President Biden not only signs a willingness to reverse the Trump-era immigration policy with his early executive actions, but also a willingness to go beyond the Obama administration.
A trio of orders signed by Biden last week seek to improve the Trump administration’s family divorce policy by setting up a task force dedicated to reuniting 545 children with their parents.
Biden also ordered a review of his predecessor’s government rule, limiting immigration opportunities for those who may have to rely on government assistance such as food stamps or other social programs.
But it was Biden’s call for a thorough review of the asylum and naturalization process – along with a promise to address the root causes of Latin American migration – that excited immigration advocates.
“Not only have we reversed the Trump policy, which was at best superficial and ideological, but we are going beyond the Obama administration,” said Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
“It certainly offers a much more sophisticated view of the refugee and asylum issues for the Western Hemisphere than we have seen,” he added.
The new Biden administration policy focuses in particular on the Northern Triangle, the nickname given to neighbors Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, where migration patterns have been similar to those of Mexican citizens in recent years.
The ‘root causes’ strategy sought under Biden’s mandate will be able to provide aid to strengthen democracy, combat gang violence and boost the economy.
“It’s a much more sophisticated view of the case from the causes and an acknowledgment that the causes in the Northern Triangle are partly caused by the US,” Saenz said.
That seismic shift from enforcement to aid is seen by many immigration experts as a more realistic long-term approach.
“We are now in a situation where we can no longer lead with heavy-handed enforcement and our approach needs to change, and I think what we have seen from the government is absolutely an acknowledgment of that,” said Jorge Loweree, policy director. . at the American Immigration Council.
Others argue that the policy, which differs from the Obama years, will be more cost-effective than recent border security measures, in addition to being foreign aid as well.
Starting a Marshall Plan for Central America is much cheaper than building a wall or hiring immigration officials. It could provide jobs and security in Central America that could turn off the tap for refugees coming to the U.S. instead of building more bathrooms, ”said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Advocates say Biden is not just proposing policies that go beyond the Obama years; he also sets a new tone on immigration and sets higher goals.
One of his orders calls for the inclusion of recently naturalized citizens to be strengthened, a nod to reduce the fees and testing requirements associated with citizenship.
There are also signs that the Biden government could deviate from the Obama years by introducing policies that make it easier to get to the US, such as ordering the government to consider giving the fleeing domestic or gang violence the opportunity to apply for asylum. The current law only protects those fleeing discrimination based on race, religion, political views and other protected classes.
Biden also called for a revival of a new program targeted by the Trump administration for elimination, which enables minors from the Northern Triangle to apply for refugee status.
But Biden’s orders, coupled with a comprehensive immigration bill that Biden sent to Congress that would provide some 11 million immigrants with an eight-year path to citizenship, lead to a setback among some Congressional Republicans.
“Through this action, President Biden has sent the message loud and clear to the world that our immigration laws could be violated without consequence,” said the House Oversight and Reform Committee ranking member. James ComerJames (Jamie) R. ComerBiden’s immigration policy looks beyond the reversal of Trump House Oversight’s secret service requests over threats of extremist violence following the riot in the Capitol. (R-Ky.).
“This radical, left-wing immigration policy will continue to enable the humanitarian crisis at the border, endanger more children because they are being brought dangerously to the southern border, encourage more illegal immigration and undermine the rule of law,” he said. added. .
Sen. Josh Hawley
Joshua (Josh) David Hawley Conservatives doubt the prospects of Cheney re-election after accusation Biden immigration policy looks further than reversal of Trump Daines wants to hamper Haaland’s confirmation of Home Affairs MORE. (R-Mo.), Which delayed the confirmation of the Secretary of Homeland Security of the Senate Alejandro Mayorkas
Alejandro MayorkasBiden immigration policy looks beyond reversal of Trump Daines seeks to re-evaluate Haaland’s confirmation to the federal cyber agency of the interior, to MORE evaluate his role in fighting disinformation against elections. by nominating a hold on his nomination, Biden’s nominee said did not “adequately explain how he would apply federal law and secure the southern border.”
Garcia said the Democrats will now be tested to show that their policies make sense.
“One of the Republicans’ attacks on Democrats is that Democrats are for open borders. We have to show we are not for open borders, but for legal immigration in an orderly manner, ‘he said.
Immigration lawyers argue that Biden’s plans are a direct response to what they see as Trump’s failures.
“The last four years of asylum policy have been based on the premise that if we find a way to make it as difficult as possible and the hardships that people have to endure to get to us, people will give up or never even enter place. . We have gone so far as to take children away from their parents at the southern border, but we are seeing people keep coming, ”Loweree said.
‘It speaks of the circumstances in which people live in their homeland. People will not run the risk if they are not so dangerous to stay in their homeland, “Loweree added.
This is where advocates see opportunity for Biden to handle the border differently than Trump did.
According to Biden, the shelter networks are being expanded to address the immediate needs of individuals who have fled their homes to seek protection elsewhere in the region.
From Saenz’s perspective, the US bears some responsibility for contributing to a militarized Northern Triangle that is now creating refugees.
“We have contributed a lot to these conditions, and not only with our drug policy, but also with our immigration policy,” he said.
“Just about everyone who leaves wants to get out of the situation because it’s so dangerous, and it’s just as true in a war atmosphere like Syria as in the violent conditions of the Northern Triangle,” he added.
Loweree argued that Biden should go further than reuniting families that were divorced during the Trump years.
“They also have to think a lot about some kind of compensation fund to give compensation for damage that the previous government had,” he said.
Yet Loweree said the Biden government had already made great strides in a short time.
‘The reality is that they’ve already done a lot. They had been in the office for two weeks and they were doing extraordinary work on immigration. “It is an indication of a new era,” he said.