An Overview of Joe Biden’s Immigration Policies

As Joe Biden is the elected president now, it is necessary to know his attitude toward immigration to get a better idea of how immigration polices would be like in the following several years.

Before the election, Joe Biden announced that he would take urgent action to undo Trump Administration’s damage and reclaim America’s values; modernize America’s immigration system; welcome immigrants in the U.S. communities; reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees; tackle the root causes of irregular migration; and implement effective border screening.

Specifically, to undo Trump Administration’s effects on immigration, in the first 100 days, the Biden Administration will:

• Immediately reverse the Trump Administration’s policies that separate parents from their children at the U.S. border, including ending the prosecution of parents for minor immigration violations as an intimidation tactic, and prioritize the reunification of any children still separated from their families.
• End Trump Administration’s detrimental asylum policies, starting with Trump Administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols, and restore the U.S. asylum laws.
• End the mismanagement of the asylum system.
• Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives.
• End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program.
• Reverse public charge rule.
• End the so-called National Emergency that siphons federal dollars from the Department of Defense to build a wall.
• Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”
• Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster.
• Protect and expand opportunities for people who risked their lives in military service.
• Restore and defend the naturalization process for green card holders.
• Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost the U.S. economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.
• Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution.

In connection with the modernization of America’s immigration system, the Biden Administration will work with Congress to pass legislation that:

• Creates a roadmap to citizenship for the nearly 11 million people who have been living in and strengthening the U.S. for years.
• Reforms the visa program for temporary workers in select industries.
• Reforms the temporary visa system.
• Provides a path to legalization for agricultural workers who have worked for years on U.S. farms and continue to work in agriculture.
• Rejects the choice between employment-based and family-based immigration.
• Preserves preferences for diversity in the current system.
• Increases the number of visas offered for permanent, work-based immigration based on macroeconomic conditions.
• Creates a new visa category to allow cities and counties to petition for higher levels of immigrants to support their growth.
• Enforces the rules to protect American and foreign workers alike.
• Expands protections for undocumented immigrants who report labor violations.
• Increases visas for domestic violence survivors.

Regarding the welcome of immigrants in the U.S. communities, the Biden Administration will:

• Marshal federal resources, through the reestablishment of the Task Force for New Americans, to support community efforts to welcome immigrants.
• Push to repeal extreme, anti-immigrant state laws that have a chilling effect on the ability of immigrant domestic violence, sexual assault survivors, and other victims of crimes to seek safety and justice.
• Expand long overdue rights to farmworkers and domestic workers.

To reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees, the Biden Administration will:

• Surge asylum officers to efficiently review the cases of recent border crossers and keep cases with positive credible-fear findings with the Asylum Division.
• Restore asylum eligibility for domestic violence survivors.
• Apply U.S. asylum laws to those fleeing political persecution.
• Double the number of immigration judges, court staff, and interpreters.
• End for-profit detention centers.
• Increase the number of refugees into the United States.

To tackle the root causes of migration, the Biden Administration will:

• Addresses the root causes of migration by fostering greater security, economic development, and respect for the rule of law in Central America.
• Strengthen regional humanitarian responses.
• Manage migration through refugee resettlement and other legal programs.

Lastly, in connection with the implementation of effective border screening, the Biden Administration will:

• Invest in better technology coupled with privacy protections at the border.
• Improve cross-agency collaboration.
• Work with Mexico and Canada as partners — not as adversaries.

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