President-elect Biden has promised a new course on immigration policy in his Administration. The challenges before him and his Administration will be many, but so are the opportunities to reaffirm the importance of immigration to American society, American culture, and the American economy. At New American Economy, we believe that immigration reform can and should be a top priority in 2021. That’s why today, we’re announcing 21 concrete ideas for policies a Biden Administration could achieve in 2021.
At New American Economy, we are committed to the fight for comprehensive immigration reform — including a full path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented, a modernization of our legal immigration system, and sensible immigration enforcement priorities focused on public safety — but we also see an opportunity for a Biden Administration to quickly enact smart policies that will help immigrants and Americans both, bolstering our COVID-19 response and ensuring we can build back stronger in the aftermath of the pandemic.
In 2021, the next Administration and Congress should:
- End family separation at the border
- Rescind the travel and immigration bans
- Reverse the public charge rule
- Streamline the process for international students and staple green cards to the diplomas of STEM graduates
- Restore fairness to the U.S. asylum process
- Restore the U.S. refugee resettlement process
- Create a federal Office of New Americans
- Modernize U.S. ports of entry
- Protect DACA/Dreamers
- Provide a path to citizenship for essential workers
- Reverse the H-1B and other nonimmigrant visa bans and reform the H-1B visa system to boost American innovation and better protect American workers
- Create new visa pathways for essential occupations
- Protect TPS Holders
- Address the factors that contribute to brain waste like reducing burdensome occupational licensing barriers
- Reform the H-2A visa and provide a path to citizenship for farmworkers
- Reform the H-2B visa program
- Create a Start-Up visa for immigrant entrepreneurs
- Give states and localities a role in the immigration process
- End per country caps and clear the USCIS backlogs
- End the three and ten-year bars
- Invest in English language and U.S. civics instruction
Read the full brief at the link below.