“The president has made clear, and this administration has made clear, that we are going to pursue an effective and humane immigration policy and unwind what we believe was the ineffective and inhumane policy over the course of the last four years,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan
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But the administration hasn’t made it clear that now isn’t the time to come (when is, exactly?) and President Biden’s actions from the Oval Office desk have sent an entirely different message.
On his first day in the White House and just hours after he was inaugurated, Biden signed an executive order halting the vast majority of deportations for 100 days. Despite the order being halted by a federal judge a week later, the damage was already done and the race to the border from the Northern Triangle was on.
Arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fell by more than 60 percent in February following President Biden’s orders to rein in the agency.
Undocumented Indian immigrants to the US, numbering over half a million, hold a collective spending power of $15.5 billion and contribute $2.8 billion to the federal, state and local tax revenue, says an American think-tank report. Using the latest available American Community Survey data from 2019 in its latest research, the new American Economy think-tank said undocumented Indian immigrants are the top third contributor to the US economy among other undocumented immigrants. There are 4.2 million immigrants from Mexico who lack documentation. Together, they make up more than 40.8 percent of the 10.3 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. In 2019 alone, they earned almost $92 billion in household income and contributed almost $9.8 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
Newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
“We are dedicated to achieving and, quite frankly, are working around the clock to replace the cruelty of the past administration with an orderly, humane, and safe immigration process. It is hard, and it will take time. But rest assured, we are going to get it done,” Mayorkas said. “Let me explain to you why it is hard and why it is going to take time. I think it is important to understand what we have inherited, because it defines the situation as it currently stands. Entire systems are not rebuilt in a day or in a few weeks. To put it succinctly, the prior administration dismantled our nation s immigration system in its entirety.”
Oregon Democrat and 1st Congressional District urge 11 groups to back renewed effort in Congress.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici urged advocates from 11 community groups to rally around the latest congressional effort to overhaul the nation s immigration system.
The Democrat from Beaverton, who represents the 1st Congressional District that includes Newberg and Dundee, spoke Feb. 19 at a virtual roundtable discussion one day after she and other House and Senate cosponsors unveiled the 353-page bill.
Bonamici said she hopes the third time will be the charm with President Joe Biden, who has moved quickly with presidential orders to repeal or put on hold the actions of former President Donald Trump, a harsh critic of longstanding U.S. immigration policies. Previous attempts to overhaul the nation s immigration system failed under Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama.