Based on President-elect Joe Biden’s platform, outlined in the Biden Immigration Plan, the American people can expect an immigration policy that reverses President Donald Trump’s restrictive executive orders, reforms family-based immigration, increases the number of permanent employment-based visas, withdraws many of the current H-1B Visa rules, decreases or ends workplace raids, and reinstates the DACA program. Immigration was one of the most divisive issues in the 2020 election. There are countless visions for what immigration should look like in the United States, and only time will tell how Biden’s vision measures up to the public’s expectations.
Reverse Trump’s Executive Orders
Throughout the campaign, Biden characterized the Trump administration as rife with political instability. He drew a stark comparison between himself as a pragmatist and intelligent leader, and Trump as inexperienced and corrupt. Biden promised a return to normalcy. This extends to his thoughts about immigration.
Since 2017, Trump has signed orders that limit travel, restrict green card and guest worker programs, and eliminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, though that was overturned by the Supreme Court. With the first 100 days of his presidency, Biden will likely dismantle Trump’s restrictions.
The Biden Immigration Plan also seeks to end for-profit detention centers and drastically change the way the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies are overseen. Biden’s plan would see “responsible, Senate-confirmed professionals leading these agencies.”
Reform Family-Based Immigration
Biden has a plan for reforming Family Visas. Wanting to change the law, Biden wishes to give spouses and unmarried children of green card holders the status of “immediate relatives.”
The change would exempt them from numerical quotas that otherwise could keep them from green card status. Living the stress of being undocumented is incredibly difficult. Biden’s changes could save families pain and suffering.
Increase Permanent Employment-Based Visas
Along with his plans for family visas, Biden also has plans to reform permanent employment-based visas. According to the Biden campaign, he plans to work with Congress to address the caps on employment-based green cards.
Right now the cap for those visas is 140,000. Biden believes this hinders the market. It creates a backlog of applicants that need processing. Biden’s proposed legislation would expedite the flow of high-skilled workers from countries like India and China who face long waits. However, the legislation would also increase the wait for immigrants from the rest of the world.
Withdraw H-1B Visa Rules
H-1B visa applications were hit especially hard by Trump’s immigration policies. The program used for foreign professionals saw increased wages employers must pay their H-1B workers, a redefinition of the degrees and occupations needed for a visa, and replaced the random lottery process with one that prioritized higher salaries.
Biden asserts these restrictions make it harder for working-class people to come to America. Similar to his treatment of other Trump immigration policies, withdrawing from these rules will likely be a top priority for the new Biden administration.
Decrease or End Workplace Raids
Biden said that he wants to end workplace immigration raids. When played out in reality, this likely could mean a sharp decrease in those raids. Biden says he wants to redirect the prosecution of unauthorized employment to the employer, not the employees.
Reinstate DACA
The Biden Plan says he wants to “ensure Dreamers are eligible for federal student aid.” He has vowed to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that passed into law when he was the vice president in 2012.
Biden says he wants Congress to expand on this and create a roadmap for the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants. He said Trump’s attempt to wipe out DACA was “cruel and counterproductive.”
More than anything, Biden’s goal is to turn back many of the more disruptive policies put in place by the Trump administration. He frequently compares his vision for America as similar to that of Barrack Obama. Time will tell if Biden is able to live up to the political giant who led his earlier White House.