Immigrant advocates are waiting for their moment. Nearly two years into the Biden administration, having watched many of their progressive brethren score significant breakthroughs on their causes, they’re getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of action on theirs. And a bit jealous too, Politico reports. More than a dozen immigrant advocates said they fully recognize the hurdles this White House faces in pushing policy and change through. Among them is a court system that has consistently struck down its efforts to reverse immigration restrictions put in place under President Trump.
Still, they argued that President Biden is nowhere close to fulfilling his campaign promises to build a “fair and humane,” modernized immigration system. They believe his administration hasn’t prioritized immigration reform, even shying away from the subject in the run-up to midterms, fearful of how Republicans might spin any action. Such disappointment is common within immigration advocacy circles, where operatives have toiled for decades on ill-fated attempts to move policy. This cycle, they say, it stings worse. That’s because they’ve watched as Biden has delivered on promises for so many other interest groups: Advocates for student debt forgiveness celebrated after the White House announced cancelling $10,000 of student debt for millions of people and up to $20,000 of debt for low- and middle-income borrowers who had received a Pell Grant. Marijuana activists watched in glee as Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of federal marijuana possession and inched closer to his campaign pledge to decriminalize weed.