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This time of great change can bring feelings of excitement and urgency to members of the immigrant community. Joe Biden is expected to be the next president of the United States and will take office on January 20, 2021. Biden will make immediate and sweeping changes to our immigration system, as well as work towards long-term, compassionate immigration goals.
Biden will have the ability to make immediate changes to certain areas of immigration by using his Executive Powers. Other changes that Biden is expected to make could take longer due to court or regulatory hurdles.
Here are two lists of changes expected from a Biden presidency. Contact us now to schedule a free consultation with a Board Certified Immigration Attorney to see if you can take advantage of any of these expected changes.
Things Biden can change within his first 100 days of presidency:
- Public Charge Rule – Biden is expected to remove the public charge rule implemented by Trump. This could take a bit longer than 100 days due to the regulatory process, but the new public charge rule could also end abruptly in court since it is already in litigation and Biden can refuse to defend the Trump policy once he is the new President.
- Muslim Travel Ban – Biden is expected to end Trump’s disastrous policy that has separated families for years.
- DACA – Biden is expected restore DACA and stop Trump’s attempt to end the program.
- Temporary Protected Status – Biden is expected to complete an immediate review of TPS cancellations done by Trump, and there has been mention of granting TPS to certain Venezuelans present in the United States.
- Enforcement priorities – Biden is expected to go back to the Obama enforcement policy of focusing on those with serious criminal records and prior immigration violations.
- Border Wall Construction – Biden is expected to end the emergency declaration used for the building of the southern border wall and to stop diverting funds from the Department of Defense.
- Biden has also announced he will create a task force to locate hundreds of migrant parents who were separated from their children at the U.S. – Mexico border.
Things Biden can change, but will likely take more than 100 days to complete:
- Revive the asylum process – Biden is expected to reverse Trump’s rules and policies that have gutted our asylum process.
- End the Migrant Protection Program, “Remain in Mexico” program – Biden has vowed to end this program, but the question of what to do with the thousands of persons who are currently stuck in this program has yet to be answered.
- Comprehensive immigration reform – Biden mentioned legislative immigration reform in debates, but the current global pandemic and stunted U.S. economy will likely be more important issues to the new Biden administration. Biden might face a divided Congress with Republicans in control of the Senate, and this would make immigration reform much more difficult.
- Reverse unwarranted limits imposed by Trump on certain benefits like H1B work visas or refugee admissions.