Blumenthal Applauds Day One Executive Action to Support & Protect Immigrant Communities
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded several Executive Orders to support and protect immigrant communities President Biden will sign on his first day in office.
“These executive actions come as an incredible relief to immigrant communities that have been attacked, maligned, and physically torn apart. Today, I am thinking of the father and daughter I met in West Texas, the Connecticut families who have been forced to take refuge in church basements, and the Dreamers who have wept in the halls of Congress demanding justice,” Blumenthal said.
“President Biden’s actions today reasserts the United States as a nation of laws. These executive actions are the first steps towards a fair and just immigration system that truly reflects our values. Now Congress must follow suit.”
Today, President Biden will take executive action to reverse several of the Trump Administration’s harshest and most extreme immigration policies, supporting and extending protections for immigrant communities by:
Halting Harsh and Extreme Immigration Enforcement: President Biden will sign an Executive Order revoking a Trump Executive Order that directed harsh and extreme immigration enforcement. This revocation will allow the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to set civil immigration enforcement policies that best protect the American people and are in line with our values and priorities.
Protecting Dreamers: President Biden will sign a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, to take all appropriate actions under the law to preserve and fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Presidential Memorandum will also call on Congress to enact legislation providing permanent status and a path to citizenship for Dreamers who came to this country as children and have lived, worked, and contributed to our country for many years.
Reversing the Unconstitutional Muslim Travel Ban: President Biden will sign an Executive Action ending the Muslim Travel Ban. It repeals Proclamations 9645 and 9983, which restrict entry into the United States from primarily Muslim and African countries, and instructs the State Department to restart visa processing for affected countries and to swiftly develop a proposal to restore fairness and remedy the harms caused by the bans, especially for individuals stuck in the waiver process and those who had immigrant visas denied. The Executive Action also provides for the strengthening of screening and vetting for travelers by enhancing information sharing with foreign governments and capacity building with our partners, and directs reviews of other Trump
Administration “extreme vetting” practices.
Ending Construction on the Southern Border Wall: By proclamation, President Biden will declare an immediate termination of the national emergency declaration that was used as a pretext to justify some of the funding diversions for the border wall. The proclamation directs an immediate pause in wall construction projects to allow a close review of the legality of the funding and contracting methods used, and to determine the best way to redirect funds that were diverted by the prior Administration to fund wall construction.
Revoking Efforts to Exclude Noncitizens from the Census: President Biden will sign an Executive Order to revoke the prior Administration’s orders setting out an unlawful plan to exclude noncitizens from the census and apportionment of Congressional representatives.
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