A brand new authorized program might result in as many as half 1,000,000 of undocumented immigrants to qualify for U.S citizenship however many are ready to use, in accordance with KQED News.
The Biden administration began accepting purposes for the “Keeping Families Together” program earlier this month, which might enable long-term unauthorized immigrants married to U.S. residents to grow to be everlasting authorized residents.
The federal program would additionally allow 50,000 undocumented stepchildren of residents of U.S residents to pursue citizenship.
Janet Reyes is a dental assistant at an Oakland highschool and a U.S.-born citizen however her husband Marco is an undocumented building employee (his final title is not going to be used for security causes).
The married couple informed KQED News that they have been “past excited” once they heard Biden announce this system in June however have been hesitant to offer the federal government with their private data as a result of they worry deportation if Donald Trump wins the upcoming November election.
“For those who apply, you’re going to be added to this record. … And if the Republican wins, it may be one thing unhealthy that you just’re on this record,” Reyes mentioned. “A few of my coworkers have been similar to, ‘I feel we’re going to attend till after the election to see who wins.’”
At a recent press conference, immigration rights advocates in California inspired individuals to make the most of the coverage now as a result of a future presidential administration might finish this system or problem it in court docket.
“What we all know is that this system exists at present. … We need to make sure that as many households are in this system, at the same time as we all know that there are various who see this as a menace,” mentioned Angélica Salas, the manager director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.
California is house to the biggest variety of undocumented people within the nation, in accordance with the Sacramento Bee.
Roughly 12%, or 315,000, of these California residents are married to U.S. residents, in accordance with the Migration Policy Institute.
Trump has repeatedly vowed in marketing campaign rallies to oust the over 11 million undocumented individuals residing within the nation.
However beneath the Biden-Harris administration, the president has additionally confronted intense criticisms from immigration advocates for enacting a ‘draconian’ coverage that strictly curbed asylum on the United States-Mexico border again in June.
The coverage allowed the administration to cease processing asylum claims if the variety of irregular crossings on the US-Mexico border surpasses a median of two,500 per day for every week, in accordance with Al Jazeera.
Azadeh Erfani, a senior coverage analyst on the Nationwide Immigrant Justice Middle, informed Al Jazeera that Biden’s government order violated each U.S. and worldwide regulation as a result of it despatched individuals with viable asylum claims again to hurt.
President Biden publicly dropped out of the presidential race in July and vice-president Kamala Harris has since changed him because the Democratic presidential candidate.
Kamala Harris just lately pledged to deliver again the bipartisan border security bill on the ultimate evening of the Democratic Nationwide Conference (DNC) in Chicago, however made no point out of making a authorized pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
