Biden’s new immigration order sucks. I’m sorry, it does. I know it’s a big election issue for a lot of people, including Democrats, and they’re trying to mitigate any erosion of their voting coalition. But the reality is that border crossings are way down over the last 6 months and it’s really overkill.
Having said that, they are apparently also on the verge of offering up something very positive on immigration:
Looking to shore up Latino votes in Nevada and Arizona for his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden is on the verge of soon following up last week’s executive action aimed at curbing border crossings with another move focused on providing legal status for long-term undocumented immigrants who are married to American citizens.
Though final details have not been decided, officials are reviewing an existing legal authority known as “parole in place” that would shield select undocumented immigrants from deportation and allow them to work legally in the country as they seek citizenship. The orders have not yet been presented to Biden himself for review.
Polling reviewed by top aides in the White House and the president’s reelection headquarters are helping seal the deal.
For Biden in Arizona, “Everything is on the margins, right?” said Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. “My sense is it should help.”
Estimates put the number of people who could be directly affected at 750,000 to 800,000, with a reverberating effect among spouses, children, extended family and friends — and predominantly Latinos. That’s millions of potential votes in just Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia. Those are all battleground states, all home to many Latinos and all looking likely to be decided in November by slivers of the electorate.
“We have lost the narrative on the border, and so we need to start winning it back,” said one person involved in the discussions of why Biden started with the executive action tightening asylum rules last week.
But “Latino voters in particular are extremely enthusiastic about seeing something done to help people they know. It is either a direct relative or friend, someone they work with,” that person argued. “It is such a powerful signal to these communities that you care about them, and you understand what’s happening there.”
This could amount to the federal government’s biggest relief program since the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That program, which allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to live and work in the country, was announced mid-June of Obama’s own reelection year in 2012.
This sounds like a good policy and also smart electorally. I’m not sure if it will make up for the rather draconian new rules on asylum but it’s good on its own terms.
The fact is that with full employment the U.S. needs immigrant labor more than ever. People who are freaking out over it are being very short-sighted. But what else is new?