President Joe Biden sent Congress his immigration bill, with language that could make people think it is not amnesty.
But as Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw said, we need to call it what it is: “full-on amnesty.”
What the White House wrote:
Create an earned roadmap to citizenship for undocumented individuals. The bill allows undocumented individuals to apply for temporary legal status, with the ability to apply for green cards after five years if they pass criminal and national security background checks and pay their taxes. Dreamers, TPS holders, and immigrant farmworkers who meet specific requirements are eligible for green cards immediately under the legislation. After three years, all green card holders who pass additional background checks and demonstrate knowledge of English and U.S. civics can apply to become citizens. Applicants must be physically present in the United States on or before January 1, 2021. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may waive the presence requirement for those deported on or after January 20, 2017 who were physically present for at least three years prior to removal for family unity and other humanitarian purposes. Lastly, the bill further recognizes America as a nation of immigrants by changing the word “alien” to “noncitizen” in our immigration laws.
Summary:
Over 11 million illegal aliens can apply for a five-year program, which allows them to avoid deportation, keep working, and pay taxes. Every single one of them can do this.
As Jazz Shaw points out, allowing illegal aliens to work violates federal law: 8 U.S. Code § 1324a – Unlawful employment of aliens.
Those 11 million become eligible for a green card after five years. They can apply for citizenship three years after that.
Biden and the Democrats want to make “[D]reamers, TPS holders [Temporary Protected Status] and immigrant farmworkers who meet specific requirements” eligible for green cards immediately.
There are other green card changes:
It would also open up legal pathways to immigration even further, including expanding the controversial green card lottery from 55,000 a year to 80,000 a year and exempting children and spouses from visa cap numbers. The bill would “recapture” unused visas from previous years to help clear backlogs, and increase visa caps. It also scraps the “unlawful presence bars” — bans on legal re-entry to the U.S. for those who have been in the country unlawfully.
The bill also eliminates “the penalty barring those immigrants who live in the U.S. without authorization and who then leave the country from returning for three to 10 years.”
Yes, the DHS secretary can “waive the presence requirement for those deported on or after January 20, 2017…”
Who took office around that time? President Donald Trump. The government deported around 800,000 people during Trump’s administration.
I wonder if leftists will complain about the people needing to have “knowledge of English and U.S. civics.” I thought it was racist to push English on immigrants.
The bill promises more funding to improve immigration courts and process asylum requests faster.
America needed that funding for decades, but she needs it more now since Biden and the Democrats want to open the door.
Biden tries to woo Republicans by prioritizing “smart border controls.” Even the Associated Press admitted there is not much under the section to get Republican support.
Biden promises to build on “existing border resources with technology and infrastructure” but uses vague language. It makes no changes except maybe some Flextape on procedures already in place.
The Democrats want to spend $4 billion in four-years across different agencies “to address the underlying causes of migration.” In other words, send a ton of money to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras because we all know those governments are clean and have no corruption! Yes, Biden says it’s on the condition those countries use the money to end violence, poverty, and crime. I just snorted.
Administration officials told CNN that Biden “remained open to negotiating” and “willing to work with Congress.”
Biden might face aggression from fellow Democrats. I wonder what AOC and other hard-leftists will say since it does not give the illegal aliens citizenship tomorrow.
The bill needs 10 Republicans:
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell recently called it a “massive proposal for blanket amnesty that would gut enforcement of American laws while creating huge new incentives for people to rush here illegally at the same time” while even Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who was part of the 2013 “Gang of Eight” dismissed it as a non-starter.
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