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On August 24, 2022 the Biden administration released a new regulation marketed to “fix” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Despite the government trying to convince the public that the rule is a very good thing, the final rule actually does exactly the same thing as the previous rule, much to the disappointment of all DACA applicants and immigration advocates. In line with the federal court decision from Texas in July of 2021, the “new” DACA program still prevents new applicants from applying for deferred deportation or the right to apply for a two-year work permit and only allows for renewals of existing approvals.
The Biden administration has not been spared criticism and pressure from immigration advocates for many policies rolled out over the last two years. Recently, advocates began calling on the president to start fast-tracking work permit requests to help the thousands of applicants stuck in immigration purgatory with their requests taking historically long. These advocates are also pressuring Biden due to the influx of illegal migrants arriving from Central and South America and being transported from Texas and Arizona to New York and Washington.
New York previously designated itself a sanctuary city for political reasons, but until recently, never had to experience what that really meant until Texas and Arizona started transporting illegal border crossers to their cities. Since the sanctuary designation mandates the city to provide shelter and support, the reported influx of over 4,000 asylum seekers to NYC in July has started straining their shelters and available resources. The executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York City is one of the advocates challenging the president to do more to help the people from our hemisphere by giving humanitarian parole, work authorization and possibly Temporary Protected Status (TPS) similar to that already given to refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration is already struggling in its efforts to help families separated after the abrupt U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Recently, the Biden administration announced the development of a new portal designed to help families reunite. Currently, families have been using email to request help from nonprofit groups and State Department officials to individually collect and verify the documents needed to meet the eligibility requirements for benefits in the U.S. Once the portal launches, it will be used as a central location for family members to upload information and be able to have relatives access the information for entry into the U.S. and is expected to greatly simplify and speed up reunification.
Another new initiative by the Biden administration processed through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is to consider making a temporary covid plan permanent. DHS had previously allowed businesses to remotely verify immigrant employees’ eligibility to work in the U.S. The DHS proposal released in the Federal Register would allow them to expand the temporary program that no longer required the physical inspect of immigrant workers’ eligibility documents within the first three days of being hired. Since this is only a proposal to allow DHS the ability to explore future options (rather than an actual proposed change to the current system), it is not clear whether employers will ever benefit from it or not.
As immigration continues to create new processes and make changes to existing ones, it is important to stay informed in case you or your family are able to benefit. If you have any questions about the confusing area of immigration law, please contact our office to schedule a consultation. You can do this by calling our office at +1 888 589 2228 or by using the following link to schedule an appointment online: https://marvinlawoffice.com/schedule-a-consultation/
