Biden - Harris Immigration policy

Generations of immigrants have come to this country with little more than the clothes on their backs, the hope in their heart, and a desire to claim their own piece of the American Dream.

As president, Biden will secure The border, while ensuring the dignity of migrants and upholding their legal right to seek asylum.

He will enforce our laws without targeting communities, violating due process, or tearing apart families.

He will ensure our values are squarely at the center of our immigration and enforcement policies.

THE BIDEN PLAN FOR SECURING OUR VALUES AS A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS

Take urgent action to undo Trump’s policies

As president, Biden will move immediately to ensure that the U.S. meets its responsibilities as both a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

Here are the steps that he will take in the first 100 days in office:

• Immediately reverse the Trump Administration’s policies that separate parents from their children at our border, including ending the prosecution of parents for minor immigration violations as an intimidation tactic, and prioritize the reunification of any children still separated from their families
• Biden will end Trump’s detrimental asylum policies, starting with Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols, and restore our asylum laws so that they do what they should be designed to do–protect people fleeing persecution and who cannot return home safely.
• Biden will direct the necessary resources to ensure asylum applications are processed fairly and efficiently, while treating families and children with compassion and sensitivity.
• Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives. Biden will dramatically increase U.S. government resources to support migrants awaiting assessment of their asylum claims and to the organizations providing for their needs.
• End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program. Biden will codify protections to safeguard children to make sure their treatment is consistent with their best interest and invest in community-based case management programs, including those supported by faith-based organizations such as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, to move migrants into safe environments as quickly as possible.
• Reverse Trump’s public charge rule.
• End the National Emergency that siphons federal dollars from the Department of Defense to build a wall. Biden will direct federal resources to smart border enforcement efforts, like investments in improving screening infrastructure at our ports of entry, that will actually keep America safer.
• Biden will reinstate the DACA program, and he will explore all legal options to protect their families from inhumane separation. 
• Biden will immediately rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”
• Biden will protect TPS and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders from being returned to countries that are unsafe. TPS/DED holders who have been in the country for an extended period of time and built lives in the U.S. will also be offered a path to citizenship through legislative immigration reform.
• Biden will direct enforcement efforts toward threats to public safety and national security, while ensuring that individuals are treated with the due process to which they are entitled and their human rights are protected. He will also protect sensitive locations from immigration enforcement actions. No one should be afraid to seek medical attention, go to school, their job, or their place of worship for fear of an immigration enforcement action.
• Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.
• Protect and expand opportunities for people who risked their lives in military service. 
• The Biden Administration will streamline and improve the naturalization process to make it more accessible to qualified green card holders.
• Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.
• A regional problem requires a regional solution, so Biden will immediately convene regional partners to institute a comprehensive, multi-national plan to address the challenges.

Modernize America’s immigration system

Biden will commit significant political capital to finally deliver legislative immigration reform to ensure that the U.S. remains open and welcoming to people from every part of the world–and to bring hardworking people who have enriched our communities and our country, in some cases for decades, out of the shadows. Joe Biden will work with Congress to pass legislation that:

• Creates a roadmap to citizenship for the nearly 11 million people who have been living in and strengthening our country for years. Biden will aggressively advocate for legislation that creates a clear roadmap to legal status and citizenship for unauthorized immigrants who register, are up-to-date on their taxes, and have passed a background check. 
• Biden will work with Congress to reform the current system of temporary work visas to allow workers in these select industries to switch jobs, while certifying the labor market’s need for foreign workers. 
• Biden will work with Congress to first reform temporary visas to establish a wage-based allocation process and establish enforcement mechanisms to ensure they are aligned with the labor market and not used to undermine wages. Then, Biden will support expanding the number of high-skilled visas and eliminating the limits on employment-based visas by country, which create unacceptably long backlogs. 
• Biden supports compromise legislation between farmworkers and the agricultural sector that will provide legal status based on prior agricultural work history, and a faster-track to a green card and ultimately citizenship. Biden also will ensure labor and safety rules, including overtime, humane living conditions, and protection from pesticide and heat exposure, are enforced with respect to these particularly vulnerable working people.
• As president, Biden will support family-based immigration by allowing any approved applicant to receive a temporary non-immigrant visa until the permanent visa is processed;
• Biden will reaffirm our core values and preserve the critical role of diversity preferences to ensure immigrants everywhere have the chance to legally become U.S. citizens.
• Increases the number of visas offered for permanent, work-based immigration based on macroeconomic conditions.
• Biden will support a program to allow any county or municipal executive of a large or midsize county or city to petition for additional immigrant visas.
• Biden will work with Congress to ensure that employers are not taking advantage of immigrant workers and that U.S. citizen workers are not being undercut by employers who don’t play by the rules
• Expands protections for undocumented immigrants who report labor violations
• Biden will increase visas for domestic violence survivors And, he will triple the current cap of 10,000 on U-visas. 

Welcome immigrants in our communities

Immigrants are bringing new life to local economies–starting businesses, paying taxes, and spending their dollars back into their new communities. It’s time for the federal government to listen and learn from local municipalities across the country that have built vibrant and inclusive communities and economies by developing concrete policy and program recommendations at the grassroots level to provide opportunities for new immigrants:

• Marshal federal resources, through the reestablishment of the Task Force for New Americans, to support community efforts to welcome immigrants.
• Push to repeal extreme, anti-immigrant state laws that have a chilling effect on the ability of immigrant domestic violence, sexual assault survivors, and other victims of crimes to seek safety and justice
• Expand long overdue rights to farmworkers and domestic workers.

Reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees 

• Surge asylum officers to efficiently review the cases of recent border crossers and keep cases with positive credible-fear findings with the Asylum Division
• Restore asylum eligibility for domestic violence survivors.
• Apply U.S. asylum laws to those fleeing political persecution.
• Double the number of immigration judges, court staff, and interpreters.
• Biden will ensure that facilities that temporarily house migrants seeking asylum are held to the highest standards of care and prioritize the safety and dignity of families above all. 
• Increase the number of refugees we welcome into the country.

Tackle the root causes of irregular migration 

As president, Biden will pursue a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the security and prosperity of Central America in partnership with the people of the region that:

• Addresses the root causes of migration by fostering greater security, economic development, and respect for the rule of law in Central America
• Biden will update the Central American Minors program for certain children seeking to reunify with U.S. relatives, allowing them to apply for entry from their home countries

Implement effective border screening

The border between Mexico and the U.S. shouldn’t be treated like a war zone; it should be a place where effective governance and cooperation between our two countries helps our communities thrive and grow together:

• Invest in better technology coupled with privacy protections at the border, both at and between ports of entry, including cameras, sensors, large-scale x-ray machines, and fixed towers
• Improve cross-agency collaboration. Multiple federal agencies collect information on transnational criminal organizations that smuggle people, arms, and illegal narcotics
• Work with Mexico and Canada as partners — not as adversaries. Biden will build partnerships grounded in respect to pursue our shared interests and enhance our shared capabilities and information. 

Read more and in-depth about Biden's immigration policy here