The Biden Administration announced plans to state final rulings on several immigration-based matters and to modify others. The White House plans to intervene on issues such as DACA, asylum status, and the public charge rule – all of which were highly contested under the Trump administration.
DACA
Regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an initiative created under the Obama administration in 2012, the White House has committed to providing a final ruling. The program has been contested on several occasions. It was most recently challenged in 2021, when U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas, ruled President Obama overreached his executive authority in its creation, deeming DACA unlawful. As a result, Judge Hanen ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cease application approvals.
The Biden administration has asked the Fifth Circuit to reverse the district court’s decision. However, without congressional action and legislation, DACA will remain vulnerable to judicial overruling. Immigration lawyers have criticized the anticipated Biden rule, as it is not likely that it will expand to all DACA recipients. However, the final rule is expected to protect the program from republican led states more so, than in the past.
Public Charge Rule
The Biden administration also plans to address the public charge rule, enacted in 2019 under the Trump administration. This rule permitted those reliant on public benefits to be denied permanent residency or citizenship. In March 2022, the Biden administration announced it would no longer enforce the public charge rule. However, in June 2022, the Supreme Court stated that Republican states who wished to uphold the rule could not intervene in the rule change through a lawsuit.
Advocates against the public charge rule have reiterated the importance of providing immigrants, particularly immigrants of color, a fair chance to successfully migrate to the U.S. In discontinuing the rule, immigration attorney David W. Leopold, said, “We learned a painful lesson during the Trump administration, that the burden can be unfairly shifted in a manner that deprives immigrants…the chance to…reunite with their families.”
Asylum
Finally, the White House announced plans to issue their ruling on matters pertaining to asylum statuses. Biden’s proposed policy will attempt to amend the DHS’s and Department of Justice’s regulations that dictate status eligibility for asylum and withhold of removal. These policies are likely to be more favorable to applicants, as Biden has pledged to take a sharp turn away from Trump’s regulations.
The agenda for asylum policy is likely to rescind two controversial Trump-era policies relating to employment authorization for asylum applicants. It also addressed third-party country rules, as the agenda intends to rescind “Asylum Cooperative Agreements,” which were created in 2019. The Agreements faced great backlash, as it required applicants to return to countries they were fleeing while waiting to legally enter the United States.
Other rules involving asylum bar to eligibility and procedures are also likely to be modified or rescinded.
The Biden Administration’s announcement comes at a time when immigration has increased, and the topic has been the source of much civil controversy.
If you have questions about any immigration-related issue, contact us at ILBSG. We proactively monitor ongoing immigration news to ensure our clients get the right advice and are prepared to face potential changes.
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