(Trends Wide Spanish) — The immigration situation is one of the axes of the next midterm elections in the United States, and it is not for less: some 45 million immigrants live in the country, according to Census data.
In addition, the issue has escalated in the last period due to the fact that the number of people who crossed the country’s southern border illegally exceeded a historical record: there were more than 2 million registrations during fiscal year 2022, according to data from the Office US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
This is an issue that adds pressure to the government of Joe Biden, when there is little left for the midterm elections that, among other things, will define who has control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, key to promoting legislative initiatives or reforming existing ones. .
In general terms, Democrats and Republicans have campaigned ahead of the November elections with opposing views on what to do in the face of the pressures on the immigration system.
According to a September Pew Research Center report, Republicans place a priority on border security and deportation of those in the country illegally, while Democrats place greater importance on paths to legal status for those who entered the country illegally. country, especially for those who did it as children.
Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has worked to reverse Trump-era immigration restrictions by increasing refugee admissions, preserving DACA, and not enforcing the “public charge” rule that denies green cards to immigrants. immigrants who could use benefits like Medicaid, among other things. However, everything indicates that she has not managed to go further.
Here are the main elements about the immigration situation and those that could change after the November elections:
border security
This is the first point of conflict for the Biden government, due to the increase in arrivals that the authorities attribute to the greater number of people from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, as a consequence of the worsening of the crisis in those countries.
It is not a minor fact: while decades ago the migrants who arrived at the border were overwhelmingly Mexican, and a few years ago those from the northern triangle —Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador— were added, today many of those who arrived do so. from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and to Colombia and Peru.
The Government arrives at the elections with a situation of paralysis regarding border security, or at least in one of comings and goings. “The paralysis at the border has affected his entire agenda,” a source close to the White House recently told Trends Wide.
One of the plans of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) months ago had been to transport a part of those who arrived at the border to cities in the interior of the country for processing. However, logistical difficulties forced this initiative to be discarded. According to multiple sources close to the government, the same thing has happened on several occasions, with a tug-of-war between the White House and DHS, which has increased frustration, especially among those on the front lines.
The flow of immigrants grows and alarms the US authorities.
Despite the fact that everything indicates that the Democratic government is not clear about what plan to carry out on the border, spokesman Abdullah Hasan recently defended what has been done so far: “Encourage a solid debate, listen to different ideas and obtain a lot of experience before taking political decisions that impact millions of lives is a feature, not a bug.”
A DHS spokesperson argued along the same lines: “The Government has responded to an unprecedented number of irregular immigrants trying to enter the United States, has intercepted more drugs and disrupted more smuggling operations than ever before, all while reversing cruel policies and harmful from the previous government.”
Transfer of Immigrants by Republican Governors
Several Republican governors—including Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, Doug Ducey of Arizona—have sent groups of immigrants to Democrat-run cities as an affront to them and the White House, bringing the issue of immigration to the forefront of the national discussion and has drawn sharp criticism from immigrant advocates, city officials and the Biden administration.
The group of immigrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard receives humanitarian assistance in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
“Vice President Harris affirms that our border is ‘secure’ and denies the crisis,” tweeted Governor Greg Abbott, the main promoter of sending migrants to the northeast of the country. “We are sending migrants to her backyard to ask the Biden administration to do its job and make the border secure.”
The message perfectly sums up the confrontation between the Republican governors of the South and the Democratic federal government. In the midst of this political dispute were, precisely, the immigrants who arrive in the United States after strenuous journeys and surrounded by dangers.
Title 42
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, under the Trump administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a public health order that officials said was intended to goal to stop the spread of the virus. It became known as Title 42, after the part of the US code that allowed the CDC director to issue it, and allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants at US land borders.
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This title has been extended several times, even beyond the term of the Republican president. Despite campaign promises, under the Biden administration it has been used to return thousands of Venezuelan migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border.
“Expanding Title 42 to include Venezuelans now adds salt to an open wound while further eroding the asylum system that President Biden promised to restore,” Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said in a statement. Criticism multiplied among the progressive sectors of the Democratic Party and immigrant advocates.
Thanks to Title 42, border officials can immediately expel migrants who enter through Canada and Mexico into the US Unaccompanied migrant minors are exempt from this measure.
President Joe Biden.
DACA
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created in 2012, protected from deportation some 800,000 young immigrants who arrived or stayed in the United States illegally before their 16th birthday. . Additionally, DACA also gave recipients, known as dreamers (dreamers), authorization to perform some jobs.
However, DACA does not offer a path to citizenship, as there are limited avenues to allow unauthorized immigrants to acquire permanent resident status provided by a green card or green cardcompared to those who entered legally, for example, with a temporary visa.
In addition, in 2017 DACA suffered a severe blow when the Donald Trump government announced the cancellation of the program, a decision that was blocked by the Supreme Court but that contributed to increasing uncertainty among thousands of its beneficiaries.
In August of this year, the Biden administration took a step toward preserving the program when DHS announced the final rule, which replaces an Obama-era memorandum.
The DACA program has been the subject of a bipartisan dispute.
“I will do everything in my power to protect Dreamers, but Republicans in Congress should stop blocking a bill that provides a path to citizenship for Dreamers,” Biden said then. “It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do for our economy and our communities.”
TPS, the Temporal Protection Status
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants residing in the United States could find themselves in legal limbo after talks between lawyers and the Joe Biden administration over Temporary Protected Status (TPS) broke down.
The case stems from a 2018 lawsuit against the Trump administration that sought to end a form of humanitarian aid intended for migrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, and later to Nepal and Honduras.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protects immigrants from countries that have been hit by extreme conditions, such as epidemics, wars or natural disasters, and who are in the United States. But the Trump administration tried end protections for most immigrants under the program, arguing that the initial conditions that required them were no longer present.
Yet the government recently expanded TPS to other nationalities, giving approximately 143,800 immigrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Ukraine the opportunity to apply for time-limited permission to live and work in the United States and avoid possible deportation.
Activists from the migrant organizations Cosecha (Harvest) and TPS Alliance protest near the White House on April 30 in Washington, DC, to demand more immigration action by the administration of US President Joe Biden. (Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS, which oversees the program, also recently extended, designated or redesignated TPS protections for eligible immigrants from Myanmar (also called Burma), South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela.
Precisely in September, the extension of this form of humanitarian aid for Venezuelans came into effect. It goes until March 10, 2024.
Today, following the most recent additions and extensions of the Biden administration, approximately 500,000 people from 15 countries are currently registered for or eligible for TPS.
Priscilla Alvarez, Angela Reyes Haczek, Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.
