Biden says US immigration system ‘broken’

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden declared the US immigration system “broken” on Thursday as he unveiled what he said would be a “safe and humane” new plan to ease pressure at the crowded border with Mexico.

Under the plan, announced ahead of a visit by Biden to the Mexican border, up to 30,000 qualifying migrants will be allowed into the United States each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they arrive by plane, while restrictions are tightened on those seeking to enter illegally.

“It´s safe and it´s humane, and it works,” Biden said of the proposal in an address from the White House. Biden said he had previously sent Congress comprehensive legislation to overhaul “what has been a broken immigration system for a long time.”

“But Congressional Republicans have refused to consider my comprehensive plan,” he said -- blaming “extreme Republicans” for the impasse. The quota of legal migrants will be restricted to those already with a US sponsor, while those attempting to cross the US-Mexico border illegally will be expelled under the controversial Title 42 rule and beefed-up law enforcement presence, in coordination with Mexico.President Joe Biden was scheduled to speak on the plan, which is his latest attempt to ease pressure at the overwhelmed border, where often desperately poor undocumented migrants and asylum seekers are arriving in record numbers.

A similar program was launched for Venezuelans only in October, allowing in those fleeing poverty and repression in the South American country provided they could show US ties. At the same time, the Biden administration wants to tighten restrictions on the border itself by turning away undocumented workers under Title 42.

The measure was implemented under Donald Trump´s administration, ostensibly as a health measure to reduce the flow of people during the Covid pandemic. However, human rights advocates and many in Biden´s Democratic Party said the use of Title 42 was an abuse of a health emergency by an openly anti-immigration president.

Biden´s administration sought to remove the rule and is now waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether it should stay or go. His new embrace of the tool for restricting migrants -- it allows border guards to send back illegal crossers without any further process -- will likely cause an uproar among some in his party.

Biden will make his first visit to the US-Mexico border on Sunday with a stop at El Paso, Texas, a senior US official said Thursday. This will come right before he travels to Mexico City on Monday and Tuesday for a North America leaders´ summit.