PHOENIX — Joe Biden will raise the curtain on his presidency Wednesday with the most ambitious immigration plan the nation has seen in almost a decade.
Biden is reviving the idea of giving the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, according to news reports over the last 24 hours.
The plan’s similar in some ways to the sweeping, so-called “Gang of Eight” immigration legislation championed by former Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake in 2013. That bill won overwhelming approval in the U.S. Senate but died for lack of action in the House of Representatives.
Here’s what Biden’s proposed legislation would do, and one thing it wouldn’t do, based on published reports:
- The legislation would cover the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States as of Jan. 1.
As of 2018, Arizona had an estimated 281,000 undocumented immigrants, about 4% of the population, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.
- They would be put on an eight-year path to citizenship if they met certain requirements, such as passing background checks and paying taxes.
- The so-called “Dreamers” - those who were brought to the U.S. as children - could qualify sooner, again by meeting certain requirements
-Based on the reporting to date, the legislation wouldn’t contain provisions to beef up border security.
“The most important thing is that we have a plan that is hopeful but also viable,” said Reyna Montoya, founder and chief executive officer of AlientoAZ, an advocacy organization for undocumented immigrants.
“I really appreciate Biden's approach about not trying to tackle everything at once, because we have failed in the past in that way.”
Republican Congresswoman Debbie Lesko of Peoria tweeted this response:
"Biden and Democrats continue to prioritize Illegal immigrants over U. S. citizens. It's going to be a rough four years."
Biden is expected to release the proposed legislation on Wednesday after his inauguration. It could be taken up in Congress later this year.
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