On his first day in office, President Biden signed seventeen (17) executive orders and proclamations; 6 of which relate to immigration. These are mainly aimed at reversing some of the most restrictive immigration measures by former president Trump.
Here is our brief summary:
- President Biden Revokes Muslim and African Travel Bans.
In 2017 the Trump Administration barred immigrants primarily from Muslim majority and African countries (Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, and Venezuela). What resulted was four years of chaos at airports, in consular processing, separation of families, and psychological trauma for U.S. citizens and their family members, solely on the basis of where people were born. In signing a proclamation to end these bans, President Biden has given a new hope to immigration advocates and millions of people that were impacted by these bans. Read more…
- DACA is being preserved.
President Biden issued a memorandum to preserve and fortify DACA. Read the Memorandum here.
- Deportation Moratorium for 100 Days and Former President Trump’s Enforcement Priorities Have Been Reversed.
Beginning January 22, 2021, DHS will pause removals for certain noncitizens ordered deported to ensure we have a fair and effective immigration enforcement system focused on protecting national security, border security, and public safety. Read the Memorandum here.
- Border Wall Construction Halted.
President Biden issued a proclamation terminating the construction of the southern border wall and redirecting those funds. Read the Proclamation here.
- Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians has been extended.
Liberians’ DED has been extended allowing them additional time to apply for permanent residence under a December 2019 law. Read the Proclamation here.
- All immigrants will once again be counted in the U.S. Census.
President Trump blocked the counting of all immigrants including undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census. President Biden has reversed this action and thus, states will not be shorted congressional representation and federal funding due to an inaccurate census count. Read the Executive Order here.
By Kalpana V. Peddibhotla & Roujin Mozaffarimehr