The US presidential elections

The US presidential elections took place on November 3, 2020, and the American population had to decide mainly between the current president Donald Trump, belonging to the Republican political party and who was seeking reelection, and former Vice President Joe Biden, belonging to the Democratic political party.

After several days of vote counting, results revealed that Joe Biden took the victory. He will be the 46th president of the US and will take office in January 2021.

When the American population elects a president, there is a transition period where officials from the new administration receive details and information from federal entities to be up-to-date when the president-elect takes office.

However, the Trump government has not accepted Biden’s victory, so his team has not been able to fully engage with federal agencies and the transition process is already substantially delayed.

The Trump administration’s immigration policies

It is no secret that the Trump administration takes a stance diametrically opposed to the Biden administration when it comes to the local immigration system. On the one hand, President Trump has tried to reduce immigration during his term, increasing restrictions and requirements for immigrants. On the other hand, the Biden government plans to expand legal immigration alternatives to reduce illegal immigration and boost the local economy during these times of global crisis.

Therefore, due to the opinion of the Trump administration regarding immigration, one of the federal agencies that has changed the most during his term is the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is in charge of receiving, reviewing and responding to immigration applications.

The Biden administration has tried to contact USCIS officials to initiate the transition process, however, the Trump administration has not allowed it.

Contact Motion Law if you have a question regarding your immigration case or if you are about to start an immigration journey in the US. Our team will be happy to help!

USCIS officers receive order not to assist Biden’s transition team

According to a BuzzFeed News report, USCIS employees received a notification not to communicate with Biden’s transition team until President Trump acknowledges and accepts the election results.

They received this order a week after Joe Biden won the presidential election and many of them have expressed, under anonymity, their disagreement with this request.

In fact, one of the USCIS employees stated, “It’s disturbing and disheartening that the agency is not permitting staff to aid the Biden transition team to ensure a smooth transfer (…) These delays could hamper the new administration’s ability to hit the ground running on important issues facing the agency and our country.”

Adding to that, the Biden administration needs to start the transition process with the USCIS as soon as possible, mainly because it plans to change and revoke multiple immigration policies implemented by the Trump administration, therefore, it needs to be up to date with databases and information about current immigration processes.

Reliable help for your immigration case

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.