On Tuesday, President Biden gave his first set of union address
during which he spoke on immigration for about 2 minutes.
In a speech largely dedicated to the economy and inflation,
Biden called on Congress to pass immigration reform, framing it
as the right thing to do and good for American businesses.
Stay tuned because we are going to take a look
at what Biden said about immigration, the response it received,
and what his options are for passing reform.
And if this is your first time on my channel.
Be sure to subscribe
and turn on the notifications for regular immigration news updates.
Ahead of his State of the Union address, Biden has been facing
growing pressure from immigration advocates to pass immigration reform.
On February 24th, UnidosUS and a number of other Latino civil rights organizations
send the president a letter urging action through executive order
to fulfill campaign promises and protect
undocumented workers from deportation.
And just days before his speech, a new poll was released by the immigrant
advocacy group NILC showing strong
support for reform and a 66%
disapproval of Biden's handling of immigration.
A separate poll by the National Immigration Forum echoed the bipartisan
support, with 79% of registered voters supporting a pathway to citizenship,
including 76% of the Republicans polled.
So given this pressure,
what exactly did Biden have to say about immigration in his speech?
He began by emphasizing the need to secure the southern border
and fix our broken immigration system, urging Congress to provide a pathway
to citizenship for Dreamers,
those with temporary status, farmworkers, and essential workers.
Provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those
with temporary status, farmworkers, essential workers.
Revise our laws
so businesses have workers they need
and families don't wait decades to reunite.
It's not only the right thing to do, it's economically smart thing to do.
That's why the immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions
to religious leaders to the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce.
Let's get it done once and for all.
While many were glad to see that Biden
addressed immigration in the speech, some criticized his lack of action.
Nicole Melaku,
the executive director for the National Partnership for New Americans,
urged him to lean into executive action, saying: "Biden also has the authority
to make administrative fixes to the immigration system, such as
tackling the green card backlog that can take up to 18 years to process
in some instances." Biden's immigration priorities were originally
going to be included in the build back better reconciliation bill,
but it doesn't seem likely to pass at this point.
So it's unclear how Biden plans to pass reform.
Immigration advocates are pushing Biden to issue more executive orders
to do things like ending Title 42 and protecting essential workers.
But it is unclear if he does intend to do so.
The midterms are coming, and Democrats could lose control of Congress
if they don't start delivering on their promises soon.
What do you think?
Will Biden try to pass immigration reform before the midterms?
If so, is he likely to do this through executive action?
Leave me a comment and let me know.
If you would like to hear more about possible immigration reform,
I will include a link to my video on the new bill proposed by Republicans
that would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.
I will also continue bringing you additional immigration news
as it's available,
so be sure to subscribe and turn on notifications if you have not done so yet.
Click here to watch this video next and I will see you there.