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President Bidens first weeks in office have been spent dismantling many of his predecessors policies on immigration.

Biden signed three executive orders on Tuesday aimed at undoing changes Trump made to U.S. immigration policy, creating a task force to reunite families separated at the border and ordering a review of Trump's immigration practices.

This is in addition to a broad plan Biden unveiled on his first day in office that would carve a path to citizenship for the more than 11 million immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally, among other reforms.

This shows the presidents desire to make a clean and aggressive break with the Trump administration, says Ali Noorani, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum.

If there's anything that President Trump defined his administration on, it was being as anti-immigrant as possible, he says.

A direct vision on immigration reform was missing from the Obama administration, he says, in contrast to Bidens clear moves on the matter only days into his presidency.

Noorani says immigration reform has a long history of enjoying bipartisan support. Congress can quickly address some issues pertaining to those with temporary protected status such as the so-called DREAMers in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and migrant farmworkers by moving legislation that was already passed in the House. Passing that legislation alone would address about 3 million to 4 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, he says.

Taking swift action to improve policies for those with temporary protected status shows the nation that immigration reform is good for the American worker, good for their families, Noorani says.

So far, Bidens executive orders have gotten the U.S. back to square one. Activists are pushing for a complete overhaul of the terribly antiquated immigration system, which hasnt been reformed in decades, he says.

Comprehensive reform to Noorani includes the legalization and a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. More than 5 million immigrant workers have been on the frontlines of essential labor during the COVID-19 pandemic, he points out.

To address the future needs of legal immigration, Bidens plan needs to lay out a vision for work and family visas, he says, because the U.S. must increase legal immigration by about 317,000 people per year in order just to maintain the old age dependency ratio.

The third piece of an all-inclusive reform plan would be reassessing the immigration enforcement system to include measures based on actual risk.

A border wall is not based on any sort of a risk, he says. Securing and resourcing ports of entry that's actually based on data because the majority of drugs, guns and money are smuggled through ports of entry. That's what we should be fortifying.

The pandemic has only made immigration in the U.S. more complicated. The massive immigration backlog since visa applications were suspended last April has already surpassed the projected growth rate of increasing legal immigration by 317,000 people per year. About 380,000 visa applications are waiting for review.

Noorani says Bidens executive orders this week will begin chipping away at the visa application list.

In past administrations, theres been bipartisan support for certain immigration reforms, but the spirit of cross-aisle cooperation has eroded in Washington in recent years. But Noorani remains hopeful because of the many different options for reform.

He says Democrats can engage Republicans who were just turned off by the Trump administrations approach to immigration. And if Democrats dont have enough support from their GOP constituents, the Senate could also forge ahead on a party line vote and have Senate Democrats blow up the filibuster, for example.

He says it would be a smart move for Democrats, particularly in the Senate, to begin making moves on immigration because theres a history and theres a desire for change.

Alexander Tuerkproduced and edited this interview for broadcast withTinku Ray.Serena McMahonadapted it for the web.

Originally posted here:
Biden Continues Dismantling Trump Immigration Policy As Advocates Push For Comprehensive Reform - Here And Now

We are long overdue for immigration reform that fixes our guest worker visa system and provides stability for those currently working in agriculture. In every region of the country I visit, I hear from farmers who are facing shortages and delays in hiring skilled employees to help keep up with the demand for safe, sustainable American-grown food, fiber and renewable fuel. Workforce shortages have been one of the greatest limiting factors for growth in U.S. agriculture, and its time we find a solution that works for all.

Its good to see renewed energy and enthusiasm from the Administration around addressing this complex issue. Farm Bureau has long called for immigration reform that addresses the needs of our current farm employees while ensuring agriculture can continue to fill its workforce needs. Its been about 35 years since Congress last passed a comprehensive reform bill, and a lot has changed in agriculture over that time. Responsible immigration reform will take all of us working together to get it right.

The current farm workforce is aging, and farmers are struggling to keep up with filling positions.

A robust agriculture industry is essential to our economy, national security and environmental sustainability. We must work together to ensure U.S. agriculture has the resources it needs to continue to provide and fill these essential farm jobs.

While advances in robotics have replaced some farm jobs, we need skilled employees to manage that equipment. Other farm jobs like tending livestock and pruning or picking fresh produce still require a human touch. Farmers pay competitive wages, in addition to added benefits under the H-2A program, but its a constant challenge to recruit and retain employees. Ive met with farmers who have even added benefits such as on-site cafeterias and health clinics for employees to promote well-being and increase employee retention, and they still face workforce shortages. We also recognize not all growers are able to undertake these initiatives to attract new employees. Other smaller-sized farms have built long-term relationships with their employees as they work side-by-side building the business together. Yet, staffing remains a challenge.

Even with competitive wages and added benefits, there is less interest in farm jobs as folks leave rural areas and are more removed from the farm. Meanwhile the current farm workforce is aging, and farmers are struggling to keep up with filling positions. Margins are slim even in the best seasons on the farm, and farmers can find it hard to stay competitive with other industries and lower-priced agricultural imports.

Demand in the H-2A program has grown significantly in recent years, and theres no sign of that slowing down. The number of certified H-2A positions has increased more than three times compared to 10 years ago, according to DOL data. But the program falls short in giving the flexibility employers and employees need. Delays in processing applications have often left farmers without the workers they need in time for harvest, even before the pandemic. Crops shouldnt be left to rot while paperwork sits in an agency inbox.

U.S. agriculture needs a flexible guest-worker program that allows contract and at-will employment options that work for both seasonal and year-round needs on the farm. We also need to make sure wage requirements take into account the economic conditions of the agriculture industry and enable farms to remain viable. The American Farm Bureau is ready to work with the Administration and Congress to bring these long overdue reforms to our guest worker program to help provide long-term security to our employees, farm businesses and the rural economy.

Theres no question that farm work is tougheveryone puts in a full days work when it comes to tending and harvesting crops and caring for animals. Farmers know how hard this work is because we have invested our sweat and tears in the soil, often for generations. Its time we find a solution that provides farmers, our employees and our families the stability we all need to keep Americas farms growing.

Zippy DuvallPresidenttwitter.com/@ZippyDuvall

Vincent Zippy Duvall, a poultry, cattle and hay producer from Greene County, Georgia, is the 12th president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

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Immigration ReformTime to Get It Right - Farm Bureau News

The president says he wants a government as diverse as America when he enters the White House. Here are some of his Executive Branch picks. USA TODAY

In one of her first days in Congress nearly two decades ago,Rep. Linda Snchez remembersbeing told by a friend on Capitol Hill that there are two types of lawmakers: a workhorseorashowhorse.

Snchez said she's the kind of lawmaker who wants to get things done.

Now, the California congresswomanhas taken the lead in putting together a group of seven women, who she described as workhorses,who will shepherdthelegislative efforts to getPresident Joe Bidens immigration reform billthrough theHouse of Representatives.

"I can unequivocally say that every woman that is part of this 'Closers' group is a workhorse,"Snchez saidin an interview with USA TODAY."They're not doing it for the glory or for the credit. They are in it to get (immigration reform)done once and for all. It's long overdue."

Biden has called for aneight-yearpathway to citizenship forthenearly 11 million immigrants living in the United States without legal status, a shorter process to legal status for agriculture workers and recipients of theDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and an enforcement plan that includes deploying technology to patrol the border.

While they arein the early stages ofputting together their legislativestrategy on the immigration plan,the seven congresswomen will likely become the face of the bill in the House, as they continue to work closely with the White House to pass the first comprehensive immigration reform legislation in more than 30 years.

More: Biden's effort to reunite Trump-era separated families is trickiest immigration challenge

The group, who call themselves the Closers,includesReps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.,Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif.,Nydia Velzquez, D-N.Y., Judy Chu, D-Calif., Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Karen Bass, D-Calif.

Snchez, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force,said she chose this group of congresswomen because of their past work on immigration, in addition to several of the congresswomen serving districts that have large migrant communities.

For example,Roybal-Allard, the firstMexican Americanwoman to be elected to Congress, represents Californias 40th Congressional District, which is home to the highest DACA-eligible population in the UnitedStates.Chu,whose district covers parts ofLos Angeles and San Bernardino counties, has worked frequently on immigration issues, with a focus on Asian and Pacific Islander migrants.

Immigrant rights activists energized by a new Democratic administration and majorities on Capitol Hill are gearing up for a fresh political battle to help push through President Joe Biden's proposed immigration bill. (Jan. 26) AP Domestic

The group has representatives from the Congressional HispanicCaucus, Congressional BlackCaucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

"They are women that sort of reach ...all four corners of the caucus," Snchez said. "They can really fan out and touch all constituencies within our caucus."

More: Asylum seekers at US-Mexico border see hope in Biden administration immigration changes

Bass and Clarke, who is a daughter of Jamaican immigrants, have frequently worked on immigrationthrough the CBC.

I have seen glaring inequities and civil rights violations, and I will not relent until our immigration system reflects a modern and equitable approach to this issue. Reversing the policies of the last four years is not enough,Clarke said in a statement.

Passing immigration reform will be a challenge. And the group of lawmakersmay try topush through legislation that already passed in the House such asthe Farm Workforce Modernization Actand the No Ban Act in addition to Bidens immigration reform plans, Chu told USA TODAY. There are also talks that comprehensive immigration reform legislation may be broken up into several bills rather than onelarge bill.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act creates a pathway to legalization for agricultural or farm workers, as well as reforms the existing visa program for agriculture workers, known as the H-2A visa.The No Ban Act would prohibit religious discrimination in visa applications, as well as revoke Trump's travel ban. Biden has already rolled back the former president's travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries.

Biden has included aspects of these bills in his own legislative package.

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Chu told USA TODAY that the group will have to look at the legislative text before deciding on a plan to move forward.

"The means by which we do it still remains to be seen," Chu said of passing Biden's immigration reform legislation. "It could be one big bill, or it could be different bills."

The last time comprehensive, bipartisan immigration legislation was brought up in Congress was in 2013.

Although no legislation was passed, former President Donald Trump during his administration took a hardline approach to immigration. He had several controversialpolicies, such as his zero tolerance policy that led to the separation of children and parents at the U.S.-Mexico border and attempted to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Supreme Court upheld thatprogram in a ruling last year.

Biden has rolled back some of Trumps controversial policies through executive order such as haltingconstruction on the border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday afternoon that the president will also sign more executive actions next week.

The White House doesnt have a timeline on when they want to see legislation presented and passed, butPsaki said last week that we would like to see them move forward quickly on immigration reform.

Biden is trying to get several large legislative packages through Congress, including a COVID-19 relief package. This is all happening amid an impeachment trial in the Senate for Trump, who was impeached earlier this month.

Snchez said she has been in contact with the White House and is working with them on legislation, as well as with Sen. Bob Menendez, who is leading Biden's immigration reform in the Senate.

Undoing Trump's policies: A look at Biden's first week as president

But the California congresswoman also acknowledged that the group of 'Closers' will also have to get Republicans and more moderate members on board to come up with legislation that can pass in both chambers of the house. However, outreach to other members of Congress likely won't happen until bill text is released.

Snchez said the members will reach out to hear the fear and concerns from not only members of Congress, but of activist groups.

Republicans so far have voiced concern about Biden's legislation not doing enough for security along the border and criticized the pathway to citizenship for all immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status. Republicans argue that giving undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship amounts to amnesty. Biden has also been criticized by some Republicans for introducing legislation on Day One of his presidency, as the nation still grapples with an ongoing pandemic.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has previously said Bidens bill would prioritize help for illegal immigrants and not our fellow citizens.

Snchez said that while getting immigration reform passed will be a "collective effort," it's one that must happen even if it looks different than what Biden has proposed.

"What is non-negotiable is inaction,"she said. "We want to deliver. We will get this done."

Here are the members of the 'Closers:'

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., ischairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force and will be leading the group of 'Closers' for Biden's immigration reform legislation. She has worked on legislation regarding immigration and supported legislation like theDream and Promise Act, which provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., (center) and other lawmakers speak to reporters about the 2020 Census on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 5, 2020.(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., is chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. She has written legislation like the No Ban Act. Aspects of that legislation were included in Biden's immigration reform proposal.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) speaks at a House Judiciary Committee meeting on Capitol Hill on June 17, 2020, in Washington, D.C.(Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., is chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and has led efforts to work with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and theCongressional Asian Pacific American Caucus on immigration reform. She has also focused on elevating discussions on the African migrant experiences.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren asks questions to former special counsel Robert Mueller.(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., was the chairwoman of the House Judiciarys Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship in the last Congress, and will likely be the incoming chairwoman of that subcommittee. She has worked extensively on immigration reform and was previously practiced immigration law.

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Downey) joined other lawmakers in asking President Obama to protect young immigrants who gave their information to the government under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.(Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Rep.Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., was theoriginal co-author of the Dream Act in the House, which provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. She also helped pass the latest version of that legislation, which also offers a pathway to citizenship fortemporary protected status or deferred enforcement departure holders, in the House in 2019. The legislation, however, was never brought up in the Senate.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y.(Photo: Bebeto Matthews, AP)

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., also helped co-lead the 2019Dream and Promise Act to get it passed in the House. Clarke, a daughter of Jamaican immigrants, was also chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Immigration Task Force.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., and others participate in an event with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), TPS (Temporary Protected Status), and DED (Deferred Enforced Departure) recipients on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 2019.(Photo: Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images)

Rep. NydiaVelzquez, D-N.Y., is the former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.Velzquez,the first Puerto Rican woman elected to serve in Congress, also helped co-author the Promise Act that passed in 2019.

Migrants are awaiting word from the new Biden administration on changes to U.S. immigration policy that they hope will allow them into the country. Biden's proposal would create an eight-year pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants. (Jan. 20) AP Domestic

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Meet the 7 congresswomen who are steering Biden's immigration agenda in the House - USA TODAY

Its finally a new day in America. A day immigrants like myself have been hoping and praying for an end to the former administrations cruel and inhumane policies that attempted to strip our community of its humanity.

President Bidens executive actions ending the Muslim ban, halting the construction of the border wall and freezing deportations and his introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 are critical first steps to recognizing immigrants' value and contributions to this country now, during this pandemic, and throughout history.

But immigrant rights advocates, many of us who have been in this fight for decades, cant help but feel wary. We still remember then-candidate Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaGulf grows between GOP's McConnell, McCarthy Barack Obama to Michelle: 'I understand completely why you are a fashion icon' Press: Memo to McCarthy: 'Cut the crap' MORE making the exact same pathway to citizenship promise in 2008. As a former undocumented immigrant and young activist, I remember the sense of hope that accompanied President Obamas election. But I also recall the sense of defeat I, and so many others, felt eight years later. When Obama left office, the long-promised pathway to citizenship remained a pipe dream and he had deported more people than any previous administration a record not even Donald TrumpDonald TrumpGeorgia secretary of state opens investigation into Lin Wood over illegal voting allegations Schiff lobbying Newsom to be appointed California AG: reports Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick lies in honor in Rotunda MORE topped.

The Biden/Harris administration has a critical opportunity to create an America that actually lives up to the words etched along the base of the Statue of Liberty. This is the America my parents spoke to me and my sister about when we joined them in the States from Guyana when I was 10 years old. A land of opportunity, a welcoming and thriving country that knew that what it gave its people, they would give back in multitudes. Thats the vision of America that has been lost in Washington, but its a vision the immigrant community and I have not stopped fighting to realize.

If there was one lesson I learned from the Obama years, it was that Democratic control of Washington does not guarantee justice for my community. It is a lesson I plan to apply during the Biden/Harris administration. We must now start down the long path towards justice. To begin, the organization I lead, the New York Immigration Coalition, has committed to spend $1 million to rally every single member of Congress from New York including Senate Majority Leader Chuck SchumerChuck SchumerCapitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick lies in honor in Rotunda Democrats offer resolution denouncing white supremacists ahead of Trump trial Lobbying world MORE (D-N.Y.) to transform our immigration system.

The sweeping immigration bill President Biden introduced on his first day in office includes a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the United States and will erase the heinous legacy of the last four years by restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs, improving immigration courts and reuniting the still-separated families.

While this is a welcome first step, we must remain vigilant to ensure we dont fall back on restoring the status quo, where real immigration reform falls through the cracks and my community is forced back into the shadows. I remember what it was like growing up undocumented and feeling that daily sense of uncertainty until I became a citizen 10 years later. And now, it is extremely painful to see members of my family who are tax-paying, law-abiding members of their communities and who love this country denied the ability to fully participate in it.

They are thankful to the immigrant voters that came out in record numbers to push President Biden and Vice President Harris to victory. From Arizona to New York, millions of immigrants braved a pandemic, a full-blown voter suppression campaign, and a federal government hostile to our very existence to vote.

But we did not fight this hard to settle for a reset to the days before Donald Trump. The brutal reality is that this country has failed immigrant communities long before Trump came to the White House. This is the reality my family lives with every day.

Ending this entrenched injustice and transforming our immigration system will not be easy. But this is a historic opportunity that we cant let slip by. We need to restore humanity and justice to our immigration system, stop deportations and detentions, increase our refugee limits and reinstate a real asylum process for those fleeing persecution.

Donald Trumps presidency was a devastating descent into hate but Trump didnt create the bigotry he stoked; its been there for many, many years. As we build back better, we have an opportunity to not just erase the damage of the last four years, but to move to a new future for immigrants in America, reset our place in the world and finally become that true beacon of hope. We demand President Biden and our members of Congress seize it.

Rovika Rajkishun is co-executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition.

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Immigration reform can't wait | TheHill - The Hill

Just before leaving office in January 2009, President George W. Bush told an interviewer that if he had one thing to do over, in retrospect, he should have pushed immigration reform right after the 04 election and not Social Security reform. Why? Because, he said, I happen to believe a system that is so broken that humans become contraband is a system that really needs to be re-examined.

We agree, and wish his efforts in 2007 to pass a bipartisan immigration reform bill had come to fruition. In 2012, under the Obama administration, the last time there was a serious push for comprehensive reforms, Bush reminded lawmakers that Not only do immigrants help build our economy, they invigorate our soul. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time.

After passing the Senate with bipartisan support in 2013, those reforms died on the vine in the Republican-controlled House the following year.

We offer this brief history lesson because it was precisely those failures that led to the rise of Donald Trumps draconian zero-tolerance immigration policies that reached their nadir in June 2018 when, under a court order, the Trump administration revealed that 2,700 children had been separated from their migrant parents at the border and sent to mass detention centers or foster care a practice former first lady Laura Bush rightly called cruel and immoral and this newspaper called counter to who we are as a people.

On June 20, 2018, as public outcry grew, Trump signed an executive order to keep families together at the border, but his policy that criminally prosecuted all adults illegally crossing the border continued, and the number of children who were taken from their families hundreds still not reunited is now estimated to be more than 5,000.

And thats just one example of the hundreds of changes by the Trump administration to immigration policy, all of which were enacted through executive order, memoranda or regulatory rule change.

As our Dianne Solis and Alfredo Corchado reported shortly after Joe Bidens electoral victory, Reconstruction of the immigration system for a nation whose origin story is all about immigration will be a difficult process. Among the barriers: Republicans who wont support legislation and Republican leaders who know how to go to court. Not every change or reversal can be done by a stroke of the pen. Some will require going through a long regulatory process. The effort will be Herculean: The Trump administration made more than 400 changes to the immigration system.

That report proved prescient this past week when the Biden administrations 100-day pause on certain deportations got hung up in court.

What should be clear is that court battles are a poor substitute for comprehensive immigration reform. After all, the proper role of courts is to enforce the law as it stands, and this is really a fight over what the law should be. Whats needed is for the Congress and the president to hammer out reforms.

Doing so would prevent new administrations from immediately undoing the policies of their predecessors through executive orders and rule changes that are then challenged in court, thus creating more chaos in what should be an area clearly governed by the rule of law in a predictable and consistent legal framework.

Sadly, the only thing predictable about immigration policy today is that itll lead to more hyper-partisan warfare. Among the casualties will be every day Americans who depend on a stable immigration system, as well as those seeking asylum from violence and poverty in their native lands. And thats to say nothing of the damage done to agencies and institutions and our national reputation.

There is a cost to slamming the door on many forms of legal immigration, including turning away asylum-seekers at the border, slashing the number of refugees accepted into the country annually as well as the number of H-1B visas for skilled workers. And that cost has been to our standing in the world as a nation founded by immigrants on the principle of individual rights that still welcomes those legally seeking refuge in this country.

All of which brings us to President Bidens early steps toward immigration reform. In addition to his executive orders halting further construction on the border wall, revoking the travel ban on majority Muslim nations, and preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Biden offered his own comprehensive immigration reform bill, the U.S. Citizens Act of 2021, on his first day in office.

In the weeks and months ahead, well be weighing in on the specifics of the plan, which includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and the nearly 700,000 Dreamers in DACA; modernizing border security, labor protections, immigration courts, and the entire asylum-seeking process through investments in new personnel and technology; and, finally, by providing $4 billion in financial assistance over four years to Central American countries to better facilitate legal migration and address the underlying causes of migration conditioned on their ability to reduce the endemic corruption, violence, and poverty that causes people to flee their home countries.

As Texans, we understand better than most folks the need for secure borders and consistent immigration policies. But we also understand what former President Bush said in 2019, that amid all the complications of policy we should never forget that immigration is a blessing and a strength.

We retain hope that our elected officials in Washington can see immigration not as a purely partisan issue, but as an issue crucial to the security and economic well-being of our state and country, an issue requiring compromise, congeniality and comprehensive reform, and, for the good of the country, living up to our national motto: E pluribus unumOut of many, one.

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Why the stakes are far too high to kick comprehensive immigration reform down the road again - The Dallas Morning News