Biden proposes citizenship for spouses of Americans ahead of presidential polls

By -
United States President Joe Biden
United States President Joe Biden has announced a plan to grant citizenship to hundreds of illegal immigrants married to US citizens, contrasting with Republican rival Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.

According to Reuters, Biden, 81, crticised Trump for separating families at the US-Mexico border and using offensive language about illegal immigrants, claiming they were "poisoning the blood of our country".

"It's hard to believe it's being said, but he's actually saying these things out loud. And it's outrageous," Biden said during an event at the White House.

"I'm not interested in playing politics with the border or immigration. I'm interested in fixing it," he added.

Despite resisting Trump’s restrictive immigration policies, Biden has faced record levels of migrant arrests at the US-Mexico border and in a tougher approach, he has barred most migrants from requesting asylum, mirroring Trump’s ban.

Biden’s planned legalisation programme for US citizens’ spouses could reinforce his campaign message of supporting a more humane immigration system.

What exactly is Biden proposing?

The new Biden programme will be open to an estimated 500,000 spouses who have lived in the US for at least 10 years as of June 17, officials said on Tuesday. Some 50,000 children under age 21 with a US-citizen parent also will be eligible.

The US already provides a path to citizenship for immigrants who are married to Americans and entered the country legally on a visa. But in most cases, those who enter illegally must first leave the US for years before being allowed to return legally.

The new programme will allow the spouses and their children to apply for permanent residence without traveling abroad, removing a potentially lengthy process and family separation.

The path to obtain permanent residence could take months or years. From there, they could apply for citizenship. People who have disqualifying criminal history would not be eligible.

The implementation will roll out in coming months and the majority of likely beneficiaries would be Mexicans, Biden officials said on a call with reporters.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 11 dead, others injured after train catches fire near Rahim Yar Khan

By Admin -
Image
At least 11 passengers lost their lives and 30 others sustained burn injuries when three carriages of a Tezgam Express caught fire due to explosion in a gas stove, according to initial reports. Meanwhile, firefighters have initiated a rescue operation to extinguish the fire and other passengers are being evacuated from the train to safe places. The affected carriages are being separated from the train. The train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi, when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, leaving several dead and injured. The fire was caused by the explosion in a gas cylinder, confirmed the Pakistan Railways official. According to details, the passengers were cooking breakfast when the gas cylinder exploded. After the blast, the raging fire engulfed two other coaches as well. Fire fighters were still extinguishing the fire as per last reports.
Read more

Three soldiers martyred in terrorist attack on checkpost in Balochistan’s Zarghoon

By -
Image
As many as three soldiers embraced martyrdom and one terrorist was killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Zarghun, the area of Balochistan on Saturday. According to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an operation was launched in the area against suspected terrorists who attacked a security post. “Troops on the post retaliated readily to the fire raid thereby, pushing back the terrorists,” stated the military’s media wing. In the ensuing exchange of fire, three soldiers were martyred while one terrorist was also killed. The military identified the martyred soldiers as Sepoy Zaheer Ahmed, Sepoy Mudassir Shaheed and Lance Naik Abdul Qadeer. The ISPR stated that the post had recently been established to “check extortion efforts targeting coal mines in the area”. “Based on follow-up ISR effort, likely hideout of fleeing terrorists has been identified in nearby mountains and a deliberate blocking and sanitisation op...
Read more

Legal process to try May 9 planners, perpetrators under army act begins: COAS

By -
Image
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said that the legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in the May 9 mayhem has commenced under Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act as per existing and established legal procedures derived from the Constitution. The army chief's statement came as he visited Jinnah House and an army installation in Lahore, which were blatantly attacked and vandalised by “politically motivated” rioters, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a handout. The COAS was also given a briefing on events of May 9 dubbed by the military as ‘Black Day’ — the day when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters ransacked and torched military installations across the country following the arrest of their leader Imran Khan in a graft case. Addressing the garrison officers and soldiers at Corps Headquarters, Gen Munir emphasised that any action aimed at widening a gulf between people and the milita...
Read more