WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. president Joe Biden announced a new program on Tuesday that would provide a path to citizenship for about 500,000 people who have been in the country for a decade or more and are married to U.S. citizens.
The election year announcement was quickly denounced by his Republican opponent Donald Trump. It was announced by pro-immigration groups and Democratic members of Congress.
Here are some responses:
CAMPAIGN STATEMENT FOR DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
“Biden only cares about one thing – power – and that’s why he’s giving mass amnesty and citizenship to hundreds of thousands of illegals who he knows will ultimately vote for him and the Open Border Democrat Party… Biden has once again extended an invitation to illegal immigration through his mass amnesty order.”
MIKE JOHNSON, REPUBLICAN, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
“Just two weeks ago, the president pretended to address the open border catastrophe by staging an election-year border display. Now he is trying to play both sides and is granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. Our homeland security is a game he can try to use for political purposes, but Americans know this amnesty plan will only encourage more illegal immigration and endanger Americans.”
DOMINGO GARCIA, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS
“We applaud the Biden administration for providing a path to legality for many families separated and torn apart by the lack of immigration reform.”
“Many of these Dreamers are now adults who have graduated from our universities, formed families and live in America. They are American. I am hopeful today because they will be able to continue to achieve the American dream by having a work visa that will allow them to continue their contributions to our country.”
FATIMA GOSS GRAVES, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL WOMEN’S LAW CENTER
“We are very excited about today’s executive action from President Biden, which will protect families from being torn apart, provide them with work permits, and access to a path to citizenship. Undocumented immigrants are the backbone of this country’s infrastructure, including providing essential care for children, the elderly and the disabled, but many of them are still at risk of deportation.”
“This is an important step in fixing our broken immigration system. That said, we remain disappointed that the administration signed an executive order a few weeks ago that made damaging changes to the asylum process, and we urge the administration to change course. those changes without delay.”
DELIA C. RAMIREZ, DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS AND WIFE OF A DACA RECIPIENT
“Since taking office in 2023, I have consistently called for executive and congressional action to protect Dreamers and provide relief to long-term undocumented immigrants across the country. As the only member of Congress in a mixed-status family, the work of keeping families and communities together is deeply personal.”
“Today, President Biden proved that he could be the president we elected by delivering relief to thousands of mixed-status families like mine and to Dreamers like my husband Boris Hernandez. While many of us hoped the action would be more comprehensive, today’s action is the most significant positive policy change for immigrants and their families since the DACA program in 2012. It would not have been possible without the advocates who fought relentlessly to to realize this moment. Now we must build on this historic victory and urgently provide relief to the broader immigrant community, protect asylum, provide work permits for all, and expand pathways to citizenship.”
RICK SCOTT, REPUBLICAN US SENATOR FROM FLORIDA
“It’s wrong.”
“I come from an immigration state. We love immigration. But it should be legal immigration. These are people who came here illegally, so they should have no path to citizenship. There should be no amnesty. But this is exactly what He’s allowing all these people to come in here illegally. He’s allowing drugs to come across the border, criminals to come in, and then he wants to open a path for citizenship, and that’s wrong.”
APRIL VERRETT, PRESIDENT, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION
“As the union representing the largest number of immigrant workers, SEIU applauds President Biden’s executive action to provide work permits to undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens and protect them from deportation, as well as their children. Due to technicalities in our broken immigration system today, these individuals have been prevented from working legally, and their families have been forced to live in constant fear of separation. nation.”
(Reporting by David Morgan, Kanishka Singh and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
