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A Very Good Beginning – President Biden’s First Day Immigration Actions
Posted on Jan 21 2021
January 21, 2021—Yesterday evening, President Biden signed six executive orders directly relating to U.S. immigration laws. These executive actions reverse the Trump Administration’s 2020 U.S. Census executive order, end the Muslim travel bans, rescind the 2017 interior enforcement executive action, stop of the U.S.-Mexico border wall construction, renew the Liberian Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) program, and strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The new Biden administration also issued a moratorium on deportations and suspended the “Remain in Mexico” bars to asylum seekers.
“President Biden’s first-day actions signal a commitment to reverse the racist and xenophobic policies of the previous administration,” said Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM). “We look forward to an administration that understands and values the contributions and inherent humanity of immigrants and refugees in the United States.”
President Biden also sent sweeping immigration legislation to Congress today. The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 establishes paths to citizenship for Dreamers, individuals with Temporary Protected Status, immigrant farmworkers, and undocumented immigrants living in the United States before January 1, 2021. The legislation expands protections for refugees and asylum seekers and promotes family reunification. It also strengthens protections for crime victims and victims of human trafficking and begins the much-needed process of improving the immigration court system.
“Biden’s first-day actions signal a very good start, but only a start,” said Iyer “During the months ahead, we face the hard work of making sure that a deeply divided Congress comes together and passes the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 and that immigration agencies and courts are repaired and reformed.”