Some dramatic moves on immigration are expected in the early days of the Biden administration. Joe Biden will likely use executive orders to reverse some of President Donald Trump’s most controversial actions, rolling back moves that were a central feature of his administration and important to his base.
The Biden administration plans to restore protection for people who were illegally brought into the United States as minors and stop using Pentagon funds to build a border wall. Biden has unveiled a detailed and very ambitious plan on immigration, but it will take time to undo many of the actions taken by Trump. The incoming president is also likely to face a divided Congress, which will make it difficult to enact sweeping and comprehensive changes to the nation’s immigration system.
Here’s a look at what to expect:
A change of tone
Restricting immigration was a signature theme for Trump, who infamously called Mexican rapists when he vowed to build a border wall when launching his campaign. His administration banned travelers from some predominantly Muslim countries as one of its first acts, took many steps to limit legal immigration, and cut the number of refugees allowed into the country by 80 percent. Biden has said that “immigration is fundamental to who we are as a nation,” noting that most Americans can trace their ancestry back to immigrants, but it is not a fundamental problem. It’s not even mentioned in the top priorities of its transition website: Covid-19, economic recovery, racial justice, and climate change. Biden appointed Cecilia Muñoz, President Barack Obama’s top immigration adviser, to his transition team, which some interpreted as a sign of a more moderate tactic.
Read more | Republicans looking for trouble with the Wisconsin elections
Great initial moves
Biden has said he will act quickly to undo some of Trump’s flagship immigration initiatives. The border wall? The roughly 400 miles built so far will not be reduced, but the new administration will not continue to build them, nor will it take money from the Pentagon to fund them despite objections from Congress. The incoming administration plans to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which currently protects some 650,000 people who came to the country when they were young from deportation. He plans to revoke the travel ban on people visiting the United States from 13 countries, many of them Muslim-majority. One of Trump’s first moves in office was to tell immigration officials that everyone in the country illegally was subject to deportation. Biden is expected to return to criteria similar to those Obama adopted toward the end of his term, greatly limiting deportations to people with serious criminal records in the United States. Biden said he wants the government to help find the parents of hundreds of children who were separated from their parents at the border early in the Trump administration.
Biden wants to get rid of policies that have been “detrimental” to seeking asylum, such as the policy of making asylum seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in US immigration court, but is expected to exercise caution. to avoid causing more arrivals. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas who was appointed by Biden to the joint immigration task force with Bernie Sanders, said a resolution will require coordination with Mexico.
“This is a time that will require real leadership,” he said.
Why might some changes take time?
Almost all of the major policy changes under Trump are in the courts and may require an effort to unravel, including considerations of protecting the executive branch. Other revocations would be subject to time-consuming formal rule-making procedures. Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law practice at Cornell Law School, believes Biden will exercise caution on asylum matters to avoid triggering a new wave of arrivals, and says other changes will face “procedural and practical problems. “. Take the “public charge” rule, which disqualifies more people from green cards if they depend on government benefits. Biden wants it reversed, but would have to go through the extensive rule-making exercise. A federal appeals court sided with Trump to end humanitarian protections that have allowed hundreds of thousands of people from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan to remain in the United States. Biden only says he would order an “immediate review” of “Temporary Protected Status.” Yale-Loehr, a strong critic of Trump’s policies, says “it will take four years to undo all the damage the Trump administration has done” as Biden addresses the pandemic and other issues.
Read more | Joe Biden Appoints More Than 20 Indian-Americans To Agency Review Teams For The Administration
What could stay the same?
At least initially, Biden can keep an order from the Trump administration in place authorizing Customs and Border Protection to swiftly remove any migrant as a public health measure during the Covid-19 pandemic. While critics question the health justification for the order, the new administration may decide that it is necessary to prevent a flood of migrants and protect Border Patrol agents and other CBP employees, says Doris Meissner, a former senior U.S. immigration official. who now works on the Migration Policy. Institute. “This health circumstance is not likely to just go away in January or February,” he says.
.
