Published 20:22 IST, February 2nd 2021
Biden to issue executive orders to 'reunite families separated at US-Mexico border'
Biden on February 2 will order a major review of asylum processing at the US-Mexico border and legal immigration system as he seeks to undo Trump's policies.
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US President Joe Biden on February 2 will order a major review of asylum processing at the US-Mexico border and legal immigration system as he seeks to undo former President Donald Trump’s policies. While speaking to media reporters on a conference call, two senior administration officials said that the newly minted President will create a task force to reunite migrant families who were separated at the US-Mexico border by Trump’s 2018 “zero-tolerance” border strategy. Biden will be signing orders on family separation, border security and legal immigration, bringing to nine the number of executive actions on immigration during his first two weeks in office.
The Biden administration has said that as part of the actions, the President will call for a review of a Trump-era rule that made it harder for poorer immigrants to obtain permanent residency in the US. Biden will also mandate a review of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which is a controversial program that pushed nearly 65,000 asylum seekers back to Mexico to wait for US court hearings. The White House has said that it will create a “humane asylum system” by rescinding or reconsidering Trump policies that caused “chaos, cruelty and confusion”.
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Biden’s Tuesday action will follow six immigration orders that he issued n his first day in office. It will further also jumpstart his ambitious pro-immigrant agenda that seeks to erase Trump’s restrictive policies on legal and illegal immigration. The White House said that the situation at the border will not transform overnight, due in large part to the damage done over the last four years. However, they also added that the President is committed to an approach that keeps the country safe, strong and prosperous and that also aligns with US’ values.
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Biden to review Trump’s ‘public charge rule’
Further, Biden is also set to review Trump’s so-called “public charge” rule, which makes it more difficult for people who use government benefits to obtain green cards. The White House will do a “top-to-bottom review” of recent regulations, policies and guidance that have set up barriers to the legal immigration system. It still remains unclear whether Biden’s executive orders on Tuesday will address two Trump proclamations that banned the issuance of many work and immigrant visas, which the former President had said would protect American jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Meanwhile, Biden has made immigration a top priority. He has already issued an executive order revoking the Muslim ban. He has also unveiled a plan to give farmworkers permeant residency and a way for Dreamers to have a pathway to citizenship. In order to modify Trump’s stringent immigration rules, Biden not only halted the construction of the US-Mexico border wall but also reversed plans to exclude people in the country illegally from the 2020 census. Also on his first day in office, Biden proposed legislation to give legal status and a path to citizenship to everyone in the country who doesn't have it.
(With inputs from AP)
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20:22 IST, February 2nd 2021