AThe United States is facing a migration crisis on its southern border. Unfortunately, media images taken from ICE immigration detention facilities have been heartbreaking. Most of these migrants have come not from Mexico, however, but from the so-called “Northern Triangle”–El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
The reasons for this migration, which has persisted through the Trump administration until now, is more than just economic, although economics is certainly a factor. In addition to poverty, official corruption and violence are driving the citizens of these countries north towards the US border.
In 2020 El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala ranked 1st, 4th, and 14th in the world, respectively, in terms of the national murder rate.
It doesn’t get any better when these migrants travel north, either. Tijuana and Juarez, both located just south of the US/Mexico border, rank 1 and 2 in the world, respectively, in terms of city murder rates.
Meanwhile, human smugglers and drug cartels often prey upon vulnerable migrants. The fact that these conditions have failed to deter Northern Triangle migrants goes to show how difficult life is for the people who live in those countries.
In Search of a Long-Term Solution
President Biden has pledged to seek a long-term solution to the migration crisis by helping the Northern Triangle countries deal with the root causes of immigration. Biden’s US CItizenship Act of 2021 contains some measures designed to relieve the migrant crisis.
Biden´s immigration bill includes a provision for $4 billion to be allocated over four years to fight poverty, crime, and corruption in the Northern Triangle. The bill, along with other initiatives favored by the Biden administration, would:
- Establish Designated Processing Centers throughout Northern Triangle countries where intending immigrants could seek refugee resettlement in the United States. One of the primary purposes of establishing these centers in Northern Triangle countries is to discourage migrants from undertaking the incredibly dangerous journey to the US border.
- Re-establish the Central American Minors Program to allow for the reunification of children with parents who are already residing in the United States.
- Help Northern Triangle countries reduce crime through enhanced security and enforcement measures. Unfortunately, this is a long-term solution whose effects may not be fully felt for decades.
- Investing into the economies of Northern Triangle countries. In 2018, for example, the US invested $5.8 billion into the region.
The Path Forward
Ultimately, however, the foregoing measures are only the tip of the iceberg compared to the sustained initiatives that are likely to prove necessary in the long run. Some of the possible future measures that need to be undertaken include:
- Partnering with Mexico to invest money and know-how into the region. The US and Mexico have a common interest in stemming the flow of migrants.
- Targeting aid and investment to the individual needs of each country.
- Engaging with the private sector in Northern Triangle countries to create jobs.
- Working with the governments of Northern Triangle countries to root out official corruption.
There is a reason for hope. Homicide rates, for example, have fallen steadily in El Salvador and Honduras in recent years. Nevertheless, so far it is not enough. The Covid-19 crisis battered the region throughout 2020, while hurricanes devastated parts of Honduras and Guatemala leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
What It’s Going to Take
There are no easy answers to the Northern Triangle migration crisis. What has already become certain, however, is that nothing will ultimately be solved by simply building more walls. Ultimately the US is going to need to build a Central American policy grounded in human rights, long-term solutions, and reasonably flexible immigration policies.
Today, after months of speculation, and after decades of failed attempts by many to reform the U.S. immigration system, newly-inaugurated President Joseph Biden takes a bold step in fulfilling his campaign promise to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, by sending his bill, the U.S. Citizenship of Act of 2021, to Congress.
Richard Herman, a nationally-renowned immigration lawyer and co-author of the book, Immigrant, Inc. – Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and how they will save the American Worker) (Wiley, 2009), says that this new immigration bill, if passed by Congress, will make America stronger:
“Our current immigration system is broken, fails to treat people with dignity, separates families, and undermines our economy and safety. Legalization of undocumented immigrants, many of whom have lived and worked in the U.S. for more than 10 years and have deep roots in the community, deserve an opportunity to join the American family. Similarly, for too long, the U.S. immigration system has disregarded the talents of highly-educated immigrants, many of whom have left the U.S. or have immigrated to more welcoming countries. The Biden Immigration bill is a great first step in modernizing an antiquated system and re-imagining how our immigration laws must reflect our character as a nation of immigrants.”
This bill comes after former President Trump has waged a four-year war on immigrants, both undocumented, as well as legal immigrants. Leveraging white nationalist ideology and the pandemic, Trump implemented measures to restrict legal immigration and demonize immigrants.
It is anticipated that nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants may be eligible to normalize their immigration status should the Biden bill become law. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of highly skilled immigrants, primarily those from India and China, who have been waiting years for a green card, will be able to obtain permanent residency should Congress approve.
What Does Biden Propose?
The immigration proposal, which accompanies a flurry of Executive Orders by President Biden, reversing many of Trump’s Executive Orders on immigration, such as the Travel Ban from predominantly Muslim nations, provides the following:
- Foreign nationals present in the U.S. on or before January 1, 2021, and who pass a criminal background check, would be eligible to apply for temporary legal status, apply for green cards after five years if they meet certain requirements, and citizenship three years later
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA or Dreamers) holders, Temporary Protected (TPS) recipients, and farm workers who are present on or before January 1, 2021, who meet certain requirements would be immediately eligible for green cards and citizenship three years later;
- The Secretary of DHS may waive the physical presence requirement for those deported on or after January 20, 2017 who were physically present for at least three years prior to removal for family unity and humanitarian purposes;
- Keeping families together by clearing backlogs, recapturing unused visas, eliminating lengthy wait times, increasing per-country visa caps. and eliminating so called “3 and 10-year bars” and other provisions that keep families apart;
- Embraces diversity by including the NO BAN ACT that prohibits discrimination based on religion and limits presidential authority to issue future bans. The bill also includes increasing Diversity Visas to 80,000 from 55,000.
- Grow our economy by clearing employment-based visa backlogs, recaptures unused visas, reduces lengthy wait times, and eliminates per country caps. The bill makes it easier for graduates of U.S. universities with advanced STEM degrees to stay in the U.S.; improves access to green cards for workers in lower-wage sector; and eliminates other unnecessary hurdles for employment based green cards.
- Provides dependents of H1B visa holders work authorization, and children are prevented from “aging out” of the system.
- Creates a pilot program to stimulate regional economic development, gives DHS the authority to adjust green cards based on macroeconomic conditions, and incentivizes higher wages for non-immigrant higher skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers.
- Protects workers from exploitation and improves the employment verification process.
- Supports asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations. The bill eliminates the one year deadline for filing for asylum and provides funding to reduce the asylum application backlog.
- Improve the immigration court system with new technology, and to protect vulnerable individuals by providing judges with training and discretion to review cases and grant relief to deserving individuals
- Increases protection for U visa, T visa, and VAWA applicants, including raising the cap on U visas from 10,000 to 30,000
- $4 billion interagency plan that would provide aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in effort to tackle the root causes of undocumented immigration: violence, poverty and corruption.
In analyzing the Biden immigration plan, Richard Herman, founder of the Herman Legal Group, states the following:
“This plan represents a major pivot, away from nativism, division, and hatred, towards a more inclusive, humane, safe and economically vibrant America.”
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Contact Richard Herman for More Information: 1-216-696-6170
Founded in 1995, the Herman Legal Group focuses on immigration law, including family immigration, removal defense, employment-based immigration, investor immigration, asylum, immigration waivers. We are headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and have additional offices in Columbus, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Miami, and Dallas. We serve clients, in over 12 languages, in all 50 states
Richard Herman is one of the pioneers of the movement by Midwest cities to attract and welcome immigrants who can help grow the economy, create jobs and reverse progressive depopulation. Wish to find out more about Evolution casinos? Then look at this review. You will learn all advantages and disadvantages of Evolution Gaming games as well as platforms to play on.
He regularly advises cities and counties on innovative ways to leverage existing immigration law to create jobs and attract foreign direct investment. Voted for inclusion in the 2015-2020 editions of The Best Lawyers in America© and listed in Super Lawyers© for more than fifteen consecutive years, Richard began his immigration law career by moving to Moscow, Russia in 1993, straight out of law school, to eventually open a law office two blocks from the Kremlin to represent post-Soviet entrepreneurs.
As an authority on U.S. immigration law and a provocateur for immigrant-friendly, pro-entrepreneur policies , Richard is often invited to strategize and deliver keynote addresses around the country, as he has often done for Michael Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch’s Partnership for a New American Economy, chambers of commerce, universities and cities.
Known for his direct and sometimes controversial style, Richard has appeared in numerous national media outlets, including FOX News, National Public Radio, and has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Inc., PC World, Computerworld, CIO, TechCrunch and InformationWeek. He is the co-author of the book, Immigrant, Inc.
Richard is married to Kimberly Chen, an immigrant from Taiwan who overcame her undocumented status to become an American physician. They live in the Cleveland area with their two children, whom they are raising to be citizens of the world.