The dismantling of the Trump administration´s restrictive immigration policies began on January 20, 2021, the day that Joseph Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. Below is a summary of some of the new Biden administration´s immigration-related reforms immediately following Inauguration Day.
January 20, 2021 Executive Order: “Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities”
On his inauguration day, President Biden revoked a Trump executive order entitled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.” This order expanded the classes of undocumented workers prioritized for deportation, withheld many federal grants from “sanctuary cities”, and provided for the hiring of 10,000 new ICE officers. All of these initiatives have been repealed by Biden’s Inauguration Day executive order
January 20, 2021: DHS Memorandum: Review of and Interim Revision to Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities
Also on Inauguration Day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) set forth certain specified enforcement priorities for ICE, which it supervises. These priorities include;
- Migrants who pose a credible threat to national security, such as terrorists (but not including most common criminals);
- Recent migrants who arrived in the United States on or after November 1, 2020.
- Migrants who have been convicted of an “aggravated felony” and who represent a threat to public safety.
This memorandum superseded six previous DHS memoranda issued during the Trump administration. It also implemented a 100-day suspension of deportation for many migrants. This suspension, however, has run into trouble in the courts and is not in effect at the time of this writing.
January 20, 2021: Presidential Proclamation “Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Southern Border of the United States and Redirection of Funds Diverted to Border Wall Construction”
This Proclamation halted the construction of Trump’s famous border wall in the midst of its construction. The Biden administration has not yet decided what to do with the portions of the wall that have already been built. Biden has suggested that he may take a multi-pronged approach to border security that includes the existing portions of the border wall together with other physical barriers, additional border officers, improved technology, and the use of airplanes, boats, and submarines.
January 20, 2021; Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States
This proclamation revoked the Trump administration ban on immigraton from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, North Korea, Belarus, Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania.
January 25, 2021 Executive Order: “Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers”
This executive order revoked the Trump administration’s executive order “Buy American and Hire American”, which slapped unprecedented restrictions on the H-1B employment visa program. One aspect of the Trump administration executive order that the Biden administration might bring back to life is an attempt to increase the wages of H-1B workers and allocate visas to more qualified applicants.
This would help immigrants who were granted visas, but might also have the effect of freezing out less qualified immigrants.
February 2, 2021 Executive Order: “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans”
This executive order operates more as a statement of intent than a concrete policy declaration. It directs the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to review existing agency actions, policies, etc. that impact immigration, identify those that conflict with Biden administration goals, and recommend ways to revoke or amend any effects that operate in derogation of these goals.
February 11, 2021, DHS Announcement: Termination of the “Remain in Mexico” Policy
The Trump administration initiated the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy with respect to Central American migrants, with the consequence that massive tent cities sprang up on the southern side of the US border with Mexico.
The termination of this program means that about 25,000 migrants will be able to register for asylum interviews in the United States and wait in the US for their claims to be Biden Administration.
February 18, 2021: The US Citizenship Act of 2021
The US Citizenship Act of 2021 was drafted to be the centerpiece of the Biden Administration’s immigration reforms. Presented to Congress on February 18, 2021, it is comprehensive legislation that covers almost every major aspect of US immigration law and policy.
Although much of it is given little chance to pass through a divided Congress, it seems almost certain that parts of it will become law.
Certain parts of this bill reflect a profound change in approach to immigration, It contemplates, for example, attacking the root causes of immigration by providing aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras on the condition that they work to eradicate corruption, violence, and poverty that are driving their populations to the US border.
One of the requirements for obtaining naturalized citizenship is “good moral character.” What this generally means is that the applicant has maintained the standards of a law-abiding society. “Good moral character”, however, means more than refraining from committing crimes. Yes, it is true that committing a crime is likely to cast doubt on your good moral character — but so can other activities such as unpaid debts.
To some extent, “good moral character” is subjective, because it is based on a comparison of the applicant’s behavior with “the standards of the average citizen in the community of residence.” The standards of the average citizen may vary between, say, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Muscogee, Oklahoma. Nevertheless, there is a minimum standard beneath which no one will be considered to possess good moral character.
Criminal Convictions
US immigration law classifies crimes into three types:
- Murder and aggravated felonies;
- “Crimes involving moral turpitude”; and
- Petty offenses (any other crime).
A conviction for murder or an aggravated felony results in a permanent bar no matter when they were committed (unless you were under 18 on the conviction date). A permanent bar will also subject you to deportation proceedings. Crimes involving moral turpitude result in a temporary bar. The bar is temporary because it only applies as long as the conviction date is within five years of your citizenship application date (three years for applicants married to US citizens).
Petty crimes will not necessarily bar you from citizenship, although the USCIS does have the right to reject your application for petty crimes if the officer reasonably believes that they add up to bad moral character. In making this determination, the USCIS officer will probably take into account the other factors listed below, such as whether you support your dependents.
Criminal Offenses that Did Not Result in Convictions
The USCIS defines “convictions” differently than its colloquial usage. You can be considered “convicted”, for example, if you plead guilty to the offense; or if you confess to it or admit to facts that add up to the offense (even if you are not prosecuted). This means that even if you are acquitted and you later admit to guilt because you cannot be tried twice for the same offense, the USCIS can impose a temporary or permanent bar, depending on the nature of the crime.
Unpaid Taxes
Failure to file your tax returns and failure to pay your taxes are two separate acts that can result in a temporary bar. Failure to pay your taxes, of course, is not necessarily illegal as long as you file a tax return. It can be used as evidence of bad moral character nevertheless (including taxes on income earned abroad). You might be able to avoid a temporary bar by paying your taxes late or by making arrangements to pay them.
Failure to Support Dependents
Failure to support dependents can result in a temporary bar. This offense includes failure to pay child support that a family court assesses against you, regardless of whether the court is located in the US or abroad. It also includes failure to support your minor dependents even in the absence of court-ordered child support.
Failure to pay child support without a court order may not be held against you if you are male and you can show, for example, that you were not married to the mother and that you reasonably believed that you were not the biological father of the child.
“Habitual Drunkard”
Strictly speaking, it is not against the law to be a habitual drunkard, even though this condition typically leads to crimes such as DUI. It can nevertheless result in a temporary bar.
Multiple DUI or public intoxication arrests can establish this offense even if the criminal offenses themselves are considered petty offenses. Other evidence, such as the content of a divorce decree or unexplained periods of unemployment, can also be used to establish this offense.
Bride cheating on groom at the altar
Adultery
Adultery, which is not illegal in many states, and which is rarely prosecuted even in states where it is technically illegal, can still result in a temporary bar if it “tended to destroy an existing marriage.” This definition could include, for example, a situation where the applicant is involved in an adulterous relationship that tends to destroy his or her lover’s marriage.
Other Offenses
The foregoing is only a partial list of the offenses that can result in a temporary bar to citizenship. Other offenses that can lead to a temporary bar include habitual gambling, polygamy, illegal voting, prostitution, smuggling of immigrants across the US border, immigration document fraud and providing false testimony under oath. “Purely political offenses” committed abroad that would be legal in the US under human rights standards will not result in a temporary or permanent bar.