The hope of immigrant communities with the incoming administration

The most vulnerable immigrant communities, such as asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented youth have been through difficult circumstances under the current administration of the US, led by President Donald Trump.

This is mainly because the Trump administration, in an attempt to transform the local immigration system and offer purely merit-based alternatives, has substantially increased restrictions and requirements for humanitarian programs such as political asylum, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), refuge, TPS (Temporary Protected Status), inter alia.

However, the future of immigration in the US is about to change again as the presidential elections took place on November 3, 2020, and the American population elected Joe Biden (Democratic candidate) as the next leader of the nation.

Citizens who voted hope that the Biden administration:

• Changes the course of immigration.
• Restructures the local immigration system.
• Removes Trump’s strict policies.
• Lifts current restrictions on humanitarian programs.
• Protects the most vulnerable immigrant communities.
• Increases legal alternatives for undocumented immigrants.

The expectation of the voting population and immigrant communities is that the president-elect and his cabinet will undo Trump’s restrictive policies in a matter of weeks or even as soon as he takes office.

However, the reality is that the Trump administration’s restrictions on the immigration sector are quite deep and it could take the Biden administration a considerable period of time to restructure a broken immigration system and undo policies implemented during the last four years.

Biden’s transition team – Repairing the immigration system will take time

On Tuesday, December 22, 2020, officials of the Biden administration stated that reversing Trump’s immigration policies will not be as quick or easy as the local population expects. In fact, abruptly undoing these restrictive policies could spark a humanitarian crisis at the borders and social controversy within the US.

Therefore, the Biden administration must be cautious and strategic in repairing the damage caused by Trump’s restrictions on immigration, without affecting the well-being of the American population.

Biden’s transition team stated that it will need time to restructure processes such as:

• Political asylum: Trump implemented the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) in 2019, also known as Remain in Mexico, which forces asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while they await a response to their immigration applications.
  Suddenly lifting this policy could trigger an immigration crisis within the US as there are thousands of asylum seekers waiting at the borders under the MPP.
• Refuge: The Trump administration has already set a limit of 15,000 refugees for fiscal year 2021 (October-September), the lowest number in recent history of the US.
  The Biden administration plans to increase the refugee limit to 125,000. However, to meet this goal, his team will have to wait until the next fiscal year.

Therefore, the Biden administration will need time to remove policies implemented in the last four years on the immigration system. However, in the meantime, if you follow legal guidelines and the advice of experienced attorneys, your immigration application will most likely receive a positive response.

Follow experts’ advice during your immigration process

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.