As the fight for fairness and facilitation of immigration continues, the passage of this historic bill can be celebrated in the Senate because it contains no changes that would have been used against immigrants, their families and our communities. If their efforts to include immigration in the reconciliation bill fail, Democrats may not have another chance to pursue their policy priorities before next year`s midterm elections, provided they retain control of both houses of Congress, a highly dubious scenario. A Republican Congress may not be interested in immigration reform at all, especially if it intends to use immigration as a campaign weapon against the Biden administration and the Democratic Party. Yet many Republicans have argued that individuals can be protected from deportation and should be at the bottom of the line when it comes to legal immigration. Parolees would be able to apply for permanent residence, but only if they fit into an existing family or occupational immigration class. That doesn`t mean Republicans wouldn`t criticize the probation option. Moderate Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced last week that she supports the current provisions, but there is not yet a word from Senator Joe Manchin, who has expressed skepticism about immigration in the bill. Since Senate Democrats need every vote in their caucus, if she refuses to support the provisions, Manchin would effectively be dead. “It is now up to the Senate to do whatever it takes to enact this bill as soon as possible,” Wang said. “The lives of millions of families are at stake, and it`s time to deliver on our country`s promise – our immigrant communities, families, friends and neighbours have waited long enough.” The House of Representatives could soon vote on the Democrats` $1.75 trillion budget bill, with provisions designed to protect undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. from deportation and reduce long visa backlogs. But that`s not all; Illegal aliens or other aliens waiting in the green card queue may also receive a work permit under this provision. For example, an illegal alien marrying a U.S.
citizen could receive an EAD simply because the marriage took place, even if an arbitrator later reveals that the marriage was fraudulent or inappropriate in order to receive an immigration benefit. Similarly, any foreigner with an approved family green card (or in the rare case of an employment-based green card) that is not immediately available could also benefit from the opportunity to legally find a way to enter the country, such as being approved with a tourist visa. As a general rule, foreigners waiting for their green card number should not get a nonimmigrant visa as they are expected to come to the United States to wait for the green card process. Does anyone believe that the standards of control under the Biden administration will allow this “barrier” to remain? The BBB also included many legal immigration provisions that AILA fought for, which would have helped family, employment, and DV visa backlogs (see our summary of these provisions in the original House bill). These provisions were not checked by the parliamentarian because they were not ultimately part of the final text of the IRA. The law would also recover millions of green cards that have not been used since 1992. Under applicable law, assigned green cards that have not been issued at the end of the year will no longer be available for the following year. In 2021, the U.S.
did not issue about 80,000 green cards due to processing delays, and those cards are now wasted. This has led Democrats to insist on using the budget vote process to address the issue of immigration, which would circumvent the need for Republican support. So far, these efforts have failed. But the Democrats have not yet given up. The bill will not be introduced in the Senate until December. Issues at play: Most undocumented immigrants have little to fear under the Biden administration, which only targets threats to public safety and recent border crossings to be deported. But Democrats say it`s important to include immigration protection now because a future president could change Biden`s rules. Democrats are also keen to codify protections in the law to thwart the kinds of legal challenges that have upended executive agendas like Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). A federal judge in Texas has restricted DACA, saying the executive branch exceeded its authority and that Congress should have created the program instead.