The American House of Representatives, controlled by the Democrats, approved, Thursday, March 18, a text paving the way for the regularization of some 700,000 “Dreamers”, who arrived when they were minors in the United States, a bill of which adoption remains very uncertain in the Senate.
US President Joe Biden immediately greeted a “Crucial step in the reform of our migration system”. ” A lot [de ces Dreamers] have worked tirelessly on the front lines in the fight against the pandemic to keep our country afloat, to feed it and to care for it, yet they have to live in fear and uncertainty because of their migratory status ”, Biden said in a statement. “It is high time for Congress to open the way to citizenship for Dreamers”, did he already have tweeted before the vote.
In the lower house, the text was approved by 228 parliamentarians, including nine Republicans, while 197 Republicans voted against. Democrats, who also have a narrow majority in the Senate, need the support of ten Republicans to pass this bill. A prospect today highly improbable because many in the party believe that such measures would encourage new massive arrivals of undocumented migrants.
“On the front line of the pandemic”
Under Democratic President Barack Obama, in 2012 the United States implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program, intended to protect these “Dreamers” from expulsion, who entered illegally during their childhood. in the United States, where they have lived ever since.
But Donald Trump had canceled it in 2017, opening a period of great uncertainty for these young adults under 30. In June 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States had inflicted a snub on him by validating this program.
The Democratic bill paves the way for their naturalization, as well as that of holders of temporary protection status (TPS), granted to nationals of countries that are dangerous or hit by natural disasters.
“They are our teachers, our professionals, our CEOs, our entrepreneurs” and “Many of them are on the front lines of the pandemic”, said in the hemicycle the Democratic President of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
The promise of a broad migration reform
In the process, the chamber approved a text aimed at making it easier to obtain a residence permit for immigrant agricultural workers, with wider support: 247 votes in favor and 174.
For Liz Cheney, number three among Republicans in the House, these two laws come back “To grant an amnesty to millions” of illegals. “We need to focus on strengthening the border and improving the legal immigration system. “
Joe Biden has pledged sweeping migration reform, which would pave the way for naturalization for some 11 million illegal immigrants. However, this bill currently has no chance of being adopted in the Senate.
If they promise to continue working on this profound reform, the Democrats have opted for a first vote on these two more targeted laws.
