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Immigration puzzle for Biden at US-Mexico border
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- The issue at hand: The nearly two-month-old U.S. government under President Joe Biden is facing the highest number of migrants reaching its border with Mexico in 20 years. While ex President Trump was hyper-aggressive about it, the democrats in power today are not.
- Extent of crisis: There is an unprecedented surge of unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border in few weeks. The number of unaccompanied teens and children taken into U.S. custody along the border surged in few weeks to nearly 30,000 in February 2021. Migrant adults and families continue to be sent back to Mexico when they are caught. Unaccompanied children are being processed, and they get help resettling with U.S. relatives. Efforts are also stepped up to have children apply for asylum from their homes in Central America instead of making the dangerous journey to the U.S. border.
- The timing: Former President Donald Trump adopted a “zero tolerance” policy toward undocumented immigrants. Trump-era emergency rule gave border agents the authority to summarily turn away most migrants other than unaccompanied minors. It denied them the right to have their asylum claims heard. In a sense, the mounting crisis now is related to a sweeping immigration reform proposal unveiled by Mr. Biden’s administration a month ago. The migrants are thus apparently encouraged to try to enter the U.S. by Biden’s rejection of Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy.
- Other plans under way: There are smaller Bills that the Democrat-controlled Congress could pass with less resistance. These include measures to quicken the process for grant of legal status to agriculture workers and “Dreamers”, or undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children. There are also plans under way to redress the ills of the legal migration system. Many obstacles to this were erected by the Trump White House. These include a controversial rule to raise mandatory minimum pay for foreign workers on the H-1B visa for skilled immigrants that is largely granted to Indian nationals.
- Biden approach: President Biden’s broader, omnibus immigration legislation proposal includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants. It also proposes the use of hi-tech systems for border patrol enforcement. [It is suggested that the Biden administration’s proposed immigration bill could potentially increase annual ‘green card’ or permanent residency numbers by 35%.]
- Challenges posed by immigration crisis: Undoing some of the damaging policies implemented by his predecessor is getting to be a real challenge for Biden and his administration. The immigration crisis now has pushed the need for a comprehensive reform. The numbers so far is already wearing federal resources thin. The issue has made a call to choose between - the American Dream with an inclusive vision of economic growth premised on embracing diversity and skilled migration the Trumpian ‘America First’ battle cry for nativist populism. What Mr. Biden does in the months to come becomes truly significant.
- Knowledge centre:
- America the melting pot - The melting pot is at the heart of the American immigration system. The melting pot comes from the idea that all of the cultural differences in the United States meld together, as if they were metals being melted down to become a stronger alloy. Rather than embracing multiculturalism, as is the policy in Canada and some other countries, the United States encourages different cultures to assimilate into its own. In fact, this philosophy demonstrates how American culture got its start.
- H1-B visas - The H1B visa is an employment-based, non-immigrant visa for temporary workers. For this visa, an employer must offer a job in the US and apply for your H1B visa petition with the US Immigration Department. To qualify for the H-1B visa category, the prospective H-1B employee must hold a U.S. bachelor's or higher degree, or the equivalent. The person must hold a U.S. equivalent 4 years' bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university.
- Indian Americans - Indian Americans are Americans with ancestry from India. The US Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans (Red Indians). With a population of more than 40 lakhs, Indian Americans make up 1.2% of the U.S. population and are the third largest group of Asian Americans after Chinese Americans and Filipino Americans. The New York metropolitan area comprises the largest population of Indian Americans among U.S. metropolitan areas.
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