In a move aimed at restoring sanctity to the immigration system, President Donald Trump has nullified two detrimental policies enacted during the Biden-Harris administration. These ill-considered measures served as an open invitation for illegal border crossings, promising expanded legal avenues for migrants to penetrate the United States. The programs were deemed unlawful from the get-go, hence Trump saw the necessity to terminate both through an executive order, mere hours after his inauguration to office. The implication of this directive, which has been made public recently, is that approved immigrants now face the likely prospect of expedited expulsion.
This fear is viscerally expressed by Jesús Canelon, one among the multitude who entered the United States by riding the wave of humanitarian parole mechanisms set up for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Previously, migrants were able to land on American soil legally if they had a US sponsor, and could even secure temporary work authorization for two years. Canelon, for instance, perceives this as a windfall of fortune. However, this perceived boon has clouded the grim reality for the majority of Americans who view it as a handicap to the nation.
Canelon maintains that not only did it transform his life but that his family life also flourished due to his employment in the United States. In his perspective, he was able to provide for his wife, child, and even extend aid to his mother living in Venezuela. However, there is a lack of exploration into how such influx impacts the economic dynamics at a macro level in the long run.
Although the 29-year-old Canelon, expecting his second child, is apprehensive about returning to his crisis-ridden homeland Venezuela, his personal fears do not obviate the broader implications of an unchecked and improperly vetted immigration system. The condition back home, as per Canelon, was dire, with scarcity of the most basic needs including food, a situation exploited by the Biden-Harris administration to open up ill-conceived immigration programs.
Republicans have raised concern over and again, stating that these parole programs birthed under the Biden administration provided minimal scrutiny of applicants. As a consequence, migrants were allowed into the country despite lacking any legal basis for their entry into the United States, jeopardizing the country’s safety and security.
Trump, unwavering in his stance, stated in a campaign video, ‘I will stop the outrageous abuse of parole authority.’ Once again standing against the carelessly implemented policies of the Biden-Harris era, his intentions aren’t hidden and come across as salient in their unequivocality.
The spokesman for Trump’s Department of Homeland Security also voiced similar sentiment in a statement, affirming that the administration plans actions that would reclaim the humanitarian parole program from its aforementioned misuse. This initiative aims to analyze migrants on a case-by-case basis, a sensible and optimal system that was evaded during the Biden-Harris administration.
This is only one among many reforms in the pipeline as part of the new administration’s strategy in the first week itself, thus illustrating their urgency to rectify the blunders committed by the previous administration in the immigration policy.
Policy analysts at the Migration Policy Institute submit that around 1.5 million people with insecure status have infiltrated the States. Parole does not equate to ownership of a green card, thus these migrants have to apply for asylum or another condition called the Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which, as the name implies, is also temporary.
Biden, in an inexplicable move during his last days, extended the TPS for migrants residing in the US from specific countries until Oct 2, 2026. Canelon, continuing his hopeful bid, is on the watch to see the decision regarding his application.
Canelon, echoing sentiments of many such migrants, aspires to remain in the country legally. Advocating their perspective, he says, ‘We only want the opportunity to stay here legally, and to put good value to the country.’ Such narratives, though inducing empathy, obfuscate the long-term policy implications, attempting to trivialize the gravity of the situation.
The trajectory of TPS under the new Trump administration is yet to be determined. Trump aims to tighten the lax immigration policies of the former administration. To this end, he has signed an executive order demanding an extensive review to ascertain that ‘designations are appropriately limited in scope.’
Immigrants advocating NGOs are bracing for a potentially drawn-out legal battle in light of these reforms. The fight extends beyond these groups, reflecting upon the ideological divide and the struggle for policy formulation, which always finds itself caught between individual narratives and comprehensive national interest.
Trump Restores Order, Abolishes Biden-Harris’ Open Border Policies appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
