- Dreamers Top The List For Immigration Reform
- Dreamers Are Important To The US
- So what are we left with now? Will Dreamers Get Green Cards Under Biden?
Still Waiting for the DREAM to become REALITY: This is my 25th year as an immigration lawyer — and we are focused on Dreamers and DACA. It was recently announced that Senator Durbin and Senator Graham have proposed a bipartisan Dream act for 2021. What’s notable about this is that 20 years ago, Senator Durbin with then-Senator Hatch did the same exact thing. Hopefully in the last two decades, things have changed.
Obviously, with the advent of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) nine years ago, we now have a population of about 800,000 Dreamers in the United States with DACA status. In addition our new president, Joe Biden, has proposed a “Kitchen Sink” deal that would give almost a general amnesty to all undocumented immigrants. Frankly, that’s a big reach and I don’t expect it to happen. However, right at the top of that same proposal was a measure under which DACA holders and or Dreamers could apply for green cards.
DREAMERS TOP THE LIST OF IMMIGRATION REFORM UNDER BIDEN
Whether we see a DREAM Act go to legislation, or we see other measures, I truly believe that – having done this under 5 different presidential administrations- it’s reasonable to expect that if we get any immigration reform at all, Dreamers will be at the top of the list.
DREAMERS / DACA RECIPIENTS MAKE UP AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE FABRIC OF THE US
And this makes sense. We’ve got people who have lived in this country since they were infants, who grew up here, kindergarten to grade 12, university, grad school, working in professions ranging from law to medicine to technology, fire fighters, first responders, etc. Many essential workers, to say the least.
At this point Dreamers are in every imaginable sphere.
SO WHAT ARE WE LEFT WITH NOW? WILL DREAMERS GET GREEN CARDS UNDER BIDEN?
A lot of what I’ve been referring to is coming from a place of cautious optimism. It’s very important that we see our way to having a positive approach.
I’m not going to get political. I generally don’t like to talk about political motives in the matter of immigration, as I prefer a more pragmatic view.
We always tell our clients to focus more on the logistics and less on the media narratives.My law firm prefers objective reality, based on our years of experience and the facts at hand.
I DON’T EXPECT IT OVERNIGHT, BUT IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME IF — OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS — WE SEE A PATHWAY FOR DREAMERS AND THOSE WITH DACA STATUS TO GETTING A GREEN CARD.
If you have DACA status, renew it. If you’ve never had DACA status, time to apply for the first time if you qualify.
If you need more information on whether you qualify for DACA, please read this blog post, or contact us at Harlan York & Associates.
Can’t apply for DACA? Here are six other ways we’ve helped people get green cards.
Be safe, be healthy and let’s look forward to a better new year.
