By Aiyeku Timothy
US President-elect Joe Biden hints at sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, by providing an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. without legal status.
The bill will be introduced after Biden takes the oath of office Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the legislation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
This will be a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies.
The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump’s restrictive policies and mass deportations.
This development provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years.
However, it does not include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favoured by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt.
Biden had described Trump’s actions on immigration an “unrelenting assault” on American values and said he would “undo the damage” while maintaining border enforcement.
Therefore, Biden is expected to take swift executive actions to reverse other Trump immigration actions, including an end to the prohibition on arrivals from several predominantly Muslim countries.
