Biden to prioritize legal status for millions of immigrants

President-elect Joe Biden's decision to immediately ask Congress to offer legal status to an estimated 11 million people in country has surprised advocates given how issue has long divided Democrats and Republicans, even within ir own parties. Biden will anunce legislation his first day in office to provide a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in United States illegally, according to four people briefed on his plans.

president-elect campaigned on a path to citizenship for roughly 11 million people in U.S. illegally, but it was unclear how quickly he would move while wrestling with coronavirus pandemic, ecomy and or priorities. For advocates, memories were fresh of presidential candidate Barack Obama pledging an immigration bill his first year in office, in 2009, but t tackling issue until his second term.

Biden's plan is polar opposite of Donald Trump, whose successful 2016 presidential campaign rested in part on curbing or stopping illegal immigration. “This really does represent a historic shift from Trump’s anti-immigrant nda that recognizes that all of undocumented immigrants that are currently in United States should be placed on a path to citizenship,” said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of National Immigration Law Center, who was briefed on bill.

If successful, legislation would be biggest move toward granting status to people in country illegally since President Ronald Reagan bestowed amnesty on nearly 3 million people in 1986. Legislative efforts to overhaul immigration policy failed in 2007 and 2013.

Ron Klain, Biden’s incoming chief of staff, said Saturday that Biden will send an immigration bill to Congress “on his first day in office.” He didn’t elaborate and Biden’s office declined to comment on specifics. Advocates were briefed in recent days on bill's broad outlines by Esr Olivarria, deputy director for immigration on White House Domestic Policy Council.

Domingo Garcia, former president of League of Latin American Citizens, said Biden told advocates on a call Thursday that Trump's impeachment trial in Senate may delay consideration of bill and that y shouldn’t count on pass within 100 days.

“I was pleasantly surprised that y were going to take quick action because we got same promises from Obama, who got elected in ’08, and he totally failed,” Garcia said.

Ali orani, president of National Immigration Forum and among those briefed Thursday night, said immigrants would be put on an eight-year path to citizenship. re would be a faster track for those in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields people from deportation who came to country as young children, and Temporary Protected Status, which gives temporary status to hundreds of thousands of people from strife-torn countries, many from El Salvador.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris offered similar remarks in an interview with Univision that aired Tuesday, saying DACA and TPS recipients will “automatically get green cards” while ors would be on an eight-year path to citizenship. More favorable attitudes toward immigration — especially among Democrats — may weigh in Biden's favor this time. A Gallup survey last year found that 34% of those polled favored more immigration, up from 21% in 2016 and higher than any time since it began asking question in 1965. survey found 77% felt immigration was good for country on whole, up slightly from 72% in 2016.

orani said separation of more than 5,000 children from parents at border, which peaked in 2018, alienated voters from Trump's policies, particularly conservatives and evangelicals. He believes a constantly shifting outlook for DACA recipients also hurt Trump among people who felt he was using m as “political pawns.”

“What was seared in ir mind was family separation. y took it out on Republican Party in 2018 and y took it out on Trump in 2020," orani said. "To put a really fine point on it, y want to end cruelty of Trump administration.”

It is impossible to kw precisely how many people are in country illegally. Pew Research Center estimates re were 10.5 million in 2017, down from an all-time high of 12.2 million in 2007. Homeland Security Department estimates re were 12 million people in country illegally in 2015, nearly 80% of m for more than 10 years. More than half were Mexican. 

(Im Credits: AP)