The Golden Door: January 2021 Special Edition
Legal and Policy Issues
We are closely monitoring state and federal immigration law and policy. Please check our social media accounts for more frequent updates.
Start of the Biden-Harris Administration
As promised, the Biden-Harris administration wasted no time on its first day in office and immediately ended some cruel and anti-immigrant Trump policies. President Biden took action to:
End Muslim and African Travel Bans
President Biden ended the anti-Muslim and racist travel bans. This impacts individuals from: Libya, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, Venezuela, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Eritrea, Sudan, and Tanzania. President Biden wrote that the bans "are a stain on our national conscience and are inconsistent with our long history of welcoming people of all faiths and no faith at all."
Preserve and Fortify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
President Biden ordered the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take all actions he deems appropriate, consistent with applicable law, to preserve and fortify DACA. We will keep you updated on what that new policy looks like.
Stop Construction of the Border Wall
As simple as that.
Stop the Migrant Protection Protocols (Remain in Mexico)
DHS has suspended the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which forced asylum seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico for court hearings in the US. Nothing has changed yet for the tens of thousands of people who have already been subjected to the MPP program.
Temporarily Stop Certain Deportations and Change Immigration Enforcement Priorities
DHS issued a memo outlining a number of significant policy changes, including a moratorium on certain deportations for 100 days starting January 22, and new priorities for immigration enforcement beginning February 1. The memo also ends a Trump-era policy that had allowed the government to begin deportation proceedings for survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, or serious crimes whose applications for status were denied.
Keep and Extend Liberian Protections
President Biden extended "deferred enforcement departure" (DED) for Liberians until June 30, 2022.
Restore Full Census Count
President Biden reversed former President Trump's illegal attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count.
Immigration Policy Priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration
We cannot overstate the amount of trauma and suffering experienced by immigrant Mainers and their families under the four years of the Trump administration. The administration’s white supremacist ideology, culminating in an attempted coup on January 6, 2021, infected every part of immigration law and policy, large and small.
National organizations have tracked each change to immigration law, but we are focusing on top line changes that would most benefit Maine’s immigrant communities.
We cannot go back to the punitive, anti-humanitarian immigration policy in place before Trump took office. Rather, we must look forward and build a new immigration system that welcomes those who come to the United States to seek safety, reunite with family, or pursue a better life.
ILAP has created a list of specific policy priorities that the Biden-Harris administration must act on within its first 100 days in office, in order to:
Rebuild Asylum;
Protect Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence, Trafficking, and Other Crimes;
Protect Immigrant Youth;
Restore Family Reunification; and
Decriminalize Immigration.
Find ILAP's list of specific policy priorities here! It is a dynamic list stemming from our expertise as immigration law practitioners, which we will add to as needed to amplify demands from immigrant leaders and immigrant-led groups. We will regularly update this list when actions are taken by the Biden-Harris administration.
Virtual Screening and Panel with YWCA Central Maine and ILAP
YWCA Central Maine is hosting a screening of the new HBO documentary short The Undocumented Lawyer and a panel discussion, featuring ILAP's Advocacy & Outreach Director Julia Brown and Asylum Outreach Attorney Felix Hagenimana.
The film is available to stream anytime from January 23-January 29 by clicking here.
Join Julia and Felix for a live panel discussion on January 28 at 2pm on Zoom. Follow this link to register for the panel - it's free!
“We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always justice.”