After weeks of deliberations, Democrats in Congress and the White House will introduce an immigration review bill Thursday that would reshape U.S. immigration laws and allow millions of immigrants living in the country without permission to obtain status. legal, according to two people familiar with the matter. CBS News.
According to a 66-page summary of legislation obtained by CBS News, the proposal would create a two-tier legalization program that would automatically convert agricultural workers, temporary protection status holders (GSTs) and undocumented immigrants who arrive. in the United States as children eligible for green cards. After three years, they could apply to be U.S. citizens.
The rest of the eligible unauthorized immigrants could apply for temporary deportation aids and work permits while on an eight-year path to U.S. citizenship. All petitioners should undergo security and national background checks, as well as file taxes and pay application fees.
According to the draft text shared with Congressional staff, the plan would not benefit newcomers, as all potential applicants would have to prove they were in the United States before January 1, 2021. The Secretary of the Department of National Security (DHS) would be allowed to issue humanitarian waivers to this requirement for immigrants deported during the Trump administration as long as they prove to have lived in the United States at least three years before their deportation.
California MP Linda Sanchez and New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, two Democrats with experience in making immigration policies, will present the proposal to the House and Senate, respectively.
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The invoice, based on parameters awakened by the Biden administration last month, the White House is expected to advocate as one of President Biden’s domestic policy priorities during his first year in office. However, the general proposal will have to garner unanimous democratic support and at least ten Republican votes in the Senate under current Senate rules, a threshold that has previously condemned other immigration reform plans.
Asked if the White House would be open to considering possible Republican-led amendments to the bill that would increase any kind of immigration enforcement, an administration official did not rule it out.
“If Republicans want to show up and work on immigration, I think the president is open to working with anyone who wants to do something and get a bill on his desk,” the official said during a call to the journalists Wednesday at the end.
The official, who requested anonymity during the briefing, said Mr Biden is “restarting a conversation” on “sensible and effective border security”.
“We know that most drugs arrive through ports of entry. So we’re authorizing technology and repairing infrastructure, but we’re really trying to figure out the root causes of why people come in and go to legal (immigration) channels. “, continued the officer. “We’re open to a conversation with everyone about this, but we think it’s a much more comprehensive way to deal with this issue than just a simple wall,” you know.
In addition to the legalization provisions, the bill would eliminate Clinton-era sanctions prohibiting undocumented immigrants from leaving the United States to re-enter the country for three to ten years, in addition to curbing the power of the president to issue categorical bans on immigrant groups. It would also replace all references to “foreigner” in immigration laws by the term “noncitizen”.
Another central piece of the bill is the expansion of legal immigration. The plan would increase the current country limits for family-based and employment-based immigrant visas and reassign unused visas. It would make the spouses and children of the green card holders “immediate family members,” which would exempt them from country limits.
The bill would increase the annual allocation of employment-based visas from 140,000 to 170,000, as well as the annual diversity visa limit from 55,000 to 80,000. An additional 10,000 visas would be reserved for a pilot program designed for immigrants that will contribute to the economic development of local communities.
The plan would give the Biden administration $ 1 billion annually between 2022 and 2025 to fund efforts to reduce the violence, poverty, crime, and corruption that fuel migration in the United States of America. It would also require the establishment of processing centers in the region where Central Americans, including children at risk, could apply for parole or refugee status to legally arrive in the United States.
Other provisions call for DHS to implement “smart” border security measures and allocate funds to expand the infrastructure of ports of entry to prosecute asylum seekers and intercept illicit drugs. DHS should issue new guidelines governing care for migrant children that prohibit the department from separating children from their parents to deter migration or encourage compliance with U.S. immigration law.
The plan would also assign 30,000 visas to victims of serious crimes to help enforce the law; eliminate the current 1-year deadline for asylum seekers to seek U.S. asylum; and instruct DHS to expand alternatives to detaining migrants in deportation proceedings, especially families with children.