In what ways can we expect that Joe Biden’s approach on immigration will be different from that of previous U.S presidents?

 

Recent US elections, in which Joe Biden has sworn to office, mark a turning point in most global affairs. In comparison to the approach taken by international actors, Joe Biden “declared that he stood for two things - workers who "built this country", and values that can bridge its divisions. As the US faces challenges from coronavirus to racial inequity, his pitch is to create new economic opportunities for workers, restore environmental protections and healthcare rights, and international alliances.”(BBC News, 2021) Nonetheless, Biden’s approach on immigration has caught the attention of many political analysts since his stratagem differs completely from previous presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. CNN Politics analyst Ronald Brownstein examines, through a comparative analysis of the political stratagem of previous presidents, in his article On immigration, Biden seeks a new approach to an old deadlock, the method employed by Biden to achieve change in migration policy and the implications of thereof.

 

First, we must evaluate the complexity behind the conundrum of US migration policy politics. On the one hand, “Biden plan stresses legalization of the undocumented, the top Democratic priority”.(Brownstein, 2021) On the other, business groups and Republicans demand the “guarantee of future flows of temporary workers and toughening border and interior enforcement.” (Brownstein, 2021) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the political approach of previous presidents Bush and Obama proved ineffective since they both engaged in extended bipartisan negotiations that failed to produce an enforceable bill. In immigration lobbyist Frank Sharry’s words: “in the past, George W. Bush and Barack Obama sought bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform: the problem is it allowed Republicans to demand way too much in the sausage-making and, in the end, still kill off immigration reform.” Currently, Congressional Democrats and immigrant advocacy groups support Biden’s early moves to underscore and revert policies under Trump. On his first day in office, Biden released new enforcement guidance for the federal immigration agencies to enforce during his first 100 days that will: (i)  pause most deportations; (ii) repeal Trump’s travel ban on Muslim-majority nations; and (iii) stop the construction of the Mexican-American border wall.

 

Second, in terms of the enforcement mechanism sought for migration policy, Biden’s bill is much more straight-forward than his predecessors’ approach. “Biden is presenting a bill that unifies and inspires the entire Democratic coalition”, said Sharry. “He’s saying ‘work with me in good faith, Republicans, to get to 60 votes, and if you don’t -- and most of us assume they will not -- ‘we’ll find a way to get something done with our 51 votes’.”  Although ambitious, because his plan requires all of the Democratic Congress votes and even a tie-breaking point from Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden wants to unite his party and “freeze out” Republicans and pass immigration legislation solely; thus, relying on the Senate to end the filibuster or legalize millions of undocumented through reconciliation budgets. (Brownstein, 2021)

 

Third, the above presents several political challenges. After the Trump administration, xenophobia and racism can be clearly identified as embedded within the country’s geopolitical culture. According to a recent study by Public Religion Research Institute three-fifths subscribed Republicans “endorsed the harshly-worded sentiment that ‘immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background’.” Furthermore, Republican opposition, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, have labeled Biden’s migration plan as a “blanket amnesty” and “a threat to American workers forced from their jobs during the pandemic.” Additionally, conservative media outlets such as Fox News have already started weighing-in by talking about new caravans of migrants heading towards the southern border. Inclusively, Texas attorney General Ken Paxton has begun to draft a lawsuit against Joe Biden for his deportation freeze. On the flip side, gaining support within the Democratic party won't be easy, since Biden needs to “convince every Democrat that allowing millions of undocumented immigrants to legally enter the workforce is a defensible idea while millions of other Americans are out of work amid the disruption created by the coronavirus pandemic.” (Brownstein, 2021)

 

 

Finally, Brownstein contemplates three main action models through which Biden and Democratic senators can enforce if they fail to win the 10 Republican votes needed to break a filibuster against legislation to legalize all or some undocumented migrants: (a) addressing only a portion of the population, i.e. staring with legalizing Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status migrants; (b) seek legalization through standalone legislation, i.e. for long-term farmworkers who were also granted a pathway to citizenship in a separate bill the House approved in 2019; (c) to include a pathway to citizenship within the special recognition process, the above substantiated under the 1974 Budget Act that allows legislation with an impact on the federal budget to clear both chambers with a majority vote; and/or (d) to include immigration in the recovery package plans for Covid-19 arguing economic and social benefits from migration.

 

In his election campaign, Joe Biden promised that “in his first 100 days in office, (he will) reverse Trump policies that separate parents from their children at the US-Mexican border, rescind limits on the number of applications for asylum and end the bans on travel from several majority-Muslim countries. He also promised to protect the "Dreamers" - people brought illegally to the US as children who were permitted to stay under an Obama-era policy - as well as ensure they are eligible for federal student aid.” (BBC News, 2021). Currently, we can see that Joe Biden is on the right track to fulfill his electoral promises and that his policy on immigration is, comparatively, more affirmative and straight-forward than his predecessors. Only time will tell whether he will accomplish a change to the extent intended and whether said policy will bring a positive impact to all migrants.