The move offers legal avenues to migrate to the U.S. that shut down former President Donald Trump, arguing at the time that it was in the best interests of the economy in the first months of the pandemic.
Biden accused in a proclamation Wednesday that Trump’s order “does not advance the interests of the United States. On the contrary, it harms the United States, among other things by preventing certain family members of U.S. citizens and legal residents from joining them here. families. “
“It also harms industries in the United States that utilize talent from around the world,” the president continued. “And it harms individuals who have been selected to have the opportunity to apply for, and those who have also received immigrant visas through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery.”
Diversity visas are granted by random selection in select countries to promote immigration from places that would not otherwise send many immigrants to the US.
The coronavirus pandemic further adapted the system that had previously struggled to gain momentum, including Trump’s executive order in April, which he said was needed to save American jobs.
“This order will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens,” he said in the White House at the time.
“It’s important that we also preserve our healthcare resources for American patients. We have to take care of our patients; we have to take care of our great American workers. And that’s what we do.”
Biden set out an ambitious immigration agenda on the campaign track that would reverse the actions of his predecessor, promising to introduce comprehensive immigration legislation, for example, and to maintain programs that provide relief to immigrants in the United States.
He kicked off his term by outlining a series of actions by immigration executives last month, although other immigration policy changes will take more time and coordination with Congress.