A mass amnesty for millions of illegal aliens was a pillar of the Biden campaign. Now, two weeks into his presidency, we are starting to see glimpses of the proposed bill.
In a fact sheet released by the White House, President Biden announced that an immigration bill, The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, was sent to Congress “as part of his commitment to modernize” and “restore humanity and American values to our immigration system.”
The bill outlines an eight-year path to citizenship for 14.5 million illegal aliens in the United States, including a five-year path to a green card and citizenship after another three years. However, those with a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and illegally present farmworkers would be immediately eligible for green cards, meaning their path to citizenship would only be three years. The bill would also grant legal status to spouses and children.
It is important to highlight that neither TPS nor DACA were ever intended to act as paths to citizenship. In fact, both are temporary designations which can be terminated at any time. Moreover, the programs themselves pose many issues for Americans. Not only do these programs create a massive fiscal burden on the American people but they also filter jobs away from skilled citizens, undermine legal immigration, and encourage more illegal immigration.
The promise of an amnesty always brings an increase of illegal immigration. After the election of President Biden, several migrant caravans from Central America began making their way to our southern border with hopes of being included in the proposed amnesty.
While the Biden administration claims the bill is an attempt to stimulate the economy, it will significantly increase competition in a job market that is already strained due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns which put millions of Americans out of work.
The bill has a clear victory in the Democrat-controlled House as well as the overwhelming support from open borders advocates. Its fate in the Senate is cloudier as the bill faces significant opposition from Republicans. In order to pass in the Senate, the bill would need the support of ten Republicans which seems unlikely at this juncture.
As a result, Biden is open to splitting the bill up into different components. Even still, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 is a disaster for the American people and couldn’t have come at a worse time. Such a measure would not only put an immense fiscal strain on federal assistance programs and Social Security, but would compound difficulties for American workers displaced by COVID-19.
