The Biden Immigration Plan would dismantle the vast majority of actions taken by the Trump Administration in an attempt to both restore and improve the immigration system of the United States. Many of these changes can and will be accomplished by Executive Order within a short period of time following the beginning of President-Elect Biden’s term on January 20, 2021. Others will require action by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and thereafter be signed into law by President Biden.
Some of the key elements of The Biden Immigration Plan are illustrated and discussed in detail below:
PPID’s Breakdown of Biden’s Immigration Plan
The Biden Immigration Plan would restore and improve our current immigration system. Some of these changes can be implemented within the first 100 days of the Biden Presidency, others will require Congressional action.
The Biden Administration pledges to do the following:
- Take urgent action to undo Trump’s damage and reclaim America’s values.
- Modernize America’s immigration system.
- Welcome immigrants in our communities.
- Reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees.
- Tackle the root causes of irregular migration.
- Implement effective border screening.
1. Take urgent action to undo Trump’s damage and reclaim America’s values.
In the first 100 days, the Biden administration plans to immediately:
- Reverse the Trump Administration’s cruel and senseless policies that separate parents from their children at our border.
- End Trump’s detrimental asylum policies, starting with Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocol and disastrous policy of “metering.”
- Codify protections to safeguard children.
- Reverse Trump’s public charge rule, which runs counter to our values as Americans and the history of our nation.
- End the National Emergency funds from the Department of Defense to “build a wall.”
- Protect Dreamers and their families by removing the uncertainty for Dreamers and reinstating the DACA program, and by exploring all legal options to protect their families from inhumane separation.
- Rescind the “Muslim Bans,” which hurts our economy, betrays our values, and can serve as a powerful terrorist recruiting tool.
- Order immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to protect TPS holders from being returned to countries that are unsafe and to offer them a path to citizenship through legislative immigration reform.
- Restore sensible enforcement priorities by ending workplace raids and protecting sensitive locations from immigration enforcement actions. No one should be afraid to seek medical attention, go to school, their job, or their place of worship.
- Increase resources for training and demand transparency to ensure that ICE and CBP personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.
- Create a parole process for veterans deported by the Trump Administration, to reunite them with their families and military colleagues in the U.S.
2. Modernize America’s immigration system.
As President, Biden will commit significant political capital to finally deliver legislative immigration reform to ensure that the U.S. remains open and welcoming to people from every part of the world. Joe Biden will work with Congress to:
Reform Employment-Based Immigration
- Reform the current system of temporary work visas to allow workers in select industries to switch jobs, while certifying the labor market’s need for foreign workers.
- Reform temporary visas to establish a wage-based allocation process and establish enforcement mechanisms to ensure they are aligned with the labor market and not used to undermine wages. Then, support expanding the number of high-skilled visas and eliminating the limits on employment-based visas by country.
- Compromise legislation between farmworkers and the agricultural sector that will provide legal status based on prior agricultural work history, and a faster-track to a green card and ultimately citizenship.
- Exempt from any cap recent graduates of Ph.D. programs in STEM fields in the U.S. who are poised to make some of the most important contributions to the world economy.
- Create“a new visa category to allow cities and counties to petition for higher levels of immigrants to support their growth.
Reform Family-Based Immigration
- Allow any approved family-based applicant to receive a temporary non-immigrant visa until the permanent visa is processed.
- Support legislation that treats the spouse and children of green card holders as the immediate relatives they are, exempting them from caps, and allowing parents to bring their minor children with them at the time they immigrate.
- Preserve the critical role of diversity preferences to ensure immigrants everywhere have the chance to legally become U.S. citizens.
Other Proposed Reforms
- Pass legislation that creates a clear roadmap to legal status and citizenship for unauthorized immigrants who register, are up-to-date on their taxes, and have passed a background check.
- Triple the current cap of 10,000 on U-visas.
3. Welcome immigrants in our communities.
As President, Biden will assemble federal resources through the reestablishment of the “Task Force for New Americans” to support community efforts to welcome immigrants and will also push to repeal extreme, anti-immigrant state laws that have a chilling effect on the ability of immigrant domestic violence, sexual assault survivors, and other victims of crimes to seek safety and justice. The Biden plan also proposes to expand long overdue rights to farmworkers and domestic workers.
4. Reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees.
The Trump Administration’s asylum policies have created a humanitarian disaster at our border and grossly mismanaged the unprecedented resources Congress has allocated to it. As president, Biden will restore protections for asylum seekers and refugees by:
- Surge asylum officers to efficiently review the cases of recent border crossers and keep cases with positive credible-fear findings with the Asylum Division.
- Restore asylum eligibility for domestic violence survivors.
- Apply U.S. asylum laws to those fleeing political persecutions.
- Double the number of immigration judges, court staff, and interpreters.
- End for-profit detention centers.
- Increate the refugee quota from 15,000 to 125,000 annually.
5. Tackle the root causes of irregular migration.
Biden plans to address the underlying violence, instability, and lack of opportunity that is compelling people to leave their homes in the northern Triangle countries by:
- Addressing the root causes of migration by fostering greater security, economic development, and respect for the rule of law in Central America.
- Strengthening regional humanitarian responses.
- Managing migration through refugee resettlement and other legal programs.
6. Implement effective border screening.
The border between Mexico and the U.S. shouldn’t be treated like a war zone; it should be a place where effective governance and cooperation between our two countries help our communities thrive and grow together, facilitating commerce and connection, and fueling the exchange of culture and ideas. Thus, as President, Biden will:
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- Invest in better technology at the ports of entry.
- Improve cross-agency collaboration.
- Work with Mexico and Canada as partners to pursue our shared interests and enhance our shared capabilities and information.
Do you have questions about Biden’s Immigration Plan and how it may affect you or your family? Call Us.
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