President Trump Expected to Soon Make 10 Key Decisions on Immigration
Since President Donald Trump assumed office, his administration has been alert about reorganizing the United States immigration system. Currently, more than a million people are on the verge of losing their protection rights and being deported back to their countries of origin. The administration is also working on its plans to erect the border wall, calling for a complete overhaul of the legal immigration system and laws while still searching for places to build immigrant detention centers.
Below is a quick overview of the factors that President Trump’s administration will be looking into on the immigration section.
- DACA Deferred
The Trump administration announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would end on March 5th. The program shields people who came into the country as children illegally from immediate deportation. Two judges, however, ordered officials to continue processing the renewals for the beneficiaries until fair negotiations are met. The measure will only serve the DACA recipients for two years after renewals, which puts their future in uncertainty after 2020.
Trump has ordered officials in Congress to come up with a solution for the DACA recipients within the next few months.
- The Wall
Trump categorically cited his plans to build a wall at the United States- Mexico border during his presidential campaigns. He has stood by this pledge, recently quoting that he wanted $25 billion for the border wall construction. Nonetheless, his administration has had a hard time trying to convince the Congress to fork out that kind of money for the said project.
There is some light at the end of the tunnel though as officials are acquiring more land near the site area. There has been significant testing of prototypes built along the border.
- Legal Immigration
Most immigrants who come to settle in the United States legally acquire permission to do so through family relations. The Trump administration wants to change this as they have dubbed it ‘chain migration’. The officials have cited the method as unfair and unsafe while pointing several cases to support their case. They argue that the potential immigrants’ skills should determine whether or not one should acquire a legal immigration permit.
- Temporary Protected Status
Recently, the administration gave a major blow to about 200,000 Salvadorans after announcing that the Temporary Protected Status program will end in September 2019, after which they will be deported back to their countries. Trump has argued that immigrants are misusing the “temporary” state of the program as their mother countries have long solved their problems, which allows them to go back home.
This effect will also take toll on tens of thousands of other nationals from Haiti, Sudan, and Nicaragua. If the Congress does not find a way to make the temporary status permanent by 2019, these immigrants may be forced to return to their mother countries.
- Deportation or Detention?
The Trump administration has promised to follow up on immigration enforcement by bringing more agents into the task force and being strict with the undocumented immigrants who will be put behind bars or deported to their home countries.
- More Detention Space
According to officials, arrests have shot up while deportations are still low. This is because the administration is still looking for detention space. Due to the heavy backlog in the systems, it takes time to decide whether or not the undocumented immigrant should be deported. Until then, the immigrant is put in detention until a solution comes up.
- Deporting Non-Criminal Immigrants
During the Obama administration, the focus was directed to serious criminal offenders. This has changed since Trump came into office. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been ordered to pursue deportation proceedings for any immigrant eligible for removal regardless of their criminal background.
- The Travel Ban
The travel ban started with Trump’s original order that barred anyone traveling to the United States from seven classified Muslim countries. The order took effect immediately in spite of the fact that many government agencies were not fully briefed on the details. This caused chaos, but the president issued revised versions of his travel ban to bring in order.
- Resettlement of Refugees Halted
Earlier this year in 2018, Trump’s administration announced the temporary halt of refugee settlement. They added that the number of refugees who will be resettled in the country would be slashed massively when the next phase comes.
- Birthright Citizenship
Trump once proposed the retrieval of birthright citizenship over the United States-born children with undocumented immigrant parents. According to law, any child born on American soil and subject to jurisdiction is an American citizen. Once the child hits 21, he or she can file a petition for permanent residency to the parents despite their citizenship. Trump mentioned the case as unfair and an abuse of the law.
Conclusion
Residents and immigrants in the United States are living in fear and the days even look tougher than we all thought. To speak with an immigrant expert contact us at RunRex.com to help you find a legal solution to your immigration case.