President Joe Biden snapped into action during his first day in the Oval Office, issuing a number of executive orders and focusing heavily on immigration reform. One of Biden’s presidential actions, Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), indicates his strategy for making big moves on immigration.
In an article from The Washington Post, Columnist Greg Sargent outlines how Democrats plan to dive into a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers across the country.
Executive Orders and Congressional Leadership
In previous administrations, Democrats have been thwarted by political constraints. Many proposed laws for immigration reform have made it through the House only to be stopped in the Senate. By taking executive action to address limitations, Biden shows that “Democrats are not going to be cowed by old, 1990s-style political constraints.”
Still, some solutions cannot be implemented through executive orders alone. Democrats in Congress must get started immediately. Fortunately, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
New Legislation
Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) plans to move a bill legalizing Dreamers within the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris presidency.
This version of Obama’s Dream Act would provide a path to citizenship for 2 million undocumented immigrants who were bought here as children, giving them access to education and employment. Thanks to DACA, Dreamers already have protection against deportation, but the challenges of the Trump Administration show just how unstable executive orders can be.
A New Approach
Historically, Democrats have tried to pass large packages of immigration reform with increased border enforcement, but this approach has failed to appease Republicans. Although the Biden-Harris Administration has ambitious goals and hopes to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants before turning its attention to the border, the Administration is kicking things off by “seeking a quick victory on the dreamers.”
Some GOP senators are already on board with the idea of legalizing the Dreamers, so Democrats hope this policy can garner Republican support. Acting quickly and making “progress where there is already consensus” is a new strategy to open the gates for an unmatched movement for immigration reform.
As Sargent explains:
“The dreamers are highly sympathetic figures, and, crucially, their plight is well understood by the public.”
Democrats will likely win overwhelming public support, and they hope that Republicans who sign on will face praise from the left and less blowback from the right than expected, thus opening the way for additional reform down the line.
If the Democrats can win over 10 Republicans and pass legislation to legalize and pave the way to citizenship for Dreamers, they will be on the right track to real, lasting reform – and 4 or 5 Republican senators already support the legislation.
We can only hope the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency will reflect as much forward momentum as his first day in office.
Immigration Amidst Political Change
At Garcia, Miranda & Gonzalez-Rua, P.A., we have more than 50 years of combined experience navigating immigration law. We have seen numerous administrations and legal strategies and helped our clients immigrate to the United States nonetheless.
If you need help with immigration during this time of political change, please call us at (888) 340-8424 or contact us online to get started!