US President Joe Biden saw - today, Thursday - that the US immigration system is flawed, while revealing what he said would be a new "safe and humane" plan to relieve pressure on the border with Mexico.
Under the plan, announced by the US president ahead of an upcoming visit to the Mexican border, up to 30,000 eligible immigrants would be allowed into the US each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they arrived by plane, with restrictions tightened on those seeking illegal entry. .
Biden described the proposal - during a speech at the White House - as "safe, humane and practical."
He said he had already sent comprehensive legislation to Congress to fix what had been "a flawed immigration system for too long."
"But the Republicans in Congress refused to consider my comprehensive plan," he added, blaming "hardcore Republicans" for the deadlock.
He also confirmed that strengthening the southern borders of the United States will be at the heart of the upcoming talks next week with his Mexican counterpart, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
"We have a big agenda ... but an important part of this agenda is related to strengthening the borders between our two countries," Biden said - while revealing new proposals for immigration - during his speech at the White House.
In this context, he addressed people seeking immigration, inviting them to apply for legal entry into the United States, and said, "Do not come to the border."
And Biden announced - yesterday, Wednesday - his intention to visit the border region between the United States and Mexico, ahead of his expected visit to the Mexican capital, Mexico City, next Monday.
The issue of immigration is a sensitive file for the White House, which is facing difficulty so far in developing a long-term strategy to deal with the arrival of immigrants at the border with Mexico, which extends over 3 thousand kilometers.
The border crossing between the Mexican towns of Rio Colorado and San Luis, America, witnesses the daily movement of tens of thousands of migrants (Al-Jazeera)
Chapter 42
The US administration's policy in the field of immigration has so far relied - in large part - on a measure adopted during the era of former President Donald Trump that greatly restricts entry to US soil, under the pretext of health concerns.
This legal mechanism - known as "Chapter 42" - was the subject of several judicial battles, and the Supreme Court decided to maintain it on December 27, pending a decision on the substance of the case next spring.
Human rights activists criticize the procedure currently adopted, which is characterized by the immediate expulsion of migrants without the benefit of any legal effort to oppose it.