Biden agreed to strengthen immigration policy to provide aid to Ukraine – WSJ

Biden will strengthen immigration policy to provide financial assistance to Ukraine/Collage 24 Channel

US President Joe Biden agreed to strengthen immigration policy and strengthen the country's southern border. This is necessary in order to ensure the allocation of assistance to Ukraine.

Journalists from The Wall Street Journal also emphasized that Biden also needs this in order to to prevent criticism. After all, according to recent polls, the majority of Americans are not satisfied with the policy of the head of the United States towards immigrants.

Biden is ready to strengthen immigration policy

The authors of the material noted that the immigration agreement being developed in the Senate will limit the ability of migrants from the south to seek asylum from the United States. This agreement, which should take place in exchange for new military aid for Ukraine and Israel, already has a good chance of being accepted on Capitol Hill.

Ultimately, Joe Biden emphasized that he had spoken with the top of Congress about the necessary elements to solve this problem. Particularly on reform of the asylum and parole systems.

Journalists highlighted that a CBS News poll conducted earlier this month showed Biden's approval rating on the decision immigration issues was at a record low: 68% of those surveyed said they disapproved of his border policies. And 63% said they want him to be tougher in this regard.

At the same time, the publication emphasized that throughout his fifty-year political career, which often focused on foreign policy priorities, Biden rarely took on immigration policy—and when he did, it was usually a moderate stance.

The Biden administration has spent three years trying to curb a surge in migrants at the southern border, and Republicans have taken up the issue to oppose his re-election. The White House also sees political vulnerabilities, and a bipartisan agreement could blunt those attacks, the reporters wrote. over the past decades, has worked with partners across the region to combat illegal migration and enforced the law, returning more than 482,000 people who did not have legal status to remain in the country.

Vanessa Cardenas, executive director of the immigration rights group America's Voice and former director of Biden's national coalition during the 2020 primaries, noted that the US president was driven by a political calculation that the average voters he cares about did not prioritize fixing the immigration system.< /p>

“They wanted to win with progressive issues, and immigration was not one of them,” she said.

Biden almost never dealt with the immigration issue

The authors emphasized that as a senator, Biden voted for several restrictive measures, such as a 1996 law increasing penalties for illegal border crossings, and a 2006 law authorizing the construction of a border fence. But those votes put Biden in line with most other Democratic senators at the time.

When he served as vice president in the Obama administration, his immigration policy experience was largely limited to his diplomatic work.

In his bid against former President Donald Trump in 2020, Biden briefly revived Democrats' hopes of creating a more progressive immigration agenda by attracting supporters of his opponent in the Democratic primary.

Among other things, he pledged to close all private immigration detention centers and protect status of longtime U.S. workers and roll back many of Trump's border policies.

The president was particularly affected by first lady Jill Biden's emotional reaction to the Trump administration's separation policies, advisers said families and his Remain in Mexico program, which denied entry into the United States while asylum claims were pending.

The authors of the material argued that Biden fulfilled several promises on his first day in office. This included halting construction of Trump's border wall, lifting travel bans on several Muslim-majority countries, and ending the “Remain in Mexico” policy. He also sent Congress an immigration proposal, including a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally when Biden took office.

But there was never a coordinated effort to push the bill through the then-Democrat-controlled Congress, as the administration did with other bills that Biden finally signed, such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the reporters wrote.

However, progressives' hopes for immigration policy quickly faded, and bipartisan criticism of the constant flow of migrants at the border grew louder. to Trump's policies

The Wall Street Journal noted that the US President is still opposed to some proposals that are too reminiscent of the actions of the Trump administration. He still doesn't like bringing back any form of immigrant return to Mexico.

He also opposed large-scale workplace raids targeting employers who hire many undocumented immigrants, and against detaining migrant families at the border.

But as political pressure mounted, Biden reiterated to advisers that his priority was a rapid drop in migration and agreed with certain measures taken by Trump. introducing asylum rules.

As part of border deal negotiations with Republicans, the White House also said it would accept some changes to the body allowing the government to admit people who do not meet the requirements for obtaining a visa. The Biden administration is making extensive use of this to allow migrants who register with the government in advance to prevent them from entering the US illegally.

The administration has all but stopped working on several campaign ideas outlined by Biden, e.g. , find ways to allow illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for decades to work legally. Officials say the only ideas currently being considered are aimed at reducing the flow of migrants to the border.