Florida groups are expressing concerns over President Biden’s immigration executive order.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday to temporarily limit the number of migrants who are crossing the border illegally, which will certainly have ripple effects across the country and in South Florida.
While Florida is not a border state, historically, it has been known to absorb mass migration. For decades, South Florida has been and continues to be a major destination for migrants.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE“It’s just a complete betrayal the president purported to represent in terms of immigration policy when campaigning," said Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
The president's policy is causing concerns among immigrant advocacy groups, including Kennedy, who called this action a repeat of the Trump-era asylum ban. Advocates are also pointing out that Biden’s new policy may cause legal troubles.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP
"This is clearly politics. This is happening because the Democratic party has not put forward a vision and a policy in terms of rebuilding our immigration system in a humane fashion," Kennedy said.
Kennedy took it one step further and called it short-term political opportunism. And in the long term, he sees a policy that could run into economic troubles right in South Florida.
“This is just going to make things worse in terms of the economic conditions that we’re seeing in the state that are producing a cost-of-living crisis for so many residents," he said.
Local
The president's significant change in immigration policy also perked the ears of immigration attorneys across the country.
"My concern is what happens at the border," said Willy Allen, an immigration attorney in South Florida. "My concern is what happens to people who have good asylum claims."
Allen said he doesn't expect any drastic changes, as Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans continue to arrive legally by way of the ongoing humanitarian parole program.
“The Miami airport is the No. 1 stop for Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians. Close to now 400,000 people have come in through the humanitarian parole," he said.
A Biden administration official called the new immigration policy a decisive action necessary when Congress isn’t acting.
"It also means that we’ll reduce the number of irregular migrations and at the same time we’ll be able to focus resources better, which have the effect of strengthening the asylum process for those who have legitimate asylum claims," said Luis Miranda of Homeland Security.
