Biden’s executive actions on immigration, explained

On his first day in office on Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed several executive actions aimed at dismantling the Trump administration’s nativist legacy on immigration.

With the stroke of a pen, Biden will be able to end some of Trump’s most publicized and controversial immigration policies: the travel ban, the construction of the southern border wall and his attempt to end protections for young undocumented immigrants through deferred action. for the children’s arrivals program.

The cancellation of these policies has a considerable human impact. About 41,000 people have been refused visas due to the travel ban. Almost 700,000 currently benefit from DACA. These actions mark the beginning of a transition to what Biden promises to be a more welcoming era for immigrants to the United States.

But Wednesday’s actions are, in some ways, the easier part. From now on, the real work of undoing Trump’s complex web of regulations and policy changes begins, presenting a first test of Biden’s commitment to prioritizing immigration.

Trump built barriers in Central America, at the border, in detention centers and in immigration courts that made it nearly impossible to obtain asylum for people fleeing violence in their home countries. It dramatically expanded the detention of migrants, quickly returning migrants to Mexico, pursuing every immigrant caught crossing the border without permission, and separating more than 5,500 immigrant families. And he waged a silent and effective campaign to curb legal immigration, using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse for to reject tens of thousands of visas and green cards.

The task that awaits Biden is immense. He will not only be expected to return to the approach of the Obama era in immigration control, which involved record deportations and an extension of family detention, but will improve it.

Biden’s day one executive actions on immigration are just the start. Here are the objectives of its executive actions so far:

1) Repeal Trump’s travel ban

Biden will issue executive action ending Trump’s controversial travel ban on non-citizens of 13 countries. It also directs the State Department to resume visa processing and develop a plan to address the harm caused by the bans, especially for those who have not been able to obtain a waiver and whose visas have been refused.

The policy, colloquially known as the “Muslim ban,” first came into effect in January 2017 and has become one of Trump’s main immigration policies. The ban has slowed or completely halted legal immigration from some countries that the former administration saw as security threats, separating families and even preventing the resettlement of refugees.

The ban has been amended several times in the face of numerous legal challenges, arguing that Trump did not have the legal authority to pronounce it and that he illegally discriminates against Muslims. The third version of the ban, finally upheld by the Supreme Court, banned citizens of seven countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea – from obtaining any type of visa, largely preventing them party to enter the United States. . (Chad was removed from the list of countries subject to the ban in April 2019 after responding to requests from the Trump administration to share information with U.S. officials that could aid foreign control efforts.)

Trump expanded the ban last February to include additional restrictions on citizens of six other countries: Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. While they could still visit the United States, citizens of those countries were, for the most part, prohibited from settling in the United States permanently.

2) Reaffirm protections for DACA recipients

Biden to issue memorandum ensuring the deferred action program for child arrivals – a long-standing target of the Trump administration – remains intact and urging Congress to enact permanent protections for the nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrant youth who benefited from it. His own proposal for immigration reform, which he will send to Congress on Wednesday, would give them a three-year path to citizenship.

Trump attempted to cancel the Obama-era program in 2017, throwing DACA recipients into a kind of limbo in which they lived in fear of imminently losing their legal status and their ability to continue living and working for United States without fear of being deported.

The Supreme Court thwarted that attempt last year, but its administration continued to deny new applications for the program, despite the fact that an additional 1.3 million immigrants had become eligible. A court eventually ordered him to start accepting new claims, reinstating the program entirely.

But an ongoing lawsuit in Texas federal court continues to threaten the program. A coalition of states, led by Texas, argued that then President Barack Obama did not have the power to create the DACA, demanding that it be ended.

3) Stop building Trump’s border wall

Upon leaving office, Trump had completed 450 miles of construction on the border wall – a physical reminder of his efforts to keep asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants out. But despite what he promised in 2016, he did not build 1,000 miles of wall and Mexico never paid for it; instead, the burden of over $ 15 billion fell on taxpayers and was partially shifted from the Pentagon budget without congressional approval. And he could only build it by renouncing environmental and contractual laws and seizing private land.

Biden vowed during the election campaign that “there will not be another wall built on my administration.” He will issue a proclamation on Wednesday immediately suspending construction and ending the declaration of national emergency that Trump used to divert funds to building the wall.

But terminating pre-existing construction contracts altogether could prove complicated, especially as the Trump administration rushed to draft more such contracts in its dying days. This will likely require a settlement with each individual contractor, a long-term effort, and payments for work already done.

There are also questions about what happens to the nearly $ 1.4 billion that was embezzled to fund the wall but has yet to be spent. Biden’s executive order will require officials to determine the best way to redirect that money.

4) Cancel Trump’s attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from census counts

Biden will rescind Trump’s memorandum to exclude undocumented immigrants living in the United States from census population counts in order to redesign congressional districts in 2021.

This would have reduced the number of populations in the regions where foreign-born populations have traditionally settled – mainly cities ruled by democrats – and thus undermined their political power. But it could also have affected the Red States with large immigrant populations, including Texas.

Biden will also ensure that the Census Bureau has enough time to do an accurate population count for each state.

States are currently drawing congressional districts, determining which areas each elected representative represents based on the total population, including undocumented immigrants. The current maps are due to be redesigned this year after the release of the 2020 census results, and the stakes are high: each redistribution has a lasting influence on who is likely to win elections, which communities will be represented in Congress, and, ultimately. account, what laws will be adopted. If states cannot complete their redistribution efforts before the upcoming elections, including midterm in 2022, courts can step in and draw temporary maps.

5) reverse Trump’s efforts to strengthen immigration law enforcement in the United States

Biden will repeal an executive order that allowed a massive expansion of immigration law enforcement in the United States.

Since immigration law enforcement agencies have limited resources, presidents typically identify categories of immigrants that should be given priority for deportation. Under former President Barack Obama, this included people who posed a threat to national security, immigrants convicted of serious crimes, and recent border workers. But Trump’s executive order essentially eliminated those priorities, sending the message that no undocumented immigrant – including families and long-term residents – was safe from deportation.

Biden’s action on Wednesday will allow immigration control agencies to revert to those Obama-era priorities.

6) Renew deportation aid for Liberians

Biden will extend temporary deportation protection and work authorization for Liberians under the delayed forced departure (DED) program until June 30, 2022. Trump had threatened to end the program, casting doubt on the future of 4000 Liberians with DED status.

The civil war caused thousands of Liberians to seek refuge in the United States between 1989 and 2003 or so under the DED regime. But conditions in Liberia have not improved enough – the economy remains on a precarious basis and the country has been hit by an Ebola outbreak. Ending the DED would constitute discrimination based on the race and national origin of Liberians, they argued in court.