On June 18, the Biden administration announced two major new policies which will help provide streamlined paths to legal status for some undocumented immigrants. The first policy will allow undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who have been in the country to apply for “parole in place,” a protection against deportation which will also allow many to access a path to permanent resident status. The second policy will allow individuals with DACA and undocumented immigrants who have graduated college to apply for certain employment-based nonimmigrant visas.
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The Celebrate America Creative Writing Contest challenges fifth graders across the country to reflect on and write about one of two themes: “Why I Am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants” or "What Does It Mean to be A Welcoming Nation?" Please enjoy our 27th annual Creative Writing Contest winning entry, Stories of Us, written by Angela Du, a student in New York City. The contest is made by the generous support of the MurthyNAYAK Foundation and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) regional chapters.
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This week, the Council released a new report on the “Expanding Role of H-2A Workers in U.S. Agriculture” which includes important new findings about the H-2A Temporary Agriculture Worker Program that allows U.S. employers that face a shortage of domestic workers to hire foreign nationals for temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs. An American Immigration Council analysis of Department of Labor data reveals significant demand across the country for H-2A workers and their vital support to America's food production.
H-2A workers endure many challenging work conditions, but perhaps most notable is the heat. An analysis by the Council of Department of Labor data finds that 13.7 percent of certified H-2A laborers are required to work during months when the average local temperature exceeds 90°F (32°C). In southern states like Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, and Texas, more than 1 in 4 certified H-2A workers work in those temperatures.
Read more: The Expanding Role of H-2A Workers in U.S. Agriculture
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On June 18, the Biden administration announced policy changes that, if implemented, will provide immigration relief to thousands of deeply-rooted immigrants in the United States.
The first is a program which will offer relief to undocumented people married to U.S. citizens who have lived in United States for at least 10 years. Through “Parole in Place,” which has been used for over a decade to provide relief to family members of military personnel, the administration will provide some mixed-status families with a streamlined path to permanent status. The White House estimates that over 500,000 people could benefit, and that the average beneficiary has resided in the United States for 23 years.
The second measure announced by the White House would ease the process for DACA beneficiaries (and potentially other Dreamers) to access the high-skilled employment categories. This will allow employers to keep their critical employees, while providing DACA recipients an opportunity to continue to invest in their communities.
Read more: The Biden Administration’s Parole-In-Place Announcement: Helping Mixed-Status Families Stay Together and Avoid Bureaucratic Traps
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