In one of his first moves as United States President, Joe Biden, yesterday, revoked his predecessor, Donald Trump’s travel ban on Nigeria.
The previous travel ban restricted immigrants from predominantly Muslim and African countries.
Biden directed the US State Department to resume visa processing for all affected countries and develop a plan to address them, especially those who were denied entry to the U.S.
The action also orders reviews of other “extreme vetting” practices used by the Trump administration, while directing the U.S. to improve information-sharing with foreign governments to improve screening of travelers.
Biden is also proposing an immigration bill that would facilitate citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US.
Other radical changes Biden has introduced includes a new proclamation halting the construction of Trump’s wall along the border with Mexico. It also rescinds the national emergency that Trump declared to secure funding for the wall.
In his early days in office, former President Trump announced he would suspend entry to travelers from seven mostly Muslim nations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. The policy also suspended refugee resettlement. Federal judges blocked the first version of the ban from being implemented. A third version went into place following numerous court challenges.
The ban also blocked entry to most people from Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and North Korea. It also restricted immigrant visas for people from Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Eritrea as well as for certain others from Venezuela and Tanzania.
Biden’s immigration legislation is ambitious, and as a result, it could face obstacles in Congress.
The proposal calls for an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, down from 13, and an even shorter one for those known as Dreamers who were brought illegally as children to the U.S., as well as those with temporary protected status.
The bill seeks to address the root causes of migration by bolstering assistance to Central American countries. It eases immigration for people fleeing violence and increases prosecution of human traffickers and drug smugglers. But it does not call for a major increase in border security measures in exchange, which could make it difficult to garner support from Republicans in Congress.
Biden is also restoring deportation protections for Liberians, which the Trump administration attempted to scale back.
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