponsorship requests to reunite with their loved ones in the US temporarily while waiting for the cards. of residence.
The bill also includes a provision banning “discrimination based on religion and limiting presidential authority to issue future bans” and increases diversity visas from 55,000 to 80,000.
Among other controversial decisions, Trump recently imposed on the White House a veto on immigration to nationals of eleven countries with a significant Muslim population (Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Burma, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Syria). , Tanzania and Yemen) and which includes restrictions for Venezuela and North Korea.
A “decaffeinated” wall
To try to get the necessary Republican support in the Senate, Biden also included new resources on the border, his decision to set aside the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico – the election promise half-fulfilled by Trump – and bet mainly by “technology” to speed up the detection of illegal crossing of goods and narcotics.
The new proposal also aims to allocate funds to improve the “professionalism” of border agents and create a committee to investigate possible “misconduct”, and seeks to improve the care of individuals, families and minors in the custody of Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
This will allow the new president to fulfill his promise to curb Trump’s star project on the border, though Biden has no plans to tear down the barrier part already built by the Republican politician, which stretches along 727 kilometers of the border. bordering area.
The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said this month that it has funds to complete another 480 kilometers of wall and that it planned to award contracts to do so before Biden came to power.
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