President Biden called on Congress to update the immigration system to provide a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers, those on temporary status, (undocumented) farmworkers and essential workers” on Tuesday. Immigration reform has been on the Capitol Hill back burner for months.
“Revise our laws so businesses have the workers they need and families don’t wait decades to reunite,” said Biden during his first State of the Union address. “It’s not only the right thing to do — it’s the economically smart thing to do. That’s why immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions to religious leaders to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Let’s get it done once and for all.”
Nearly a year ago, the House passed, on a bipartisan 247-169 roll call, legislation to give legal status to undocumented farmworkers and streamline the H-2A guestworker program. The bill has sat idle in the Senate since then, the same fate as its 2019 version. Half of U.S. farmworkers, perhaps 1.25 million people, are believed to be undocumented.
Congress has struggled for years to find support for comprehensive immigration reform. “If we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the border and fix the immigration system,” said Biden. “We can do both.”
A text of the president’s speech is available here.