Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would send a bill to the U.S. Senate to legislate U.S. citizenship for 11 million people in the country illegally within his first hundred days in office.
Speaking with NBC’s Lester Holt, Biden said, “I will send an immigration bill to the United States Senate with a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people in America.”
Biden’s comments come after several U.S. Media outlets have called the 2020 election on his behalf, but as President Donald Trump continues to race legal challenges to the election results.
Earlier on in the interview, Biden said some of his administration’s plans “will depend on the cooperation I can or cannot get from the United States Congress,” but he said will make a commitment to advancing the immigration bill, for 11 million illegal immigrants, which he referred to as “undocumented people in America.”
Biden’s campaign website also includes information about his plan to provide citizenship to “11 million undocumented immigrants.”
“Joe Biden will work with Congress to pass legislation that creates a roadmap to citizenship for the nearly 11 million people who have been living in and strengthening our country for years,” his website states.
The Biden website further states, “Biden will aggressively advocate for legislation that creates a clear roadmap to legal status and citizenship for unauthorized immigrants who register, are up-to-date on their taxes, and have passed a background check.”
President Trump, throughout his presidency, has sought to combat illegal immigration through construction of a wall on the U.S. southern border with Mexico to stop illegal border crossings. Trump’s administration has also changed immigration policies, implementing the Migrant Protection Policies which require those entering the country to wait in Mexico while they await verdicts on their cases. The Trump policy came alongside the end of the previous policy that allowed migrants to enter the country while they waited for their immigration cases, sometimes referred to as “catch and release.” Under the previous policy, migrants who were allowed to enter the country while awaiting their immigration cases often did not appear for their cases.
Biden’s website states he will also end Trump’s Migrant Protection Policies.
“Biden will end these policies, starting with Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols, and restore our asylum laws so that they do what they should be designed to do–protect people fleeing persecution and who cannot return home safely,” Biden’s website states.
