(CNN Español) – One of the first immigration policies of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, is to achieve greater openness to immigrants and, in general, to welcome foreigners.
One of its goals is to increase the number of refugees the country receives, which was reduced during Donald Trump’s administration. For fiscal year 2021, which runs from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, an admission limit of up to 15,000 refugees was imposed, well below the country’s historically high figures.
During his presidential campaign, Biden spoke of raising this amount to 125,000 per year. The president has already signed some decrees on the immigration issue and more are expected, reflecting his government’s greater openness to foreigners.
The Deputy Director of the White House National Immigration Policy Council, Esther Olavarría, set the decree’s objective regarding refugees at the recent national winter conference of mayors.
The goal, according to Olavarría, is “to restore the refugee admission program and allow the United States to return to its historic role as a leader and protector of refugees.”
Biden is also expected to sign several decrees regarding immigrants seeking to reach the United States through the asylum system.
Biden’s immigration measures so far
Two weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security ended new registrations for the “Remain in Mexico” program, a Trump administration policy that celebrated its two-year anniversary last Friday.
According to regulations, non-Mexican asylum seekers in Mexico had to wait until their hearing in the United States. This led, among other things, to the establishment of camps on the other side of the border under not always ideal conditions.
The White House said the government would provide an efficient and fair asylum program, although it did not release details.
With the following decrees, Biden would try to protect migrants who live close to their home through an asylum system in neighboring countries.
It would also implement a refugee admission program for migrants from the region and allow some endangered Central American youth to live in the United States, a policy that Trump, among others, dropped.
According to Olavarría, Biden would also sign an executive action that would end any of the Trump administration’s other disputed measures, including measures that make it difficult for low-income immigrants or those in need of federal aid, such as food stamps or Medicaid , which could be given legal status. in the country.
First Lady Jill Biden is expected to play an active role in the implementation of immigration policy, particularly in the family reunification of more than 600 immigrant children who are still separated from their parents.