Former vice-president and aspiring candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination Joe Biden affirms that the next president of the country must undertake an “effective” immigration reform, that provides a “fair treatment” to the millions of undocumented immigrants, instead of “vilifying” the immigrants and attack Latinos.
In an article published Monday in the newspaper El Nuevo Herald, the former vice president stressed that at the same time it is necessary to re-establish policies towards Latin America “based on respect” and accuses the current president, Donald Trump, of having “misjudged” what what Venezuela needs and acted incorrectly with Mexico and Colombia.
Polls have so far pointed to Biden as the favorite to win the Democratic primary and at the same time as the toughest opponent for President Trump in his race for re-election.
Biden is one of 20 Democratic candidates who will participate this week in Miami in the first debate in the face of the primaries, which will be held in two days and will be broadcast on NBC.
According to the Democratic candidate, Trump’s re-election strategy is “morally corrupt,” because it is based on “vilifying immigrants to obtain political points, while at the same time implementing public policies that ensure that asylum seekers and refugees continue to reach our border. “
In the opinion of former vice president, Trump “is only interested” in policies that “attack the dignity of the Latino community.”
The threat of imminent deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants by the president and the cutback of aid to “El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the same countries where most migrants are fleeing” prove it, says Biden.
“The millions of undocumented people in the United States can only be brought out of the shadows through fair treatment, not ugly threats,” he stresses.
The candidate for the nomination proposes that the Congress officially recognize that the “dreamers”, criticizes Trump’s attempts to repeal the temporary protection statutes (TPS) and proposes to improve the asylum system so that it “benefits legitimate requests” and at the same time “the potential for abuse” is reduced.
On security at the border with Mexico, Biden stresses that “building the wall” is a “slogan divorced from reality”, because it will not stop the trafficking of drugs and people, nor the arrival of asylum seekers nor will it eliminate the number of undocumented
Instead, “we must focus on improving detection procedures in our legal ports of entry and making smart investments in border technology,” he adds.
For the candidate for the Democratic nomination, “the real solution to this challenge can be found in the growing prosperity of Mexico and in improving the security situation in El Salvador, both linked to lower levels of migration.”
Biden mentions that during the Obama administration an effort was made to “address the root causes that drive people to flee” and take measures that would reduce inequality and broaden economic opportunities in Central America so that people could “stay in their countries of origin”.
“We were making progress,” he said, “until President Trump replaced the solid strategy with hostility and inflammatory rhetoric.”
With Trump, “there have been horrible scenes on the border of children who remain in cages, asylum seekers with tear gas, (agents) ripping children from their mothers’ arms, actions that subvert our American values ​​and erode our ability to lead on the world stage. “
At a time when “the challenges we face call for a united regional response, Trump repeatedly invokes the racist attitude to describe anyone from the south of the Rio Grande, including calling immigrants” animals, “he adds.
Biden defined Trump’s policies toward Latin America as “a return to the Cold War” and “in the worst case,” an ineffective disaster, “and promises that, if elected president, his” first step “will be” ensure that our policies in the Americas reflect once again our American values. “
Instead of supporting our partners in the region to confront corruption, transnational criminal groups, climate change and threats to democracy and civil law, “Trump’s erroneous policies are diverting us at all times.”
He especially stresses that “he has misjudged what will be needed to return democracy to Venezuela” and that his “growing stubbornness threatens the international coalition of more than 50 countries that recognize Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela.”
He also mentions in the article “Trump’s insistence in Mexico with the threat of taxes
