Daily US Times: President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to immediately ask Congress to offer legal status to an estimated more than 10 million immigrants in the US has surprised advocates given how the issue has long divided Republicans and Democrats, even within their own parties.
Joe Biden will announce legislation his first day in the White House to provide a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the US illegally, according to four people briefed on his plans.
The president-elect campaigned on a path to citizenship for the roughly 11 million people in the United States illegally, but it was not clear how quickly he would move while wrestling with the notorious pandemic, the economy and other priorities. For advocates, memories were fresh of presidential candidate Barack Obama pledging an immigration bill his first year in the oval office, in 2009, but not tackling the issue until his second term.
Joe Biden’s plan is the polar opposite of Donald Trump, whose successful 2016 presidential election rested in part on curbing or stopping illegal immigration.
If the move became successful, the legislation would be the biggest move toward granting status to illegall immigrant since President Ronald Reagan bestowed amnesty on nearly 3 million people in 1986.
Legislative efforts to overhaul immigration policy failed in 2013 and 2007.
Ron Klain, incoming chief of staff of Biden’s administration, said Saturday that Joe Biden will send an immigration bill to Congress “on his first day in office.” He did not elaborate and Biden’s office declined to comment on specifics.
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