The Indian Panorama

Tag: DACA

  • President Biden offers legal status to 500K immigrants

    President Biden offers legal status to 500K immigrants

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): President Joe Biden has offered to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants married to US citizens and living in the United States for at least 10 years, a move the White House estimates is likely to benefit more than 5,00,000 people. In his address to the nation from the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, June 18, Biden also announced a plan to ease the process for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries (and potentially other Dreamers) to access high-skilled employment visas.

    This will allow employers to keep their critical employees while providing DACA recipients an opportunity to continue to invest in their communities.

    “It’s the right thing to do. I want those who’ve been educated at US colleges and universities to put their skills and knowledge to work here in America. I want to keep building the strongest economy in the world with the best workforce in the world. We’ve already created 15 million new jobs, a record,” Biden said.

    Family, he said, is about the beginning, middle, and the end, about keeping married couples together where one spouse is a US citizen and the other is undocumented, and they’ve been living in the United States for at least 10 years.

    “These couples have been raising families, sending their kids to church and school, paying taxes, contributing to our country for 10 years or more,” he added.

    Biden further said, “Matter of fact, the average time they’ve spent here is 23 years, people who are affected today, but living in the United States all this time with fear and uncertainty. We can fix that. And that’s what I’m going to do today, fix it. It doesn’t require any fundamental change in our immigration law.”

    Major national immigrant and Latino advocacy groups, including UnidosUS and The Immigration Hub, Democratic leaders, and others praised President Biden for working to keep families together after his predecessor Donald Trump “ripped them apart”.

    “Through his actions, President Biden is helping half a million non-citizen spouses and step-children of Americans to remain with their families, including many from Asia and the Pacific Islands who have lived here for years.

    “Easing visa processes for Dreamers will cut red tape and allow young people to secure a job of their choice and contribute to our communities and economy,” said Congresswoman Judy Chu.

    UnidosUS president and CEO Janet Murguía said the announcement by Biden is a godsend for 5,00,000 American families and will provide a considerable boost to the US economy and community stability across the country.

    “Today’s announcement will transform the lives of thousands of immigrants and families across the US who’ve lived in fear and uncertainty for far too long,” said Jorge Loweree, managing director of American Immigration Council.

    “While much work remains to (be done to) address the needs of the thousands of other mixed-status families across the US, today’s announcement is historic, and one that benefits immigrant families, our communities, and our economy alike,” he said.

    Vice President Kamala Harris said while these actions are a significant step forward, there is more work to be done to fix the broken immigration system.

    “That includes the need for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. President Biden and I continue to call on the United States Congress to join us in acting by passing permanent protections for Dreamers,” she said.

    Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said the Department of Homeland Security is taking action to keep American families together and end the fear and uncertainty these families face when one spouse is a US citizen and the other is undocumented, he said.

    “Our department will implement a process that will allow those qualified undocumented spouses who are married to a United States citizen and have lived in the United States for at least 10 years to pursue a path to become lawful permanent residents without first having to leave our country for an indefinite period of time.

    “This process will achieve family unity, one of our immigration system’s fundamental goals. It will also boost our economy, advance our labor interests, strengthen our foreign relations with key partners in the region, further our public safety interests, and more,” he said.

    “Further, we will work with our partners at the State Department in implementing changes to the inadmissibility waiver process that will enable certain noncitizens who were educated in the United States, including DACA recipients, to access high-skilled labor visas for which they are qualified,” Mayorkas said.
    (Source: PTI)

  • Federal Judge Again Declares DACA Program Unlawful

    Federal Judge Again Declares DACA Program Unlawful

    A Texas judge has struck down the revised DACA program, reigniting the debate over its legality and leaving hundreds of thousands of “Dreamers” in limbo.

    AUSTIN, TX (TIP): A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday, September 13,  declared the revised version of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal, The Epoch Times reported. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling reiterated that the Obama-era federal policy is unlawful and should have come from Congress. DACA provides hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children with a two-year renewable shield from deportation.

    “The remaining provisions of the original injunction are to remain in place and are to be applicable to Final Rule DACA,” Judge Hanen wrote. The ruling blocks the federal government from accepting new DACA applications but maintains the program for existing recipients during the appeals process. The ruling does not mandate immediate action against current DACA beneficiaries.

    Texas and eight other states have been actively opposing DACA. Their central argument is that the Obama administration exceeded its authority by creating DACA in 2012, bypassing Congress. They have contended that President Joe Biden also overstepped his authority when he renewed it in 2022, bypassing Congress.

    The nine Republican-led states also asked the court to phase out the program over two years, calling the Biden administration’s revised version “substantively unlawful” for the same reasons as the original Obama-era DACA Memorandum.

    “The Court should declare it unlawful and unconstitutional, vacate it in its entirety, and permanently enjoin its implementation (with a prudent transition for existing DACA recipients),” their lawsuit, filed earlier this year, stated.

    Around 800,000 individuals are believed to be recipients of DACA, with two-thirds of those enrolled in the program thought to be aged between 21 to 30, having lived and worked in the United States for most of their lives after illegally entering as young children.

    The plaintiff states in the case also contend that they bear substantial costs, including hundreds of millions of dollars for health care and education, when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country without legal status.

    In 2021, Judge Hanen, an appointee of President George W. Bush, declared the program illegal, citing its lack of compliance with required public notice and comment periods. This decision was upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022.

    Attempting to address the judge’s concerns, President Biden announced the renewal of the DACA program in August 2022, making it a federal regulation. It came into effect in October, subject to public comments in a formal rule-making process, replacing former President Barack Obama’s 2012 memo that initially established DACA.

    At the time, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the administration was “taking another step to do everything in our power to preserve and fortify DACA.”

    Mr. Mayorkas said that the United States has “been enriched” by the young people on the DACA program, referred to as “Dreamers,” contending that they “have known no country other than the United States as their own.”

    The plaintiff states, meanwhile, argued that President Biden overstepped his constitutional authority by renewing DACA without getting approval from Congress.

    Judge Hanen agreed, maintaining in his ruling on Wednesday that the revised version of DACA is unconstitutional and that the policy should come from Congress.

    The judge’s ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    The DACA program has been overseen for the last decade by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memorandum that established it under President Obama who described the action as a “temporary, stopgap, measure.”

     

    The Trump administration’s attempts to terminate DACA in 2017 were thwarted by the courts.

     

    The nine states that filed the lawsuit are Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.

  • President Biden announces plan to expand access to health insurance for DACA recipients

    President Biden announces plan to expand access to health insurance for DACA recipients

    DACA recipients would be able to enroll in a health plan through the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid

    WASHINGTON, D. C. (TIP): President Joe Biden on Thursday, April 13, announced that his administration plans to expand health care coverage to young adults without legal status who have been in the U.S. since they were children and are working or studying under the DACA program. Under Biden’s plan, DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers, would be able to enroll in a health plan through the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid.
    “Today’s announcement is about giving DACA recipients the same opportunities,” Biden said in a video statement posted on Twitter. “We’ll continue doing what we can to protect Dreamers.”
    DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, was first implemented in 2012 as an executive order under President Barack Obama and allowed eligible undocumented young adults who came to the U.S. to work and study without fear of deportation.
    The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to propose a rule expanding the definition of “lawful presence” to include DACA recipients, for purposes of Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage, according to the White House. The Biden administration expects to get this done by the end of April. If finalized, it would be the first time DACA recipients are eligible for these health care programs. DACA recipients would be able to apply for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, where they may qualify for financial assistance based on income, and through their state Medicaid agency, according to the White House.
    More than 600,000 DACA recipients live in the U.S. An overwhelming majority were born in Mexico and other Latin American countries. The 2012 DACA initiative was meant to shield from deportation immigrants brought to the US illegally by their parents as young children and to allow them to work legally in the country.
    However, the immigrants were still ineligible for government-subsidized health insurance programs because they did not meet the definition for having “lawful presence” in the US That’s what Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services will aim to change by the end of the month. The White House action comes as the DACA program is in legal peril and the number of people eligible under the program is shrinking. DACA recipients can work legally and pay taxes, but they don’t have legal status and are denied many benefits available to US citizens and foreigners living in the US. In recent years, millions of people in the US signed up for Medicaid, the program that provides health care coverage for the poorest Americans, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The government increased federal subsidies to drive down the cost of plans on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. As of last year, just 8 per cent of Americans were without health insurance, according to HHS.
    But DACA recipients, as well as those in the country without documentation, are barred from joining those federally funded programs. About half of the roughly 20 million immigrants who are living in the US without documentation are uninsured, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
    While there’s bipartisan support to enact some sort of protections for the immigrants, negotiations have often broken down over debates about border security and whether an expansion of protections might induce others to try to enter the US without permission. Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship for immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.
    Other classes of immigrants — including asylum seekers and people with temporary protected status — are already eligible to purchase insurance through the marketplaces of the ACA, former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law, often called “Obamacare.”

  • Texas Judge Orders Immediate End of DACA; NY Immigrant Rights Advocates Demand Swift Action by Biden

    Texas Judge Orders Immediate End of DACA; NY Immigrant Rights Advocates Demand Swift Action by Biden

    NEW YORK(TIP): Judge Andrew Hanen, on July 16, ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) invalid going forward. In his ruling, Judge Hanen blocked the Department of Homeland Security from approving any new grants of DACA. As of now, the Judge’s order will not impact current DACA recipients or their ability to renew their grants of DACA. In May 2018, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with six other state Attorneys General, filed a suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The case-Texas v. Nielsen-sought an aggressive and swift end to the DACA program. Appointed by former President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2002, Judge Hanen quickly developed a reputation for anti-immigrant rulings and injunctions. A recent FWD.us report revealed a clear majority of Americans support legalization for Dreamers, TPS recipients, and essential workers. The report also outlines that legalization would provide $149 billion in GDP and $39 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.

    Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:

    “Today’s ruling is a chilling reminder that the Republicans’ far-right anti-immigrant agenda continues to outlive Donald Trump with devastating consequences for our communities. Rescinding DACA would be a disaster for America’s health, economy, and legacy. Nearly 50,000 New Yorkers and their families are now at risk of being ripped from the only home they’ve ever known. Judge Hanen’s ruling makes it crystal clear that Washington can’t keep playing politics with the lives of these New Yorkers and the hundreds of thousands like them across the country. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and President Biden must use the budget reconciliation process to finally pass permanent protections for not just these young people, but also TPS recipients and essential workers. We can’t wait any longer.”

    Background : The ruling comes a little more than a year after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled against President Donald J. Trump’s attempt to end the DACA program. For years, the New York Immigration Coalition called for an establishment of permanent legalization for Dreamers. Citing the extreme urgency created by Judge Hanen’s forthcoming ruling, the NYIC led the state’s immigrant advocacy organizations in demanding immediate action from President Joseph R. Biden and US Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer to protect Dreamers and create a pathway to citizenship for them and their families.

    The New York Immigration Coalition

    The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization for more than 200 groups in New York State. We envision a New York state that is stronger because all people are welcome, treated fairly, and given the chance to pursue their dreams. Our mission is to unite immigrants, members, & allies so all New Yorkers can thrive. We represent the collective interests of New York’s diverse immigrant communities and organizations and devise solutions to advance them; advocate for laws, policies, and programs that lead to justice and opportunity for all immigrant groups; and build the power of immigrants and the organizations that serve them to ensure their sustainability, to improve people’s lives, and to strengthen our state.

  • House passes bill to give Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship

    House passes bill to give Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship

    Roughly 2.5 million undocumented immigrants to benefit

    WASHINGTON (TIP) : The Democratic-led House voted on Thursday, March 18, to create a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, reopening a politically fraught debate over the nation’s broken immigration system just as President Biden confronts a growing surge of migrants at the border, says a New York Times report filed byNicholas Fandos. In a near party-line vote of 228 to 197, with just nine Republicans joining Democrats, the House moved to set up a permanent legal pathway for roughly 2.5 million undocumented immigrants, including those brought to the United States as children — known as Dreamers — and those granted Temporary Protected Status for humanitarian reasons. They were expected to approve a second measure later, with more bipartisan backing, that would grant legal status to close to a million farmworkers and their families while updating a key agricultural visa program. The votes were significant milestones for the Dreamers and other activists who have waged a decade-long campaign, often at great personal risk, to bring the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States without permanent legal status out of the shadows. Dreamers, those who have T.P.S. and agricultural workers have in many cases lived in the United States for long periods, and measures to normalize their status have broad public support. In moving swiftly to consider both bills, House leaders wagered that singling out relatively narrow but publicly popular immigration fixes could shake up a deadlocked policy debate after years of failed attempts at more comprehensive immigration legislation, and deliver for a key constituency. “This House has another chance to pass H.R. 6 and once and for all end the fear and uncertainty that have plagued the life of America’s Dreamers, who have become an integral part of the fabric of American society,” Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard, Democrat of California and an author of the Dreamer bill, said during a hard-fought debate inside the Capitol. “It is an issue about who we are as Americans.”

    But after colliding with a wave of hardened Republican opposition in the House, the bills face steep odds in the evenly divided Senate. While some Republicans there have pledged support for Dreamers in the past, their party is increasingly uniting behind a hardline strategy to block any new immigration law as it seeks to use the worsening situation at the border as a political cudgel against Mr. Biden and Democrats.

    “There is no pathway for anything right now,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a key player in past bipartisan immigration pushes, said this week.

    That means the immigration measures will join a growing pile of liberal agenda items, as well as broadly supported measures on pressing national challenges, that have passed the House but are destined to languish or die because of Republican opposition in the Senate. They include a landmark expansion of voting rights, new gun control measures, the most significant pro-labor legislation in decades and the Equality Act for L.G.B.T.Q. people.

    Democrats in favor of eliminating or altering the filibuster believe the accumulating pressure could help break the dam in the months ahead, allowing them to change Senate rules to do away with the 60-vote requirement and let legislation pass with a simple majority.

    (Agencies)