The Golden Door: January 2021

 

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.

Federal Court Temporarily Blocks Biden's Deportation Moratorium

A federal court has blocked the Biden administration from implementing its deportation pause through February 23. Tragically, hundreds of people have been deported since President Biden took office, including a survivor of the 2019 El Paso mass shooting.

The court action only applies to one part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memorandum. The other sections that create enforcement priorities and rescind Trump era memos remain in place.

Since the Senate confirmed the new DHS Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, a scheduled deportation flight for at least 60 Black immigrants bound for Cameroon was cancelled. The federal court's order does not force DHS to deport people -- the discretion to do so lies with DHS. We hope that Secretary Mayorkas will use that discretion to stop deportations.

More Executive Actions on Immigration

President Biden issued more immigration executive orders on February 2, and a refugee admissions executive order on February 4. These orders were aimed at undoing many of former President Trump’s immigration policies. These orders are packed with directives, so the summaries below do not cover every provision.

While the Biden administration’s actions are a good start, they can and should take further action to stop Trump-era policies as quickly as possible. See ILAP’s Policy Priorities for what we recommend.

Create Taskforce to Reunite Separated Families

President Biden issued an Executive Order affirming that the Biden administration “will protect family unity and ensure that children entering the United States are not separated from their families.” The Order creates a taskforce made up of the DHS Secretary, Secretary of State, HHS Secretary, and Attorney General. They are tasked with identifying all the children separated by former President Trump’s Zero Tolerance Policy and “facilitating and enabling the reunification of each of the identified children with their families."

Address Southern Border Asylum Crisis

President Biden issued an Executive Order addressing the crises faced by asylum seekers at the southern border. The Order plans to support aid and initiatives combating corruption in Central America, and restarts a program for children and youth from Central America (CAM).

The Order directs the DHS Secretary to review several anti-asylum rules and policies, like the Migrant Protection Protocols (Remain in Mexico program), a so-called “public health” rule expelling asylum seekers based on COVID-19, and other Trump era rules.

The Order also directs the DHS Secretary to begin a review of procedures for individuals placed in expedited removal proceedings at the border. Expedited removal is a fast-track deportation process without a hearing, and former President Trump had expanded expedited removal to apply to certain undocumented individuals anywhere in the US who entered outside a port of entry within the past two years.

While these directives are a welcome change, the administration can act immediately to end many of these policies and to admit the thousands of asylum-seeking families living in dangerous conditions at the southern border.

Improve Immigration System

President Biden also issued an Executive Order to “Restore Faith in Our Legal Immigration System and Promote Integration of New Americans.” This order reestablishes the Task Force on New Americans, which include members of agencies that implement policies that impact immigrant communities.

The Order also directs agencies to review the 2019 public charge rule, evaluate the current effects of the rules, and act within 60 days, as well as to take steps to clearly communicate public charge policy to reduce the chilling effect on immigrant populations. You can read more about public charge here.

The Order also requires agencies to review recent immigration policies, rescinds a Trump memo requiring sponsors to repay the government if a family member receives public benefits, and begins a review process to streamline naturalization.

We urge the administration to act quickly in implementing these directives.

Rebuild and Enhance Refugee Admissions

President Biden issued an Executive Order rebuilding the US Refugee Admissions Program and also committed to raising the refugee cap to 125,000 during his first full fiscal year in office, starting in October. He ordered DHS to consider interviewing refugees remotely and directed the government to hire more refugee officers.

The Order declared that the Biden administration would prioritize the resettlement of women, children, and others facing persecution because of their gender or sexual orientation. The Order also directs agencies to examine ways to help people displaced by climate change.

This Executive Order will save thousands of lives and is an important first step to recommit the United States to its obligation to protect families seeking safety from persecution.

Legislative Priorities for 2021

ILAP is tracking legislation in both the U.S. Congress and the Maine Legislature that could impact Maine's immigrant communities. Although immigration law is federal, state laws also impact Maine’s immigrant communities. Our priorities include immigration reform bills before the U.S. Congress and racial and criminal justice bills before the Maine Legislature.

Earlier this week, ILAP testified virtually before the Maine Legislature's Committee on State and Local Government in support of LD 2, An Act To Require the Inclusion of Racial Impact Statements in the Legislative Process. You can read our testimony here.

Summer 2021 Legal Internship with ILAP

ILAP is seeking a law student intern to work remotely with our legal team this summer.

Our summer internship program offers law students an opportunity to learn more about U.S. immigration law and policy while making a difference in the lives of low-income immigrants in need of legal help.

ILAP strongly encourages applications from people with diverse backgrounds, including immigrants, women, people of color, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people from low-income backgrounds, and people with personal experience with the immigration systems.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, but first consideration will be given to applications received by Friday February 12th.

Visit https://ilapmaine.org/employment for the full position description and details on how to apply!

A Closer Look

This section of the Golden Door takes “a closer look” at immigration using an intersectional lens based on a monthly theme. Let us know what you think! 

Anti-Racism and Fundraising

As ILAP builds equity and anti-racism into all aspects of our work, a key area of learning and growth has been through the community-centric fundraising (CCF) movement.

CCF re-imagines fundraising, nonprofits, and philanthropy by offering us a fundraising model grounded in racial and economic justice. It prioritizes the community over individual organizations, amplifies BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) voices, and challenges traditional fundraising “best practices” that uphold white supremacy and intensify wealth inequality. The movement is guided by a set of ever evolving core principles and shares resources that build upon decades of work by fundraisers and activists of color.

ILAP has adopted the CCF principles and embraces the movement because it aligns with our organization’s values and provides a framework to actively move toward anti-racism. Our work and that of other non-profits is paralleled by policy efforts, such as the Emergency Charity Stimulus, and these conversations also extend into our state’s philanthropy sector.

Creating the kind of structural change called for by the CCF movement will take hard, uncomfortable conversations about our own and our country’s anti-Blackness and origins of wealth. It will take uncovering histories of colonization, slavery, and exploitation and, most importantly, it will take all of us.

The movement requires action at every level – personal, organizational, community, state, and systemic. We are excited to continue learning and talking with you. Feel free to reach out (lsimocko@ilapmaine.org and sbarton@ilapmaine.org) if you have questions or suggestions!

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