President Biden and his administration are reversing many of Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
On June 16, 2021, a Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed Trump era decisions making it all but impossible for persons to gain asylum based on fears of domestic and/or gang violence.
On April 12, 2021, he announced his intention to nominate prominent Trump critics to head both the USCIS and the CBP.
On March 9, 2021, the DHS announced that they were no longer honoring Trump’s 2019 Public Charge Rule. “DHS will not consider a person’s receipt of Medicaid (except for Medicaid for long-term institutionalization), public housing, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as part of the public charge inadmissibility determination. In addition, medical treatment or preventive services for COVID-19, including vaccines, will not be considered for public charge purposes.”
On February 24, 2021, Biden reversed Trump’s order which had barred U.S. Embassies and Consulates from issuing most immigrant visas. Hardest hit were family members of U.S. citizens and green card holders as well as diversity visa lottery winners. However, many employment-based immigrants have also been blocked from getting green cards abroad for many months. We link to President Biden’s Proclamation below.
On February 18, 2021, Biden’s immigration bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 was introduced in the House of Representatives. The legislation would offer an 8-year path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented individuals, allow millions of family-based immigrants to enter the U.S. quickly and increase the number of employment-based visas.
Since most of Trump’s policies where enacted by Executive Orders rather than through legislation, this has enabled President Biden to cancel many of these policies without having to go through Congress.
The White House website states as follows:
“President Biden will reform our long-broken and chaotic immigration system. President Biden’s strategy is centered on the basic premise that our country is safer, stronger, and more prosperous with a fair and orderly immigration system that welcomes immigrants, keeps families together, and allows people across the country—both newly arrived immigrants and people who have lived here for generations—to more fully contribute to our country.”
We hope that this page helps you to keep to up with these changes.
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Biden’s Immigration Policies is divided into the following subtopics:
- Biden’s Proclamations, Fact Sheets, Nominations
- News – Immigration Agencies
- Immigration Legislation Introduced in Congress
- Our Articles About Biden’s Immigration Policies
- Additional Resources
- Upcoming Webinar
Biden’s Immigration Proclamations, Fact Sheets, Nominations
Given that the Democrats hold a small majority in the House of Representatives and that there is a 50-50 split in the Senate (with Vice President Harris as the deciding vote), we don’t expect any far-ranging immigration legislation to be enacted into law. However, the following Executive Orders and Nominations will significantly change the immigration policies of our country:
- U.S. Can Expedite Removal of Migrant Families, Biden Administration Says (7-26-21)
- Extension of validity for National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) for Travelers from China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and India (7-6-21)
- Impact of Attorney General’s Decisions in Matter of L-E-A- and Matter of A-B- (6-16-21)
- USCIS Expedite Criteria and Circumstances (6-09-21)
- Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny (6-09-21)
- Employment Authorization for Certain Adjustment Applicants (6-09-21)
- Biden Aims to Rebuild and Expand Legal Immigration (5-31-21)
- Memorandum on Restoring the Department of Justice’s Access-to-Justice Function and Reinvigorating the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (5-18-21)
- Revocation of Health Insurance Requirement (5-14-21)
- Memorandum for the DOS on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021 (5-3-21)
- Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Persons from India Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting (4-30-21)
- Biden to nominate Texas sheriff to lead ICE (4-27-21)
- Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate Key Members for DHS (4-12-21)
- A Proclamation on Revoking Proclamation 10014 – Lifting the Ban of Immigrant Visas (2-24-21)
- Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration (2-04-21)
- Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework To Address the Causes of Migration, To Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and To Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border (2-02-21)
- Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families (2-02-21)
- Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans (2-02-21)
- Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians (1-20-21)
- Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities (1-20-21)
- Fact Sheet: President Sends Immigration Bill to Congress as Part of His Commitment to Modernize our Immigration System (1-20-21)
- Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States (1-20-21)
- Proclamation on the Termination Of Emergency With Respect To The Southern Border Of The United States And Redirection Of Funds Diverted To Border Wall Construction (1-20-21)
- Regulatory Freeze Pending Review (1-20-21)
- Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census (1-20-21)
News – Immigration Agencies
- DHS News
- USCIS News
- ICE News
- CBP News
- Immigration Courts (EOIR) News
- Department of State – Visa News
- Department of Labor Announcements
Immigration Legislation Introduced in Congress
Both the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 were passed by the House of Representatives on March 21, 2021.
- U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021
- American DREAM and Promise Act of 2021
- Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021
- FAIR Proceedings Act
Our Articles About Biden’s Immigration Policies
- You Can Join “Chats with Charlie”
- How the Dream and Promise Act Would Help Legal Dreamers
- Biden Immigration Plan – 7 Important Take-Aways
- Biden And Congress Need To Act In 2021 To Keep Immigrant Families Together
- U.S. Citizenship Act Of 2021
- President Signs 6 Immigration Executive Orders
Additional Resources
- Bona Fide Determination Process for Victims of Qualifying Crimes, and Employment Authorization and Deferred Action for Certain Petitioners (6-14-21)
- Justice Department ends Trump-era limits on grants to ‘sanctuary cities’ (4-28-21)
- Additional 22,000 H-2B Visas Added by DHS (4-20-21)
- Biden will Keep Trump’s Historically Low Limit on Refugee Admissions (4-16-21)
- Biden to Nominate Trump Critics to Lead USCIS and CBP (4-12-21)
- U.S. Reaches Agreements with Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to Increase Enforcement Against Migration (4-12-21)
- Phyllis Coven Becomes USCIS Ombudsman (3-14-21)
- Secretary Mayorkas Designates Burma for Temporary Protected Status (3-12-21)
- Merrick Garland is Confirmed as Attorney General (3-10-21)
- DHS Secretary Statement on the 2019 Public Charge Rule (3-09-21)
- DHS Statement on Litigation Related to the Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
(3-09-21) - Secretary Mayorkas Designates Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months (3-08-21)
- DHS Secretary Mayorkas Announces Family Reunification Task Force Principles and Executive Director (3-01-21)
- New Bill Has Many Good But Two Bad Measures For Employment Immigrants (2-19-21)
- Democratic Lawmakers Introduce Biden’s Immigration Plan (2-18-21)
- Biden, Hill Democrats plan to unveil immigration reform bill this week (2-16-21)
- Undoing Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Policies Will Mean Looking at the Fine Print (2-10-21)
- First 100 Days of the Biden Administration (AILA)
- AILA and Partners Urge yer President to Rescind the Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Bans
- A Plan B for Immigration Reform (2-05-21)
- Alejandro Mayorkas Sworn in as Secretary of Homeland Security (2-02-21)
- The Reality Behind the Plan to Legalize 11 Million Immigrants (1-27-21)
- Administration Replaces Top Immigration Court Official (1-27-21)
- Ashley Tabaddor, Chief Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel (1-25-21)
Decades of Immigration Experience Working for You
What Can We Help You With - Videos
Senate Testimony
Green Cards through Employment
Green Card through Marriage
Carl Shusterman
Carl Shusterman served as an INS Trial Attorney (1976-82) before opening a firm specializing exclusively in US immigration law. He is a Certified Specialist in Immigration Law who has testified as an expert witness before the US Senate Immigration Subcommittee. Carl was featured in the February 2018 edition of SuperLawyers Magazine.
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