Immigration changes made by Joe Biden in his first hours as president of the United States

President Joe Biden began his term by signing several executive actions mostly related to immigration, 17 in total. With what is quickly undoing many controversial policies of the Trump administration.

Some changes can be pushed through executive actions, other changes in immigration policy will take longer. What Biden has acknowledged. Below we will detail the changes that have caused the most impact and with which significant changes are expected in the current treatment of immigrants.

Preserve DACA

Biden signed a presidential memorandum instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the secretary of Justice, to take steps to preserve the program. Biden’s proposed immigration legislation will include an immediate path to citizenship for program beneficiaries.

Trump ordered to end that program in 2017, but the courts prevented him from doing so, although there is still active litigation on the issue in federal court in Texas, which along with eight other territories have asked to declare it unconstitutional

Stopping the construction of the border wall

Biden took steps to end the national emergency declaration that allowed Trump to take additional funds for his border wall. In that sense, the new president will stop the construction projects of the wall until there are further revisions. Which puts on the table a key element of Trump’s legacy.

Trump repeatedly cited the border wall as an achievement over the past four years. However, the project cost US taxpayers billions of dollars. In addition, it became an emblem of the restrictive immigration policies of the former President.

To try to win the necessary Republican support in the Senate, Biden also included new resources on the border, his decision to put aside the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico-the election promise half – fulfilled by Trump-and bet above all on “technology” to accelerate the detection of illegal crossing of goods and narcotics.

The new proposal also aims to allocate funds to improve the ” professionalism “of border agents and create a committee to investigate possible” misconduct”, and seeks to improve the care of individuals, families and minors in the custody of the Customs and Border Protection office (CBP).

Reduce the “stay in Mexico” program»

Migrants arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border will no longer be part of a program that requires them to remain in Mexico while their U.S. immigration hearings unfold, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported Wednesday. Thus, another controversial immigration policy of the Trump administration is reversed.

“Stay in Mexico” program has forced thousands of people to wait in makeshift camps on the border, often in deplorable conditions. While the latest announcement marks a significant shift, migrants detained at the southern border have been largely rejected by a public health order related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Suspend deportations for 100 days

Biden ordered a 100-day suspension of immigrant deportations, albeit with a few exceptions, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Effective January 22, 2021, DHS will suspend deportations of certain non-citizens whose deportation has been ordered” except those who have committed a crime while in the United States.

The reason is to ensure that the United States has a fair and effective immigration system focused on protecting national security, border security and public safety, so he ordered to review and restart the protocols, stating that in the future there will be deportations.

Reversing the ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries

Trump began his presidency by signing a hastily drafted presidential decree restricting entry to the U.S. from predominantly Muslim countries. Biden took steps to repeal those bans.

Biden’s immigration bill includes a provision that would limit the presidential authority to issue future bans. among the countries that had been affected were: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, North Korea, Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania.

The biggest migration reform

If approved, Biden’s bill would be the largest immigration reform since the government of Republican Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), which legalized three million undocumented immigrants in 1986.

Immigrants will be able to obtain a temporary legal status that will give them the option of obtaining a residence permit (“green card”) five years later , if they meet a number of requirements such as having no criminal record and paying their taxes.

But an important group of them, minors who arrived in the country as children by their parents, also undocumented and known as” Dreamers”, as well as those protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS), mostly Central Americans, and immigrant farm workers, will be able to aspire to a legal residence of” immediate ” and three years later to citizenship.