WASHINGTON — On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he handed Congress a legislative plan to modernize the nation’s immigration system.
It went nowhere, just like so many past overhaul attempts.
Meanwhile, the number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border climbed to record highs, and so did the backlog of cases in the nation’s immigration court system. Title 42 emergency health powers that allowed border officials to turn away many migrants were sure to end as the coronavirus pandemic eased. And Congress couldn’t agree on even simple questions like whether the U.S. should let in more people or fewer.
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