Are Biden’s Border Reforms Enough?
Just one month after President Biden’s inauguration, former President Trump’s controversial border policies are being rescinded. At the beginning of February 2021, President Biden’s administration outlined the steps that they will take to reform America’s broken immigration system.[1] This article will briefly enumerate the steps, discuss the criticism around them, and evaluate if the changes are enough.
Former President Trump faced heavy backlash for his policies that the Biden administration is now planning to reverse. Some of these policies include the well-known “Muslim Ban,” border wall, separating families at the border and changes to protections for “Dreamers.”[2] To change these policies, Biden signed executive orders with numerous goals.[3] The Biden administration aims to keep families together at the border by creating a task force to reunify families.[4] The administration is also creating a somewhat vague three-part plan to allow for safe, orderly migration for asylum seekers.[5] Along the same lines, the administration hopes to reform legal pathways to immigration by establishing a Task Force on New Americans.[6]
Some critics such as Michelle Brane, a senior director with the New York City-based Women’s Refugee Commission argue that these “policies” are too slow and not operational.[7] To this point, the Biden administration is struggling to balance trying to undo Trump’s policies without facing an uncontrollable surge of immigration.[8] Additionally, if Biden’s administration moves too fast and blunders protocols, they risk facing lawsuits from Republican opponents.[9] Such opponents have already filed lawsuits challenging Biden’s policies. In late January, a federal judge temporarily blocked Biden’s 100 day pause on deportations.[10]
Another cause for concern is that Biden might be repeating the mistakes of his predecessor. Critics argue the hypocrisy of the administration and its supporters as it appears Biden is still putting “kids in cages” like Trump was accused of during his presidency.[11] The criticism came after Biden’s administration reopened a migrant facility for children in Carrizo Springs, Texas.[12] The facility is being reopened to hold up to 700 children between the ages of 13 and 17.[13] Biden administration officials state that this reopening is necessary because other facilities have had limited capacity due to COVID-19. Additionally they claim that the number of unoccupied children crossing the border has increased tremendously.[14] In January, more than 5,700 children arrived at the border alone.[15] Linda Brandmiller, a San Antonio-based immigration lawyer stated about the policy, “It’s a step backward, is what it is. It’s a huge step backward.”[16] Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also condemned the Biden administration in a tweet saying: “This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay — no matter the administration or party.”[17]
Additionally, Republican opponents are worried that Biden’s plans have opened the borders completely. However, this is far from the case. Biden’s administration claims to be opening the border yet still has kept one of Trump’s biggest immigration policies intact—Title 42.[18] Title 42 was a COVID-19 emergency declaration used by Trump’s administration to close all borders to immigration to curb the spread of the pandemic.[19] It is unclear how long Biden will allow Title 42 to go on. There is no infrastructure in place to handle the immigration surge that would result of Title 42 being revoked.[20] This is another flaw in Biden’s vague plan.
Despite the ineffectiveness of Biden’s policies so far and the harsh criticism the administration is facing, there is some hope of change. In late February border patrol agents transported approximately 50 migrants to Brownsville, Texas.[21] Migrants who had finally made it into the United States were greeted by volunteers and city staff who tested them for COVID, gave them blankets, and offered coloring books for their children.[22] Similarly, COVID tests are being offered to migrants in Matamoros who hope to cross the United States border soon.[23] However, some migrants in Matamoros are facing different experiences. These migrants are having difficulty navigating the new policies and are dealing with the new registration website crashing due to too many applications. [24]
On both sides of the political spectrum, most people agree that immigration policy is in need of some reform. While Biden’s plan is promising and idealistic, there are serious flaws and delay in the implementation. It will be best to see operative policies implemented soon. Supporters and proponents alike will be eager to see how the Biden administration executes current plans, and adapts them to the criticism they are currently facing.
Megan Lundin is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLIV.
This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.
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[1] See Press Release, White House, FACT SHEET: President Biden Outlines Steps to Reform Our Immigration System by Keeping Families Together, Addressing the Root Causes of Irregular Migration, and Streamlining the Legal Immigration System (Feb. 2, 2021) https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-outlines-steps-to-reform-our-immigration-system-by-keeping-families-together-addressing-the-root-causes-of-irregular-migration-and-streamlining-the-legal-immigration-syst/.
[2] See id.
[3] See id.
[4] See id.
[5] See id.
[6] See id.
[7] See Ted Hesson & Steve Holland, Biden moves to reverse Trump immigration policies, too slowly for some, Reuters (Feb. 2, 2021, 5:13 AM), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-immigration-actions/biden-moves-to-reverse-trump-immigration-policies-too-slowly-for-some-idUSKBN2A212D.
[8] See id.
[9] See id.
[10] See id.
[11] See Aaron Blake, No, Biden’s new border move isn’t like Trump’s ‘kids in cages,’ Wash. Post (Feb. 23, 2021, 11:02 AM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/23/no-bidens-new-border-move-isnt-like-trumps-kids-cages-not-hardly/.
[12] See Silvia Foster-Frau, First migrant facility for children opens under Biden, Wash. Post (Feb. 22, 2021, 7:47 PM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/immigrant-children-camp-texas-biden/2021/02/22/05dfd58c-7533-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html.
[13] See id.
[14] See id.
[15] See Sabrina Rodriguez, Biden promised a ‘fair and humane’ immigration overhaul. What he inherited is a mess., Politico (Feb. 26, 2021, 12:54 PM), https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/26/biden-immigration-policy-471748.
[16] See Foster-Frau, supra note 12.
[17] See Rodriguez, supra note 14.
[18] See id.
[19] See id.
[20] See id.
[21] See Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Biden Takes On Trump’s Migrant Policies and Confusion Reigns at the Border, N. Y. Times (Feb. 23, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/us/politics/biden-border-migrants.html.
[22] See id.
[23] See id.
[24] See id.