White House releases Biden’s ‘blueprint’ for immigration overhaul

The White House released on Tuesday Biden administration’s blueprint of its full strategy for immigration overhauling.

The plan reiterates its commitment to pass immigration reform through budget reconciliation. The democrats hope to provide legal status to some immigrants in the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation measure they plan to pass with a simple majority.

It urges Congress to pass the U.S. Citizenship Act and the Dream and Promise Act “through reconciliation or other means.”

“The Administration has made considerable progress to build a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system while continuing to call on Congress to make long overdue reforms to U.S. immigration laws,” a notice announcing the plan said. It also claimed that “the prior Administration’s cruel and reckless immigration policies, which exacerbated long-standing challenges and failed to securely manage our border,” made it impossible to achieve “overnight” success “in building this fair, orderly, and humane immigration system.”

“We will always be a nation of borders, and we will enforce our immigration laws in a way that is fair and just,” the statement continued. “We will continue to work to fortify an orderly immigration system.”

The plan outlines five specific areas in which “federal agencies will be taking to continue implementing the President’s trans formative vision for a 21st century immigration system,” including:

• Ensuring a secure, humane, and well-managed border
• Implementing orderly and fair processing of asylum applications
• Strengthening collaborative migration management with regional partners
• Investing in Central America to address the root causes of migration

“The United States believes that all individuals should be able to have a safe, stable and dignified life within their own countries, while ensuring that asylum and other legal migration pathways remain available to those who need them,” the White House wrote. “We cannot solve the challenge at our border without addressing the lack of economic opportunity, weak governance and corruption, and violence and insecurity that compel people to flee their homes in the first place.”

The renewal of expedited removals, the plan’s most controversial section, had disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday.

Under expedited removals, border officials can quickly make a determination of whether migrants caught entering the country are eligible for asylum.

“It remains in place, and it will remain in place as long as that is the guidance from our health and medical experts,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday, saying there was no timeline for lifting the order.

The document also includes a section on “strengthening collaborative migration management with regional partners,” which focuses on humanitarian assistance and access to asylum, refugee and visa programs.