As of this Friday, Joe Biden decreed that his government cannot expel immigrants, except for those suspected of terrorism, espionage, or those who leave the country of their own free will.
WASHINGTON D.C. (Times Media Mexico) – Joe Biden ordered to stop deportations for 100 days. This suspension’s objective, which applies as of today, is to review U.S. immigration policies to ensure they are fair. The moratorium excludes those suspected of terrorism or espionage and those who voluntarily leave the country.
Meanwhile, the President sent the Democratic-controlled Congress an initiative to regularize and grant citizenship to 11 million undocumented immigrants. The first to benefit from this measure would be 800,000 dreamers, who will have permanent residency.
The reform contemplates other migrants who could obtain a work permit and legal residency.
DEPORTATIONS HALTED FOR 100 DAYS
In his first executive orders towards immigration reform, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, ended yesterday the program that made thousands of migrants seeking asylum wait in Mexico and ordered to stop deportations for 100 days.
On Wednesday, hours after taking office, the Democrat issued an executive order halting the border wall’s construction.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the purpose of the suspension of deportations is to review the country’s immigration policies.
Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security David Pekoske said in a statement that “for 100 days, beginning January 22, 2021, DHS will halt deportations of certain aliens who have been ordered deported.”
He noted that the moratorium seeks to “ensure that we have a fair and effective immigration enforcement system focused on protecting national security, border security, and public safety.”
The moratorium excludes those suspected of terrorism or espionage and those who voluntarily leave the country.
In September last year, an appeals court allowed the Trump administration to deport thousands of immigrants who had already obtained citizenship, including minors.
Regarding the Migrant Protection Protocols program, implemented by former President Donald Trump, which makes migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. wait in Mexico, Biden dealt a reversal to his predecessor.
Following these measures, the President announced that he was sending to Congress an initiative to regularize the immigration status and even provide U.S. citizenship to some 11 million undocumented immigrants.
The Biden administration asked the migrants now waiting at the Mexican border to remain there and await further instructions.
President Biden’s immigration reform also includes economic aid for development in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to address problems that cause migration to the United States, such as the caravans seen in the last two years.
PRIORITY TO DREAMERS
The first to benefit from the reform initiative being worked on by the new government will be some 800,000 dreamers, who will soon receive legal and permanent residency and, with it, will apply for U.S. citizenship after three years as residents.
Dreamers are undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country during their childhood, accompanying their parents, and considered the United States their country when they grew up in it.
For them, former President Barack Obama implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has allowed them to work and study in the United States with renewable protection against deportation every two years condition of not having a criminal record.
After the dreamers, the reform contemplates the rest of the undocumented migrants, who would have the authorization to remain in the country with a work permit. Within five years, in 2026, they would obtain legal permanent residency if, among other requirements, they lack a criminal record and prove that they have paid taxes.
As with the Dreamers, the rest of the migrants could apply for U.S. citizenship three years after becoming legal residents.
The reform includes those who were undocumented in the country before January 1.
The initiative presented by the new U.S. administration must be voted by Congress, where despite its control of both Houses, the Democrats must obtain nine Republican votes in the Senate to reach a majority of 60, “a Herculean task,” said Democratic Senator Bob Menendez on Thursday in a videoconference reported by the AFP news agency.
For his part, David Sanger, a journalist for The New York Times, said there is a chance that the reform will have Republican support.
