Biden Signs Executive Orders to Reverse Harmful Trump-Era Immigration Policies

On the evening of Tuesday, February 2nd, President Biden signed three new executive orders regarding immigration. The new executive orders reversed several of Trump’s immigration policies. In his opening remarks, Biden stressed the importance of a fair and humane immigration system for the prosperity and strength of the United States. Biden began the first executive order with a condemnation of family separation. The order went on to establish an Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families. This task force will identify all children separated from their families at the US-Mexico border between January 20th, 2017 and January 20th, 2021. Then, it will attempt to reunify the identified children with their families. The second executive order confronted the political, social, and economic factors leading to migration. In this, Biden directed the State Department and other executive organizations to prepare a strategy to address these causes. It also strengthened the asylum system. The third executive order demanded a full review of the Trump administration’s harmful immigration policies. Furthermore, it called for a streamlined naturalization process. This last executive order also rescinded one of Trump’s previous memorandums, which required family sponsors to repay the government if relatives received government benefits.