Biden-Harris

Weekly Immigration News: Border Blame and Other Pandemic Responses

Immigration woes continue at the border, compounding pre-existing problems with the US immigration system. According to Politico, Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman blamed the recent arrivals at the border on the United States’ “personal capitalist interests,” which he claimed caused social, economic, and political instability in Central American countries. He stated that these disruptions, in turn, led to the rise of migration to the US. In his statement, Bowman also...

Weekly Immigration News: Border Politics and the Washington Immigration Agenda

The child migrant detention complex is once again gripping the nation. For decades, the United States has faced the prospect of unaccompanied minors and families coming to the border seeking asylum, and for decades, the government has struggled to balance law enforcement with humanitarian interests. Although the Biden administration says it is handling the matter differently from Trump, the jury is out. Meanwhile, Congress may hold the key to...

Weekly Immigration News: Dismantling the Trump-era

The Biden administration has ramped up its political agenda this week, with various new policies that aim to correct Trump-era institutions. After ending the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, the Biden administration announced that the United States will start letting in asylum seekers stranded in Mexico. The shift will be starting its phase 1 today along the southern border, but only migrants currently affected by the “Remain in Mexico”...

Weekly Immigration News: Slow Shifts to Change

President Biden is not acting quickly on immigration issues – will his slow shifts help move us towards change? Alejandro Mayorkas, a former Obama administration immigration official and a Cuban immigrant, has been officially nominated to become DHS (Department of Homeland Security) secretary in a Tuesday Senate vote. Although some Republicans opposed Mayorkas’ nomination due to a 2015 internal investigation on his actions during his role as head of...

Hopes and Expectations of a Biden Administration

For four long and hard years, the Trump administration has reshaped the United States immigration system through anti-immigrant executive action, proclamations, policy memos, and regulatory changes. The good news is that President-elect Joe Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris can undo almost every change through the same mechanisms without having to go through the legislative branch. The bad news is that the newly elected administration must have the will to...