As if America isn’t already experiencing an unprecedented immigration crisis, President Biden is reportedly mulling immigration reforms that would help more foreigners move to the United States.
According to a 46-page draft called “D.H.S. Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System” that was reported on Monday by the New York Times, the Biden administration plans to “rebuild and expand” the legal-immigration system, and undo President Donald Trump’s changes to the immigration system.
The Times notes that Biden does indeed want to open the country to more immigrants: “His ambition, as reflected in the blueprint, is to rebuild and expand the opportunities for foreigners to enter the United States — but to do so legally.”
“Divided into seven sections, the document offers detailed policy proposals that would help more foreigners move to the United States, including high-skilled workers, trafficking victims, the families of Americans living abroad, American Indians born in Canada, refugees, asylum-seekers and farm workers. Immigrants who apply online could pay less in fees or even secure a waiver in an attempt to ‘reduce barriers’ to immigration. And regulations would be overhauled to ‘encourage full participation by immigrants in our civic life,’” per the Times.
The Biden administration plans to accelerate H-1B visa program, which is intended for workers with special skills, and to create new pathways for foreign entrepreneurs who wish to “start-up businesses and create jobs for U.S. workers,” according to the document.
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There also will be a regulation that would allow migrants to win asylum in the United States if they are victims of domestic violence or their relatives were persecuted.
Among additional provisions are expanded immigration opportunities for LGBTQ refugees from countries where they are persecuted or where same-sex marriages are not recognized, and a revamped program that provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who help law enforcement by cooperating with police or testifying in court.
As part of the proposal, the administration seeks to fast-track immigration applications by relying more on virtual interviews and electronic filings, as well as limiting the requests for evidence from applicants.
Critics of Biden’s plan point out how the H-1B program is being issued by tech companies as a loophole to import cheap foreign workers to compete for jobs, and that “millions” of additional people who seek asylum from domestic violence will be drawn to America.
The Times article states that most of the proposed changes could be put into practice without passage of Biden’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people living in the United States, but has stalled in a divided Congress.
Since taking office, Biden has issued a flurry of executive orders overturning many of Trump’s immigration policies. Biden got rid of Trump’s so-called travel ban, cancelled a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their U.S. asylum applications were processed, and froze construction of the border wall, which resulted in record-high illegal border crossings.
In April, his administration announced that the United States will take in as many as 62,500 refugees by the end of September and aims to increase that figure to 125,000 for the next fiscal year. The decision was made after Biden came under fire for not taking immediate action to reverse Trump’s historically low cap of 15,000 refugee admissions.
Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) experts point out that, in addition to encouraging illegal immigration, the Biden administration has already weakened the legal immigration system by lowering the standards to obtain lawful permanent resident (green card) status and burdening American taxpayers in the process.
First, the Biden Department of Justice abandoned its legal defense of the final rule regarding Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds, developed under the Trump administration. Under the Trump law, an alien who is likely at any time to become a public charge is generally inadmissible and ineligible to become a lawful permanent resident.
In a companion action, Department of Homeland Security announced it is withdrawing the rule regarding the affidavit of support that required a sponsor of the immigrant-to-be to cover processing costs and reimburse the U.S. Treasury (i.e., American taxpayers) for any taxpayer-funded benefits the would-be immigrant accesses while the affidavit of support is in effect.
CIS says that “the Biden administration is sending a clear signal that it will not enforce the affidavit of support, effectively nullifying this provision of immigration law. As a result, more immigrants will access more welfare benefits, increasing the overall burden on American taxpayers.”
Given the fact that easing requirements to immigrate to the United States will lead to a continuous inflow of illegal aliens, coupled with mounting economic troubles stemming from astronomic government spending, it is truly hard to rationalize an expansion of immigration to the United States unless there is malign intent among those who promote it.
