The Plight Of Unregistered Immigrants As The Biden's Build-back Better Plan Is Delayed
The Build Back Better Plan was an agenda initiated by President Joe Biden before his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. The plan is divided into three major parts, namely; The American Rescue Plan(ARP), The American Job Plan(AJP), and The American Families Plan. The plan was received with mixed reactions from the American populace. Some praise it as a necessity and others criticize it for its high spending and potential job loss.
The plan contains a social policy and welfare agenda that was to look into the issues of unregistered or undocumented immigrants who were illegally brought into the U.S.
While President Joe Biden presented his brief in his first State of the Union this year, he mentioned the legalization of undocumented immigrants in passing. Giving the dim assurance that legal status will be granted to them. Yet the legislature and courts seem not to share his perception on the topic.
Although the building of the southern wall started by former President Donald Trump to stop illegal immigration was halted by the Biden administration, that seems to be the furthest that Biden has gone on the issue.
The Katia Escobar Story
Just like many "Dreamers," Katia Escobar was illegally brought into America by her Mexican parents at the young age of one. She lived her life mostly depending on Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA)- the program enabled unregistered immigrants to possess a non-permanent legal status.
Katia Escobar who is now an activist on the topic said, “I’m fighting for my life, and many others are with me on that. My life and the lives of millions of others who are like me should not be up for debate.”
Furthermore, as it concerns Joe Biden's statements on the topic during his address, Escobar opined that she no longer found the White House to be trustworthy. She added, "We have seen in the past him making empty promises."
Escobar applied to the University of Houston last year, preparing to begin college. She depended on the federal government for financial aid. But her illegal status has truncated these hopes. In addition, her status as an illegal immigrant would also deter her from getting jobs to support herself through school, as well as being faced with an uncertain future after school. Not only her but many immigrant undergraduates are faced with this menacing issue. All thanks to the never-ending debates held in Parliament concerning the matter.
The Crashing Of Great Expectations
While he campaigned in 2020, President Biden gave the assurance that he will put a stop to what he described as the "unrelenting assaults" by former President Donald Trump on the values and history of the U.S. as a nation of immigrants. Thereby settling the issue of family separation and bringing to a stop the wall being built at the border in the south. More precisely, he vowed to protect "Dreamers and their families" by making sure that laws are enacted to ensure a medium of attaining legal status. Even after a federal judge ruled that the application for Obama's Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was illegal, Biden made moves to restore it.
In his first year as President of the United States, Biden appeared to keep to his words. He gave orders for the building of the wall being built to be halted, he discontinued prohibitions on lawful immigration to the U.S., and established the Family Reunification Task Force to reunite families who were separated at the border under the Trump administration.
Biden's attempt to protect Dreamers met with serious blockades by Republicans in Congress and the courts. A federal judge in Texas obstructed Biden's move to restore DACA and ruled that the move was beyond the President's legal authority. The legislative also came down heavily on the attempt to give Dreamers legal status naming the excessive spending on social policy and climate change bill referred to as the Build Back Better.
The Situation With The Proposed Bill
The Build Back Better bill has continued to meet with strong opposition. This is especially due to its humongous spending which legislators such as Senator Joe Manchin claim will give rise to inflation and national debt.
Proposals to include the legalization of immigrants in the bill have also faced huge opposition.
Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate parliamentarian has ruled against the Democrats three times when they moved to incorporate immigration reforms in the bill. She insisted that immigration reform was not principally a budget proposal- a necessary criterion under Senate regulations for a reconciliation package that is not liable to procrastination.
Although activists opine that the Biden administration did not give the issue due credence.