(Editor’s note: The following statement was issued by Seia Watanabe, JACL VP public affairs, Matthew Weisbly, JACL Education & Communications coordinator. It was lightly edited to adhere to AP Style and other journalistic conventions.)
Today, as it celebrated the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Biden administration announced new immigration policies that look to support American families and strengthen our workforce.
The first policy supports undocumented immigrant spouses and children of U.S. citizens who have lived in the U.S. for 10 or more years to apply for green cards, without fear of deportation. The second policy enables DACA recipients or “Dreamers” who have graduated college and are offered U.S. employment to more easily obtain work visas, especially in high-demand professions.
These new policies come as good news following the recent policies limiting asylum seekers’ humane entrance to our country. While we applaud today’s announcement, we recognize these changes only apply to specific categories of immigrants. They do little to aid future migrants or many others stuck in the visa backlogs.
JACL continues to urge Congress to pursue legislation to not only support expanded opportunities for immigrants to come to our country, but also contribute to our society, culture, and economy. We hope that these announcements can mark a turn away from the xenophobic rhetoric and policies that persist across our country. We call on Congress to make these changes permanent and work towards a more humane immigration system supporting students, workers, and their families.
