Joe Biden's administration gears up to inherit Donald Trump's controversial immigration policies
When President-elect Joe Biden takes office, he will inherit the restrictive immigration agenda of the Donald Trump administration, which cut off access to asylum and has kept migrants in limbo in Mexico while they await humanitarian protection in the United States.
Biden has promised quick change, but it won't be easy.
"They are realizing that they have two months to solve a really complicated mess," a source familiar with the transition told CNN, referring to Biden's team. “People are really overwhelmed trying to solve the problems, the large number of pieces that you have to coordinate. This is the genius of Stephen Miller.
Miller, President Donald Trump's top immigration adviser and the architect of his hardline immigration agenda, has outlined some of the most restrictive immigration policies - and continues to do so - with the intent of reducing immigration to the United States. Hundreds of executive actions implemented by the Trump administration have drawn the ire of immigrant advocates and lawmakers, who argue they have betrayed the country's welcoming stance.
The composition of the Biden-Harris transition team reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security appears to indicate that the incoming administration is aware of those actions, with Ur Jaddou, former senior attorney for US Citizenship and Immigration Services leading the way. of the team, and with the selection of Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of National Security. But undoing the policies, as Biden has said he would, will be a major challenge, both logistically and politically.
"They come into office with a mandate and an intention, in many ways necessary and appropriate, to reverse the immigration policies of the Trump era," a former Homeland Security official told CNN.
Even changes that ultimately depend on the president could face hurdles, including Biden's promise to bring more refugees to the United States. Biden has said he wants to raise the limit to 125,000, an increase from the record low of 15,000 set by the Trump administration.
But a change in actual arrivals would require policy changes and new refugee interviews, according to a source familiar with the process. The diversion of refugee officials to work on asylum cases in the past two years has also left the pipeline largely empty of refugees who are advanced in the system, the source said. There are also challenges that come up with covid-19, including interview teams from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services unable to travel.
Other promises from the Biden administration include the repeal of regulations that have made it extremely difficult to seek asylum in the United States, a process that could take months. But in the near future, the most pressing challenge for a Biden administration may be how to deliver on those promises, while acknowledging the potential for an increase in migrants at the US-Mexico border.
The Trump administration implemented two major policies on the US-Mexico border that were unprecedented: the so-called "stay in Mexico" policy, which returned non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico until their immigration cutoff date in Mexico. United States, and a public health measure, related to the coronavirus, which allows the rapid expulsion of migrants detained at the border.
Each of those policies has made seeking asylum in the U.S. at the southern border nearly impossible, but the consequence of withdrawing them too quickly could result in a sudden surge of migrants at the southern border.
"You don't want a surge to happen before you're ready to handle it," said Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. "They will have to rely on one of the policies they hate the most and with which they do not agree philosophically, in order to come up with a long-term solution."
The former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official echoed that concern: "You must have a pressure valve in place before you begin to reduce these policies or you will allow a crisis to develop."
Waiting in mexico
It is a reality that is also present for those who wait in Mexico, often in deplorable conditions.
Hope is immediate setback and probation for everyone. Reality will probably be somewhat less than hope, "said Jodi Goodwin, an immigration attorney who represents migrants on the show.
Both "stay in Mexico" and the public health measure also face litigation, which could alter their course. The Supreme Court said in October that it would take up the case of "staying in Mexico."
One of the "most important" steps the incoming administration can take is to help Mexico develop a secure system for asylum seekers, said former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske, who served in the Obama administration.
Kerlikowske told CNN that the announcement to appoint Antony Blinken to the post of secretary of state is perhaps the most important when it comes to this area. "That relationship with Mexico and the three Central American countries will be as important as what happens on our southern border with Mexico," he said, referring to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
"I think you'll see them very aligned on this," Kerlikowske said of Blinken and Mayorkas.
Mayorkas, whom Biden appointed to head the Department of Homeland Security, will lead most of the immigration changes. As a senior official in the Obama administration, Mayorkas served as deputy secretary of DHS and director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, an immigration agency within the department, where he was an integral part of the implementation of DACA.
If confirmed, Mayorkas will take control of a department that has been dragged into politics by implementing Trump's aggressive agenda to limit immigration, increase immigration enforcement and build a wall on the southwest border. The department has also been hampered by a leadership vacuum at the top ranks and has not had a secretary confirmed by the Senate since April 2019.
Mayorkas' election to serve as DHS chief was immediately met with praise from immigrant advocates who criticized immigration changes under the Trump administration and filed a host of lawsuits against those changes.
Immigration law in a Biden administration
Immigrant advocacy groups and nonprofits will likely play a huge role in the Biden administration after having a front row seat to the ramifications of Trump's policymaking. In a nod to the influence they will have over the next four years, Biden's transition team has already connected with immigrant advocacy groups to hear about the issues that concern them most, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The source stressed the need to make major changes from the beginning, so as not to lose momentum.
“We believe at this moment, after four years of incessant relationship with the immigrant community and the immigration system, that this is a priority now as an economic engine for this nation dealing with a crisis… moral engine after the damage that the administration Trump has made immigrants, "said Alida Garcia, vice president of defense for FWD.us.
To that end, immigration legislation will be a priority for the Biden administration. «I will make a commitment in the first 100 days. I will send an immigration bill to the United States Senate with a path to citizenship for more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, "Biden told NBC's Lester Holt last week in his first post-election interview.
Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California is likely to play an integral role in immigration law. Her staff have contacted Biden staff about what to do about immigration, including administrative matters. "They need to undo some of the terrible policies of this president and that is not going to be easy," Lofgren said, adding that those actions could take time.
The legislation is expected to include relief for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have been protected from deportation through DACA, which has remained in a state of limbo with Trump. The legislation is likely to also include people protected by humanitarian aid, known as Temporary Protected Status, and essential workers.
“There is a lot of dialogue on how to go beyond the Obama years. One of the things we all experienced during that time was that immigration was pushed for later, ”said Garcia of Fwd.us.
