Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
The United States was built on a foundation of religious freedom and tolerance, a principle enshrined in the United States Constitution. Biden’s proposal, introduced hours after he was sworn in, includes a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, expanded refugee resettlement and more technology deployed to the border. Biden has also stated his support for expanding business immigration, and cutting through the green card backlog.
The Muslim and Africa bans were rescinded with great aplomb. Speakers unpacked Biden’s proposed immigration plan and also discussed what we can expect to see in the next four years at the EMS briefing on Jan 29.
In the past, George W. Bush and Barack Obama sought bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform: The problem is it allowed Republicans to demand way too much in the end, still kill off immigration reform, said Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of the advocacy group America’s Voice. Biden is presenting a bill that unifies and inspires the entire Democratic coalition. In effect, he’s saying, ‘Work with me in good faith, Republicans, to get to 60 votes, and if you don’t — and most of us assume they will not – ‘we’ll find a way to get something done with our 51 votes.’
Cyrus Mehta, Founder and Managing Partner of Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners, PLLC said President Biden is expected to sign an executive order (EO) on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 to modernize the U.S. immigration system. Clear employment-based visa backlogs by not counting family members, recapture unused visas, reduce lengthy wait times, and eliminate per-country visa caps will help the South Asians to reduce their wait times. While it is easier for President Biden to rescind Trump’s executive actions, it will be harder to pass sweeping comprehensive immigration reform through Congress when the Senate is controlled 50-50 by Democrats and Republicans unless the filibuster is eliminated.
“Legalizing undocumented people and reforming our family-based immigration system are top priorities for Asian American and immigrant communities. Through our collective advocacy with Latino and Black immigrant communities through the Value Our Families campaign we are one step closer to a more humane and just immigration system that puts families first.” said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.
We retain hope that our elected officials in Washington can see immigration not as a partisan issue, but as an issue crucial to the security and economic well-being of our state and country.
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