During his campaign, President-Elect Joe Biden vowed to overturn or revise President Donald Trump’s restrictive policies on immigration. What can we expect in terms of change as Biden takes office?
Review the most recent news about expected immigration reform in the new U.S. presidential administration.
The campaign plan
The immigration plan Biden released during his campaign included these measures:
- Removing restrictions Trump placed on those seeking asylum
- Replace protections removed by Trump for immigrants whose parents immigrated with them illegally when they were children
- Establishing a moratorium on deportations for 100 days
- Ending bans on travel from countries that have majority Muslim populations
However, the campaign team did not expound on when or how the future president plans to take these actions.
The timeline
While the nation desperately needs reforms to the immigration system, the administration cautions that changes will take place in months rather than days. For example, the Biden team indicates that it must establish a new processing system at the border before removing the existing system. At the same time, activists urge the incoming administration to act quickly to protect those currently in immigration custody.
Biden has pledged to give more than 11 million undocumented individuals currently residing in the U.S. a new path to citizenship. He promised to send a bill with this plan to Senate within his first 100 days in office.
The runoff elections in Georgia in early January will forecast Biden’s ability to make more extensive immigration reform based on the balance of power in the Senate. A Republican majority may attempt to block many of the new administration’s planned measures.