WASHINGTON – Immigrant advocacy groups and business leaders on Friday urged President Joe Biden to use executive authority to remove long-term undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens following Thursday night's State of the Union address, which centered on economics and economics. I requested my spouse to extend his work visa. immigration reform.
At a Friday press conference hosted by the American Corporate Immigration Coalition, a group that advocates for immigration reform as an economic benefit, they said the Biden administration had granted humanitarian parole to quickly give new immigrants protection and the ability to work. expressed dissatisfaction. However, it did not provide the same privileges to illegal aliens who have been in the United States for a long time.
And pointing to Congress' failure to act on immigration reform in nearly 40 years and the quick collapse of bipartisan agreement on border security last month, these advocates and business leaders believe the executive order will move forward. I think this is the only way to do it.
“We have no choice but to knock on the White House door,” business leader and co-chairman of the American Business Immigration Coalition Al Cárdenas said Friday. “Everyone's frustrated.”
Americans with undocumented spouses also expressed frustration and called for executive action to provide relief to the more than 1.1 million Americans who fear their illegal spouses may be deported.
“'I will not separate families.' That's what President Biden said last night,” American Families United President Ashley DeAzevedo said of Biden's State of the Union address. “To some, these may just be his five letters, but to me… they are a commitment and promise to my family and my future.”
Immigrants in the spotlight
The immigration section of Biden's State of the Union address to Congress will focus on how Republicans left the bipartisan border agreement and how Biden wants to work with Congress to overhaul U.S. immigration law. was assigned.
When Biden spoke about immigration, he was often interrupted by Republicans, who on the same day passed a House bill named after slain Georgia college student Laken Riley. It linked the death to the White House's immigration policies.
The question of how to stem the flow of migrants, particularly at the southern border, has become a central campaign theme in the presidential rematch between Biden and Republican front-runner Donald J. Trump.
Democratic Congresswoman Delia Ramirez of Illinois said she was disappointed that Biden did not support expanding work visas for immigrants, noting there are nearly 9 million job openings nationwide. Ta.
Biden said some of his legislative accomplishments would create millions of new jobs, but Ramirez insisted, “We need workers for those jobs.”
“Immigration helps strengthen our economy,” she said. “Immigrants fill jobs that we desperately need to fill. Immigrants are eager to continue contributing even more income to our tax rolls.”
“Leapfrog”
Frustration over work permits comes as the Biden administration addresses the highest number of migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in 20 years, using broad powers to grant these migrants the right to receive humanitarian parole. This is occurring while the government is granting work visas.
Sam Sanchez, executive director of the National Restaurant Association, said undocumented workers who have been waiting decades for visas feel like they are being “jumped on by new (immigrant) arrivals.” Ta.
“We are here to help you,” Sanchez said. “But we cannot forget the long-term immigrants who have contributed to our economy.”
There are more than 10 million illegal aliens in the United States, many of whom have lived in this country for decades.
Rebecca See, executive director of the American Business Immigration Coalition, said the Biden administration's frequent use of humanitarian parole prompted her to call on the president to grant work visas to long-term undocumented immigrants.
“We didn't think (this) was possible, but as you know, he gave 1.4 million work permits to new immigrants,” she said. “So at least extend the same benefits to the people who have been working here, sweating and paying taxes for decades.”
illegal alien spouse
Shi added that many undocumented workers live in mixed-status families, meaning some are U.S. citizens and some are undocumented immigrants, and they also live in battleground states. These battleground states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
“That's the political reality,” she said.
DeAzevedo said American Families United, which represents U.S. citizens and their undocumented spouses in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, has “the simple right for spouses to legally work in this country that is their home.” He said he was launching a campaign to make demands.
“The current state of our unions is tired, dissatisfied and marginalized,” Deazevedo said.
One person who felt that way was introduced only as Alison, a U.S. citizen who has been married to an illegal immigrant for more than 20 years and has three children. She did not reveal her full name.
“We are exhausted and frankly very angry with this administration,” Allison said. “Every year we continue to live in fear of trauma and separation, especially if an unfriendly regime comes back to power.”
She said she and her family feel disrespected.
“We are seeing more than 1 million recently arrived new immigrants obtain work permits through parole and reunify with their families. Meanwhile, we… I waited a year,” she said.
