President Joe Biden ordered resume the issuance of permanent residence cards, Called ‘green cards’, which was suspended by his predecessor, Donald Trump, during the coronavirus pandemic and which according to lawyers was blocking most of the legal migration to the United States.
The new Biden measure adds to a list of constant revocations that it has begun to develop, or are in the process of materializing, especially on the issue of migration to the United States.
The president stipulated yesterday afternoon that closing the door on legal migrants “does not promote the interests of the United States,” a stark contrast to the Trump administration, which defended the restriction, saying it was necessary to protect the jobs of Americans during the pandemic.
Last spring, Trump suspended the issuance of the permanent residence card for migrants until the end of 2020, alleging the need to protect the labor market hard hit by the coronavirus, this being a pretext for achieve many of the cuts to legal migration that it had not been able to implement before covid-19.
On December 31, Trump extended those orders until the end of March. The then Republican president had noted that migrants posed “a risk to the American labor market” and prevented them from entering his country by issuing Proclamation 10014 and 10052.
“On the contrary, it hurts the United States, which includes preventing some relatives of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents from reuniting with their families here. It also affects U.S. industries that they use the talent of people from all over the world“, Pointed out the president.
What were the repercussions on the measure imposed by Trump?
Most visas for migrants had been suspended due to the orders, according to lawyers involved in the area.
Up to 120,000 preferably family-based visas they were largely lost due to the suspension implemented for the 2020 fiscal pandemic, according to the American Association of Immigration Lawyers.
the migrants could not bring their relatives unless they were U.S. citizens applying for visas for their spouses and children under the age of 21.
The issue reached such a point that migrants with work visas were prevented from entering, Unless they were considered a benefit to national interests, such as health professionals.
In addition, it closed the door to thousands of visa lottery winners, who were randomly selected from a set of about 14 million applicants to receive their residence card that would allow them to live on permanently in the United States.
Blocked procedures add to a growing backlog that already has 437,000 family-based visa applications alone, said California immigration lawyer Curtis Morrison, who represented thousands of people who were seen affected by the suspension.
“I am delighted with my clients, those who are now in a position where they can enter the United States. But this delay (in applications) will take years if the government does not take ambitious action,” he said.
In 2020, a federal judge issued a ruling that virtually nullified Proclamation 10052, after allowing temporary foreign workers to enter the United States if their employers were members of the country’s Chamber of Commerce or other labor organizations. large dimensions that represent much of the economy of this nation.
However, Proclamation 10014 continues to block the entry of thousands of migrants.
What will happen to the visa lottery?
Migration lawyers said they were surprised that Biden did not immediately withdraw the suspension, as he did with the travel ban imposed by Trump on people in Muslim countries.
As a result, some foreigners who were affected by the travel ban found themselves unable to reach the United States due to the suspension.
A few days ago, thousands of visa lottery winners, who were at risk of their permits expiring, got a court order pausing their trial by a judge in the case. They will now be allowed to use their visas to enter the country.
The United States offers up to 55,000 visas a year for migrants whose nationalities are underrepresented in the country’s population. These documents must be used within the first six months of being obtained.
Meanwhile, Biden has proposed a bill that it would limit presidential authority to issue future bans against immigrants.
The president has not said whether there will be any compensation for visa lottery winners who lost their chance due to the policies implemented by the pandemic. However, he called on the United States to increase the number of diversity visas available in the lottery each year from 55,000 to 80,000.
OMZI