Jan 9, 2021, Sarthak Monga
According to the World Economic Forum, the United States has long been a country home to the most number of immigrants. Since Donald Trump became the President, legal immigration has reduced as much as 49%, according to the National Foundation for American Policy analysis. Since Donald Trump became the President, legal immigration has reduced as much as 49%, according to the National Foundation for American Policy analysis. Even though in the past few years, people of few nationalities such as India and China have faced long waiting lines to get their green cards, a lot is being hoped for with Joe Biden being elected as the President of the USA.
President elect, Joe Biden has clearly laid out his plans on his campaigning website to implement immigration reforms. The Biden Plan for securing our values as a nation of immigrants states, “Trump has waged an unrelenting assault on our values and our history as a nation of immigrants. It’s wrong, and it stops when Joe Biden is elected president.” Hence, the intention of President elect Joe Biden has been really clear on the issue of immigration, even before the results of this election was declared. Here are few key commitments made by Joe Biden about what he will be doing in regards to immigration, in his first 100 days in the office:
- Immediately reverse the Trump Administration’s cruel and senseless policies that separate parents from their children at our border
- Restore and defend the naturalization process for green card holders.
- Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.
- Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim ban”
In addition, a number of news sites, lawyers and legal organizations have given their take on Biden’s immigration policies.
According to a CNBC article, research from Penn Wharton Budget Model estimates that two-thirds of unauthorized immigrants would gain legal status under Biden’s plan. Further the article quotes, “The H1-B visa limitations would likely be undone by Biden, and that would be a positive boost for the economy, since Trump’s proposal to shut that off would limit the number of highly skilled professionals entering the country.”
Also stated in Boundless – “As an Indian-American, Harris might be able to nudge Biden to pay extra attention to visa waiting lists that currently leave some Indian green card applicants facing century-long waits for green cards. In 2019, Harris led an ultimately fruitless push for reforms to the country cap system, hoping to free up more green cards for countries such as India and China; it’s possible that as VP she would be able to resurrect those plans.”
“President-elect Joe Biden’s plan on immigration stands in stark contrast to the xenophobic agenda the Trump administration has put forward the last four years. Much of Biden’s plan revolves around undoing some of the most damaging policies enacted under President Trump.”, says Melissa Cruz from Immigration Impact.
To summarize, President Elect Joe Biden has laid out some comprehensive plans such as expanding cap limits for skilled workers, restoring the naturalization process for green card holders, etc.
We believe all immigrants should be able to access a lawyer when they need one.
