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US Immigration Changes Won't Happen Overnight, Biden Advisers Say

Aline Barros

   President-elect Joe Biden's top advisers say the incoming
   administration will "need time" to undo what they regard as damaging
   U.S. immigration and border enforcement policies implemented under
   President Donald Trump.

   In an interview with [1]Spanish wire service EFE this week, Susan Rice,
   Biden's incoming domestic policy adviser, and Jake Sullivan, his pick
   for national security adviser, said U.S. border policies the Trump
   administration put in place to deter mass migration will not disappear
   overnight.

   "We will be able to take some steps to change policies right away.
   Others will take time to put in place, and the situation at the border
   will not transform overnight, due in large part to the damage done over
   the last four years. But we are committed to addressing it in full,"
   Rice said.

   Speaking with reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, Biden said
   he had already discussed immigration issues with Mexican President
   Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other Latin American leaders. He
   promised "a much more humane policy" but said "it's probably going to
   take the next six months to put that in place."

     Have already started [2]#immigration issues with [3]#Mexico
     president and other Latin American leaders, says [4]@JoeBiden,
     promising "a much more humane policy."
     -- Steve Herman (@W7VOA) [5]December 22, 2020

   Biden added, "The last thing we need is to say we're going to stop
   immediately the access to asylum the way it's being run now, and then
   end up with 2 million people on our border."

   Trump's border policies include the Remain in Mexico program that has
   forced tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to await U.S. immigration
   court dates on the Mexican side of the southern U.S. border. Strongly
   criticized by immigrant rights advocates as causing misery and putting
   migrants' lives at risk, the program has been defended by the Trump
   administration, which argues it prevents overcrowding in U.S. detention
   facilities and reduces the impetus for migrants to take a perilous
   journey northward.

   Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the [6]Migrant
   Protection Protocols, or MPP, to remain in place pending the outcome of
   legal challenges that would be moot if the incoming Biden
   administration terminates the program.

   In a recent call to reporters, Biden's transition team said U.S.
   immigration officials would start processing asylum claims at ports of
   entry at the U.S.-Mexico border and work toward an "efficient" and
   "humane" asylum system.

   Slower pace

   Overall, the Biden team's postelection comments suggest an effort to
   tamp down expectations for immediate immigration policy changes after
   Biden is inaugurated on January 20.

References

   1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FemlAUzCUXAffUj1PYcGF5xdFOhxi7n9/view
   2. https://twitter.com/hashtag/immigration?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mexico?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   4. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   5. https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1341479593895735298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   6. https://www.dhs.gov/migrant-protection-protocols

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