When President Joe Biden campaigned for office, much of his platform was built around promises to change policies introduced by President Donald Trump. One of the changes Biden promised was an overhaul of immigration policy. Here, we break down what has actually changed since Biden was sworn into office in 2021.
Lifted Coronavirus Restrictions
One of the first steps President Biden took was retracting immigration restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous immigration policy, instated at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, limited the number of immigrants who received green cards. According to the Pew Research Center, “The number of people who received a green card declined from about 240,000 in the second quarter of the 2020 fiscal year (January to March) to about 79,000 in the third quarter (April to June). By comparison, in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, nearly 266,000 people received a green card.” Overall, the Biden Administration’s immigration plans and policies work towards the ultimate goal of allowing more immigrants into the United States and granting legal pathways to citizenship for those who are already in the country.
Increase Number of New Immigrants
When President Donald Trump was in office, his platform on immigration sought to sharply decrease the number of immigrants in the United States. President Biden is reviewing legislation to increase the number of immigrants who are in the country with H-1B visas, or employment visas. He has also expanded Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for those who would suffer if deported to their home countries because of war, natural disasters, and other extenuating circumstances. Additionally, since taking office, the President has increased the total number of refugees allowed into the country each fiscal year.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
One of the most controversial legislative points in the last several years has been about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policies. “Dreamers,” or those who participate in DACA, have to have been brought into the United States before their sixteenth birthday. Those who qualify are given work permits and cannot be deported. While President Trump wanted the program disbanded, President Biden seeks the opposite. The Supreme Court permitted DACA to remain in place and once President Biden took office, he immediately put into place policies to preserve the program.
Family-based Immigration Policy
President Biden continues to encourage family-based immigration policies, where the families of United States citizens can acquire green cards. As the most common way for immigrants to gain access to green cards, it’s an important vehicle for those wishing to enter the country legally. President Biden seeks to eliminate policies that place limitations on the percentages of immigrants who can enter the United States from each country.
Contested Policies
Not all of President Biden’s proposed changes to immigration policy have been approved. Several have been stopped by appeals to the Supreme Court. One policy President Biden sought to implement was for deportations to be halted unless the unauthorized immigrant was charged with a serious crime. After concerns about the policy were brought up by Texas and Louisiana, who were concerned with the cost of detaining unauthorized immigrants while a decision was made regarding whether their crimes were serious enough for deportation, the case was brought before the Supreme Court. With a vote of 5 – 4 against, the policy was eliminated.
You can view a brief summary of enforcement statistics published by the US Customs and Border Protection’s website here. As the Biden Administration continues, stay updated with Policy vs Politics on different laws being put into effect and how they could potentially affect you.
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