English

Biden defends the dreamers before Congress

DISTRICT 8| President Biden spoke with Yadira Caraveo, Democratic Representative from Colorado’s District 8, about the needs of the residents of this state’s new congressional district. (Picture/EFE)

IN HIS SECOND STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

Haga click aquí para leer la versión en español

In his second State of the Union Adress, US President Joe Biden asked Congress to at least provide a path to citizenship for so-called “dreamers” if it does not pass an immigration reform. The president indicated that a bipartisan agreement could be reached that favors undocumented youth who came to the United States as children. This agreement would favor other people without immigration status.

“America’s problems at the border will not be solved until Congress acts,” he told to US Representatives and Senators. Biden will also launch “a major effort to stop the production, sale and trafficking of fentanyl, with more drug detection machines to inspect the cargo and stop the pills and powder at the border,” he said of his proposal to endow the frontier with technology to detect this dangerous fentanyl.

Traffickers’ sanctions

Biden proposed working with companies like Fed Ex to inspect more packages for drugs and enforce tough penalties to crack down on the fentanyl trade, which he says kills more than 70,000 Americans a year. The president’s message was attended by Doug Griffin, who lost his 20-year-old daughter, Courtney, in 2014 to an overdose of fentanyl. Griffin has become an activist against opioid addiction.

Fentanyl is a powerful pain reliever that is between 50 and 100 times more powerful than morphine and is often used to treat diseases such as cancer. However, it is also used to increase the potency of heroin and is currently responsible for the deaths of around 150 people a day. Biden has met with the leaders of Mexico and China to try to address that problem.

Stimulating national production

Biden expressed that he is going to give instructions to use steel, cement and other materials manufactured in the United States for the construction of infrastructure that is financed by the federal government. “Wood, glass, plaster, fiber optics or cables made in the United States. Under my watch, American roads, bridges and highways will be made with American products,” he added.

The measure will not affect all the constructions that are carried out in the United States, but only those that depend on the federal government. The Federal Government spends a substantial amount of its funds on construction and the standards it sets can serve as a guide for other construction projects both by local entities and private entities. In 2022 alone, the federal government spent $363.6 billion, according to Census data.

Speaking of achievements

Biden stressed that his government had to deal with the consequences of the pandemic and presents a favorable balance. “Two years ago, our economy was reeling. As I’m here, we’ve created a record 12 million new jobs, more jobs created in two years than any other president has created in four years. Two years ago, COVID had shut down our economy. Today COVID does not control our lives,” he said.

The president added that he will maintain the strategy to reduce inflation. “We still have a lot to do. But we have seen how the price of fuel continues to fall after the brutal increases generated by the uncertainty caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine”, he assured. Biden recalled that they have been successful in reactivating distribution chains and highlighted the law that will allow chip production to be reactivated in the US.