US President-Elect Joe Biden plans to release the immigration bill on the first day of his administration. This immigration bill will provide an eight-year citizenship to almost 11 million people living in the country without legal status.
Upon completion, this legislation fulfils a major campaign promise by Biden which is important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities. This would come in after four years of restrictive Trump policies and mass deportation.
It provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years. However, it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favoured by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.
As a candidate, Biden called Trump’s actions on immigration an “unrelenting assault” on American values and said he would “undo the damage” while continuing to maintain border enforcement.
Under the legislation, those living in the US as of January 1, 2021, without legal status would have a five-year path to temporary legal status, or a green card, if they pass background checks, pay taxes and fulfil other basic requirements. From there, it’s a three-year path to naturalization, if they decide to pursue citizenship.
For some immigrants, the process would be quicker. So-called Dreamers, the young people who arrived in the US illegally as children, as well as agricultural workers and people under temporary protective status, could qualify more immediately for green cards if they are working, are in school or meet other requirements.
During the Democratic primary, Biden consistently named immigration action as one of his “day one” priorities, pointing to the range of executive powers he could invoke to reverse Trump’s policies. He is expected to take swift executive actions to reverse other Trump immigration actions, including an end to the prohibition on arrivals from several predominantly Muslim countries.
Joe Biden is set to take oath as the 46th President of the United States along with Kamala Harris as his Vice President on January 20, 2021, at noon at the West Front of the US Capitol.
