The US presidential transition

The US presidential elections took place on November 3, 2020, and since the current president, Donald Trump, did not win a second term, the country is going through a period of presidential transition.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who was vice president during Barack Obama’s term, will be the 46th president of the US and will take office on January 20, 2021 (Inauguration Day), after confirmation by Congress.

During the transition period, several members of Trump’s cabinet have resigned from their positions for multiple reasons, including protests carried out in recent weeks by Trump’s supporters.

Chad Wolf resigns from DHS one week before Inauguration Day

The acting secretary of DHS (Department of Homeland Security), Chad Wolf, resigned on Monday, January 11, just a week before the president-elect takes office, arguing that several courts stated that his role is not legitimate because he did not follow the order of succession and was not confirmed by the Senate.

It is important to clarify that most of these court rulings are related to immigration processes. Wolf tried, with the support of President Trump, to substantially restrict alternatives available for foreigners to come to the US. With this, we refer to the fact that the acting DHS secretary used all the tools at his disposal to hinder immigration processes such as political asylum, employment-based visa programs, family immigration alternatives, inter alia.

Let’s see some examples:

1. DACA

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is an immigration program that protects undocumented immigrants, who came to the US as minors, from deportation.

The Trump administration, through DHS (with Chad Wolf leading), tried to remove DACA from benefits offered to immigrants in the US, despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Justice had already ruled in favor of this immigration program in June 2020.

In mid-November, a federal judge in New York intervened in the case and stated that restrictions implemented by DHS on DACA, after the Supreme Court’s verdict, were invalid because Wolf did not follow the order of succession correctly.

2. Political asylum

DHS, with Chad Wolf leading, established, through a Final Rule, new parameters and guidelines that would substantially hinder and restrict opportunities for the most vulnerable immigrant communities to apply for political asylum in the US. These rules were to go into effect on Monday, January 11.

However, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked Trump’s Final Rule on the political asylum process, stating that Wolf did not have the right, the power and did not meet mandatory requirements to implement this type of measures, which would substantially transform the local immigration system.

Wolf resignation letter

In the resignation letter, Wolf states: “I am saddened to take this step, as it was my intention to serve the Department until the end of this Administration. Unfortunately, this action is warranted by recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as Acting Secretary.”

Protect your future and follow experts’ advice during your immigration process

Now that the US will have a new administration, which has a different vision than Trump when it comes to immigration, it is possible that policies will change again. Therefore, the best alternative is undoubtedly to have the constant accompaniment of reliable experts when submitting an immigration application.

If you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.