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Biden will legalize 11 million illegal immigrants in USA

Staff Reporter, USA || risingbd.com

Published: 15:28, 19 January 2021  
Biden will legalize 11 million illegal immigrants in USA

 Newly- elected US President Joe Biden will send an immigration bill to Congress on the first working day after he is sworn in.

As a result, the fate of about 11 million long-term illegal immigrants in the United States is unfolding.

Joe Biden is going to bring an eight-year process to grant citizenship to these illegal immigrants. Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klein, told media on Saturday that he would sign the bill and send an immigration bill to Congress on Wednesday, the day after taking office.

The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump's restrictive policies and mass deportations. It provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favored by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.

Expected to run hundreds of pages, the bill is set to be introduced after Biden takes the oath of office Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the legislation and granted anonymity to discuss it.

As a candidate, Biden called Trump's actions on immigration an "unrelenting assault" on American values and said he would "undo the damage" while continuing to maintain border enforcement.

Under the legislation, those living in the US as of January 1, 2021, without legal status would have a five-year path to temporary legal status, or a green card, if they pass background checks, pay taxes and fulfill other basic requirements. From there, it's a three-year path to naturalization, if they decide to pursue citizenship.

For some immigrants, the process would be quicker. So-called Dreamers, the young people who arrived in the US illegally as children, as well as agricultural workers and people under temporary protective status could qualify more immediately for green cards if they are working, are in school or meet other requirements.

The bill is not as comprehensive as the last major immigration overhaul proposed when Biden was vice president during the Obama administration.

For example, it does not include a robust border security element, but rather calls for coming up with strategies. Nor does it create any new guest worker or other visa programs.

It does address some of the root causes of migration from Central America to the United States, and provides grants for workforce development and English language learning.

Chhabed Sathee/Mukul