Biden Gives Hope to Illegal Immigrants, Sends Immigration Bill.
The U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, immediately after taking office on Wednesday, will send an immigration reform bill to Congress that include an eight-year pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, reports say.
The proposal, according to the Washington Post, will put millions of eligible immigrants in a temporary status for five years. Afterwards, they can then get a green card upon meeting certain requirements, including background checks and payment of taxes.
However, to qualify, immigrants must have been in the U.S. without legal status as of Jan. 1, a proviso meant to prevent a rush to the country’s border by opportunists, the paper reported.
Under the impending bill, beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the temporary protected status program for migrants from disaster-ravaged nations could apply for a green card immediately.
Although, with Biden’s Democratic Party holding a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress, the support of Republicans would be needed to secure the required two-third majority votes for the bill to sail through.
