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What is Biden doing differently at US border? What is Biden doing differently at US border?
(2 months later)
Asylum seekers arrive in US after year-long wait in MexicoAsylum seekers arrive in US after year-long wait in Mexico
On the campaign trail, Joe Biden made sweeping promises to reform US immigration, vowing to "take urgent action" and undo the policies of Donald Trump. On the campaign trail, Joe Biden made sweeping promises to reform US immigration, vowing to "take urgent action" to undo the policies of Donald Trump.
And since taking office, the Democrat has ordered the reunification of migrant children with their families, ended construction of the border wall and called for reviews of legal immigration programmes terminated by his predecessor. And since taking office, the Democrat has created a taskforce to reunify migrant children with their families, paused construction of the border wall, and called for reviews of legal immigration programmes terminated by his predecessor.
He has also presided over an influx of arrivals to the US southern border, including hundreds of unaccompanied children who are being held in US immigration detention facilities. He has also presided over a record-breaking influx of arrivals to the US southern border, including hundreds of unaccompanied children who are being held in US immigration detention facilities.
Here's a look at what Mr Biden has - and hasn't - done so far, and how it differs from Mr Trump.Here's a look at what Mr Biden has - and hasn't - done so far, and how it differs from Mr Trump.
US to allow in asylum seekers waiting in MexicoUS to allow in asylum seekers waiting in Mexico
Migrant girl held by US for 531 days and countingMigrant girl held by US for 531 days and counting
What voters think of Biden immigration policyWhat voters think of Biden immigration policy
Is there a surge at the border? DIFFERENT
Numbers of arriving migrants are definitely rising. Refugee cap
A growing influx of migrants has led to a record number of children - 3,200 - being held in US immigration facilities as of 8 March. In April, Mr Biden stunned his supporters by announcing plans to only allow 15,000 refugees into the US in 2021. The annual refugee cap was set by Mr Trump the year before, and was an historic low.
US media reported that the figure had trebled in the past two weeks alone. It was also reported that half of the children are being held beyond the legal three-day limit, after which they must be transferred to the custody of health officials. Mr Biden soon reversed course following a backlash, and raised the number to 62,500 refugees. He also pledged to increase the refugee cap in 2022 to 125,000.
In January, the month that Mr Biden took office, 5,871 unaccompanied children crossed the border - up from 4,995 in December - according to data from US Customs and Border Protection (CPB). About 110,000 refugees were admitted to the US in the last year of Barack Obama's final presidential term.
And CPB reported an average of nearly 3,000 arrests per day in January, the last month from which data is available, compared with an average of about 1,800 arrests in January 2020. Mr Biden also called for more refugees to come from Africa, the Middle East and Central America, and for an end to restrictions on resettlements from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
Data for February is not yet available, but CBS News reported that at least 7,000 migrant children entered the US that month.
The Biden administration has disputed that there is yet a "crisis" at the border. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told a reporter last week that it was "overwhelming" but not a crisis.
Mexican asylum seekers wait to register at a migrant camp at the US-Mexico borderMexican asylum seekers wait to register at a migrant camp at the US-Mexico border
This year's uptick is still modest compared with 2019, when border officials apprehended more than 76,000 unaccompanied minors. Separating families
But pressure is building at the southern border, and some reports suggest the numbers are on pace to overtake the record highs of that year. Over 178,000 people were arrested crossing the border in April, the most ever recorded in a single month.
Behind closed doors, Mr Mayorkas's comments suggest he might agree. He told senior officials last month to "prepare for border surges now" according to emails obtained by the Washington Times. Some 16,933 were children who were not travelling with their legal guardian encounters in April, down slightly from March figures, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
And last week Russell Hott, a senior official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) told staff in an email that arrivals of unaccompanied minors and families at the US border this year is expected to be the "the highest numbers observed in over 20 years," according to the Washington Post newspaper. The previous monthly high of 11,000 lone children recorded in May 2019 came during Mr Trump's presidency.
The influx of minors swiftly overwhelmed migration processing facilities and saw thousands of children put in CBP facilities originally designed to hold adults.
Mr Biden's critics have suggested that holding children in those detention facilities harkens back to a Trump-era policy, the major change being that children are held for less time under President Biden.
The numbers of children held by CBP dropped by 88% by early May, as the children were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services for temporary resettlement as their immigration case is heard by the courts.
Massive drop in children held by border officials
Unlike under Mr Trump, the Biden White House has not sought to crackdown on families arriving together by separating children from parents.
Mr Trump's so-called "zero tolerance" policy saw families divided by US authorities, in some cases with parents being deported back to their home countries without their children. The policy was reversed and some families - but not all - reunited.
A taskforce enacted by Mr Biden in January to reunite the remaining families began to do so in the US in early May. The panel estimates that about 1,000 families remain separated.
Mr Biden ended the Remain in Mexico policy on his first day in office
The Remain in Mexico policy
On Mr Biden's first day in office, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suspended a controversial Trump-era policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their US immigration hearings.
About 70,000 migrants were enrolled in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) - informally known as the Remain in Mexico programme - since it was introduced in January 2019.
In February, the Biden administration began to gradually process these tens of thousands of people waiting in Mexico, allowing them into the US while their cases are heard.
Still, Biden officials have stressed that migrants should not attempt to enter the US right now, saying more time is needed to rebuild the asylum systems they say were dismantled by Mr Trump.
Protections for Dreamers
The Biden administration has taken several steps to reform the country's legal immigration system.
The president has proposed a major immigration bill that would offer an eight-year pathway to citizenship to the estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the country.
The legislation would also provide permanent protection for young migrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, known as Dreamers.
As part of his efforts to curb immigration, Mr Trump had sought to end the programme in 2017, calling it unconstitutional. His efforts were ultimately blocked by the courts.
Mr Biden's pro-immigration policy - which would greatly increase both family-based and employment-based legal immigration - is facing staunch opposition in Congress, among Republicans and some moderate Democrats.
Border wall
After coming into office vowing not to build "another foot" of Mr Trump's border wall, Mr Biden signed an order on his first day in office to pause all wall construction and to end the national emergency declaration on the southern border.
He later ordered that military funds Mr Trump had tapped for the project be re-allocated, leading to a Republican-requested inquiry into whether Mr Biden had inappropriately re-directed congressionally approved funds.
Property owners near the border have complained that despite the pause, the government is still seeking to seize border lands for future construction using a process known as eminent domain.
Dozens of eminent domain cases brought by the federal government remain open and could take years for the courts to decide.
Some wall construction sites remain abruptly abandoned, with building materials strewn about, as construction had been ongoing right up until the moment of Mr Biden's order to halt.
How are migrants entering the US?How are migrants entering the US?
Migrants cross the border in one of two ways.Migrants cross the border in one of two ways.
Those who "have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution" in their home country are eligible for asylum when they present themselves at a port of entry for admission into the US.Those who "have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution" in their home country are eligible for asylum when they present themselves at a port of entry for admission into the US.
Others may evade immigration inspectors and border patrol by hiding in vehicles or travelling undetected across unprotected - and typically treacherous - sections of the US-Mexico border.Others may evade immigration inspectors and border patrol by hiding in vehicles or travelling undetected across unprotected - and typically treacherous - sections of the US-Mexico border.
According to the Pew Research Center, at least 40% of unauthorised migrants in the country entered legally on short-term visas and overstayed.According to the Pew Research Center, at least 40% of unauthorised migrants in the country entered legally on short-term visas and overstayed.
Are unaccompanied children being held? SIMILAR
Yes. Anti-Covid measures
While in office, Donald Trump faced outrage over the conditions inside border facilities holding minors. Images from inside the detention centres showed children overcrowded in metal cages, others sleeping under foil blankets. On Covid, Mr Biden has so far left a Trump-era emergency policy in place. The policy allows US authorities to automatically expel almost all undocumented migrants seeking entry, bypassing normal immigration laws and protections.
Some of these Trump-era facilities - now renovated and upgraded - are being used again. But unlike Mr Trump, Mr Biden has decided not to refuse entry to unaccompanied migrant children or teenagers.
Mr Biden has so far left a Trump-era Covid-19 emergency policy in place, which allows US authorities to expel almost all undocumented migrants seeking entry - bypassing normal immigration laws and protections. The Biden administration has defended the Trump-era policy in courts, where civil rights groups have sued to have the US asylum system continue processing claims.
But unlike Mr Trump, Mr Biden has decided not to refuse entry to migrant children or teenagers. Urging potential migrants to stay home
Migrant children are being held for an average of one month while sponsors are vetted, according to officials Without using the rhetoric of his predecessor, Mr Biden has called for migrants to not attempt the dangerous journey to the US in an effort to stem the recent influx.
Now, hundreds of migrant children are crossing the border each day, and thousands of minors have been detained in holding facilities at the country's southwest border in recent weeks. "I can say quite clearly: don't come over," he said in an ABC News interview in March.
Despite concerns about coronavirus, health officials the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have said these facilities can open at 100% capacity. "We're in the process of getting set up, don't leave your town or city or community," he added.
The children start out being held by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a maximum of 72 hours.
They are then turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) "to address the needs of that child", Secretary Mayorkas said, including vetting the sponsor families who will house the children while their cases are adjudicated in immigration court.
Children and teens are held by HHS for a month on average, he said.
How is Biden defending that?
Human rights groups and members of Mr Biden's own party have criticised the decision to hold children in government custody for the weeks or months it takes to match them with sponsors.
Some of Mr Biden's critics have suggested the process harkens back to Trump-era policy, the major change being that children are held for less time under President Biden.
Mr Mayorkas dismissed a comparison to Mr Trump's immigration programs as "absolutely inaccurate", saying his department was acting in the "best interest" of the migrant children.
Across the US, a number of churches have formed a movement to support undocumented migrants
But some advocates say that with most children arriving with plans to reunite with sponsors - typically friends or family - they should be transferred immediately to their care.
And according to preliminary plans obtained by US media, such a system may already be in the works.
The Biden administration is reportedly rushing to convert its existing facilities into "reception centres", meant to rapidly process migrant families with the goal of releasing them into the US within 72 hours of arrival.
The proposal would replace long-term detention with Ellis Island-style processing, allowing migrants to travel to US sponsors before completing asylum screenings. The reports, from the Washington Post and the San Antonio Express, suggest a major overhaul of the US immigration system.
Ellis Island: Gateway to the American Dream
According to Reuters, Defence Department officials are currently considering housing migrant children at a military base in Virginia.
What is happening with the Remain in Mexico policy?
On Mr Biden's first day in office, DHS suspended a controversial Trump-era policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their US immigration hearings.
About 70,000 migrants were enrolled in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) - informally known as the Remain in Mexico program - since it was introduced in January 2019.
Last month, the Biden administration began to gradually process these tens of thousands of people waiting in Mexico, allowing them into the US while their cases are heard.
Mr Biden ended the Remain in Mexico policy on his first day in office
Still, Biden officials have stressed that migrants should not attempt to enter the US right now, saying more time is needed to rebuild the asylum systems they say were dismantled by Mr Trump.
"A message to individuals who are thinking of coming to our border: they need to wait," Mr Mayorkas said last week. "It takes time to rebuild the system from scratch."
What's happening to undocumented people already in the US?
Biden's administration has taken several steps to reform the country's legal immigration system.
He has proposed a major immigration bill that would offer an eight-year pathway to citizenship to the estimated 11 million undocumented people in the country.
The legislation would also provide permanent protection for young migrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, known as Dreamers.
The aggressively pro-immigration policy - which would greatly increase both family-based and employment-based legal immigration - will face staunch opposition in Congress, among Republicans and some moderate Democrats.