President Biden Unveils Immigration Reform to Ease Employer Labor-Supply Burdens
COVID-19, child care and competition from e-commerce warehouses have culminated in a labor shortage across a broad sector of U.S. employers. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that manufacturers who are low on workers have started recruiting executives and managers to the factory floor. But these labor supply concerns could soon be over.
The Biden administration just unveiled a plan to quickly address immigration reform. And congressional Democrats and advocates are apparently gearing up for what employers hope will be the defining chapter in an ongoing battle to improve the labor supply for U.S. businesses and create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
The Biden administration’s plan is bold. It apparently includes both legislation and executive orders that will present a comprehensive remedy to provide up to 11 million undocumented immigrants (and their potential employers) a pathway for citizenship, with an eight-year wait as a permanent resident. Under this plan, immigrants would become eligible for lawful permanent residence after five years and for U.S. citizenship after another three years – which is a much faster path to citizenship than previous attempts at immigration reform.
The Biden administration may also extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for four years through an executive order. That program has been extended to more than 500,000 immigrants so far. Beyond that, the plan may include issuing green cards for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status and DACA status and may include parents or legal guardians of both U.S. citizen children and DACA recipients. Likewise, certain agricultural workers may be eligible for green cards immediately if President Biden’s bill is passed into law.
President Biden’s large-scale immigration reform would have a significant impact on U.S. employers and the employment laws concerning these undocumented individuals. This plan does not seem to tie more expansive immigration measures with increased enforcement, which should relieve employers who have suffered from arbitrarily restrictive immigration policies. Another focus could be the potentially hundreds of thousands of people who might be eligible for green cards today if current law didn't require them to leave the country for 10 years before applying for one. Although the details are still being finalized, U.S. employers should prepare for significant changes under this plan that could provide more immigrants with a pathway to citizenship than any other law in American history.
Please contact Brandon Davis of Phelps’ Immigration team if you have questions about comprehensive immigration reform and its impact on your workforce development plans.
