In the hands of President Biden and Congress is the solution to the mess that was created by the arrival of asylum seekers, putting pressure on shelters in New York City.
Biden would have a quick, easy, but perhaps debatable solution before the Supreme Court, because with the division of Congress it does not seem feasible, in that electoral pre-season, for a comprehensive immigration reform to be approved like the one we now need.
Mayor Eric Adams keeps begging for help, to have mercy on those families, men and women he needs to accommodate, because they arrived with nothing and need a hand to start over here in the Big Apple, in the land of opportunity. . He also urges that they take pity on his administration because the budget of the Capital of the World is not enough for so many people.
And since all this problem begins because there is no consistent, understandable immigration system that takes into account that the world has changed, since all governments, state, federal or local, have their hands tied and so far Biden has turned a deaf ear to the problem.
But what is needed right now is that they speed up the delivery of work permits for the more than 70,000 undocumented immigrants who are estimated to be already here and need money, because they do not want charity and seek to survive with the sweat of their work. But the permits will take months!
That is why I would dare to propose that, by decree, or what we call here Executive Order, the White House put an end to the problem.
If Biden signs this order, specifying that it will be for one time, we could have an exit similar to President Barack Obama’s DACA. This way they would feel welcome to produce for their own livelihood, learn the language and above all that they understand that this nation also needs them, because there is a lack of labor, because as newcomers they also have to do their part.
Lawyers consulted for this column tell us that the other side of the coin is that the wrong message would be sent as an invitation card for more people to enter the country, violating the law, without permission.
But I would say, not so fast, because by coming out of the shadows and receiving their salaries “above the table”, they would pay taxes to Uncle Sam, so that the nation receives some of that wealth for reaching out to them.
In addition, they must learn the culture, the language and embrace the new flag that welcomes them, after they had to leave their homeland to start over in this new world.
The author, Sofía Villa, writes this column in her personal capacity and her opinions do not represent Televisa-Univision where she works as Writer/Producer.