13 Nov What can a Biden Administration do on immigration?

By Atty. Chris Caday Lozano

The election of Joe Biden as the next President of the United States has an immediate impact on immigrants.  Many of these had to do with laws and policies concerning immigration to the United States. These were especially driven by the Trump Administration’s obvious efforts to end not only U.S. entry by undocumented persons, but all forms of legal immigration.

The following are the most immediate changes likely to be under the Biden Administration.

1.       Reinstating DACA.  The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created by Executive Order (Obama’s) to help children of undocumented immigrants to the U.S. who had successfully attended school and abided by U.S. law while here. DACA was nearly undone by Trump Executive Orders. But it can be reinstated by a Biden Executive Order, pretty much as soon as January 20, 2021.. Biden also has ambitions to expand DACA, by exploring “all legal options to protect [recipients’] families from inhumane separation.” Also, his plan looks forward to eventual Congressional action, stating that “Dreamers and their parents should have a roadmap to citizenship through legislative immigration reform.”

2.       Reviewing eligibility for TPS. Under the Trump Administration, numerous troubled countries whose citizens had taken temporary refuge in the U.S. (“Temporary Protected Status“) were suddenly, and often for no clear or rational reason, taken off the TPS list. President-Elect Biden plans to order an immediate review of which countries remain impacted by war and natural disasters, and to protect TPS holders from being returned there.

3.       Restoring enforcement priorities for undocumented immigrants. The federal budget for immigration enforcement has basically never allowed for deportation of every last undocumented person in the United States. Under past administrations, enforcement authorities were directed to focus on removing people convicted of serious criminal offenses or who were threats to public safety. The Trump Administration did away with these priorities, such that a hardworking parent of U.S. citizen children could be targeted as easily (or before) a known criminal. President-Elect Biden plans to once again prioritize certain enforcement efforts, while ensuring that undocumented persons are afforded due process and human rights protections. This sort of directive can be implemented quickly, although changing the culture of the immigration agencies might be more difficult.

4.       Protecting asylum seekers and refugees. The Trump Administration took numerous steps to end asylum as we know it; treating border applicants as illegal aliens though they’d never set foot in the U.S.; issuing numerous Attorney General opinions to overturn longstanding asylum protections and definitions; and drastically lowering the number of refugees the U.S. would accept each year. The Biden plan would restore many past protections and increase the refugee quota from 15,000 to 125,000 annually. The changes shouldn’t run into many procedural hurdles, but will take time to implement.

5.       Ending country-based or “Muslim” travel bans. The Trump Administration issued a series of Executive Orders banning most U.S. entry by citizens of certain, mostly Muslim countries. Biden has pledged to immediately reverse these travel bans, stating that “prohibiting Muslims from entering the country is morally wrong, and there is no intelligence or evidence that suggests it makes our nation more secure.” Again, because these were done by Executive Orders, the next executive can immediately undo them.

6.       Enacting comprehensive immigration reform. Well, this one’s going to need Congress’s help. President-Elect Biden set forth many ideas for bringing order to the chaos of U.S. immigration; chaos that makes it hugely difficult for anyone to immigrate or get a temporary work visa, whether applying based on an employer, family, or some other basis. Although every U.S. president has probably wished for the power to force Congress to act, it doesn’t work that way. Congress has been unable to agree on major immigration reform for decades. Change is not likely to happen in January of 2021, or for a long time thereafter, but pretty much everyone knows it’s needed.

Note: This is not a legal advice.

  SUCCESS STORIES

1.       For the month of September 2020, we received three naturalization approvals, four I-130 petition approvals and one DACA approval.

2.       For the month of August 2020, we received three renewals of green card and four naturalization approvals from USCIS.

3.       For the month of July 2020, we received two approvals of Naturalization applications from USCIS.

4.       For the month of June 2020, we received approvals from USCIS two naturalization applications, two renewal of green card and one adjustment of status.

5.       For the month of May 2020, we received approvals from USCIS for three green card renewals, two adjustments of status, and one naturalization application.

6.       For the month of April 2020. we received approval of one adjustment of status, three removal of condition on residence and one renewal of green card.   

7.       For the month of March 2020, we received six Adjustment of Status and three Naturalization approvals from USCIS.

8.       For the month of February 2020, we received approvals from USCIS of five Adjustment of Status applications and three Naturalization applications.

9.       For the month of January 2020, we received approvals from USCIS of five Adjustments of status applications, three N-400 applications for naturalization and three fiancé visa applications.         

10.     For the month of December 2019, we received four approvals of naturalization applications, five approvals of Adjustment of Status applications, two approvals of Petition to remove condition on residence, one renewal of green card approval and one green card application at the U.S. Embassy.  

11.     For the month of November 2019, we received approvals of one naturalization application, one renewal of green card, one Petition to remove condition on residence and one adjustment of status.        

12.     For the month of October 2019, we received five naturalization application approvals and two renewal of green card and one DACA approval.      

If you have immigration problems the Law Offices of Crispin C. Lozano can help you find a solution before your problem gets worse which could lead to deportation and family separation. 

Chris Caday Lozano, Esq. is an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and San Francisco Trial Lawyers.  He practices immigration law, bankruptcy and personal injury law since June 1999.  His contact phone is 1-877-456-9266, email: info@CCLlaw.net