AILA Welcomes Biden Plans to Reimagine America's Immigration System

Washington, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomed details shared in recent news articles about the planned reimagining of America's immigration laws and policies by the incoming Biden-Harris administration. While much will be in the hands of Congress to accomplish, this reasoned framework lays out the guideposts of smart and necessary immigration reform, something our country has desperately needed for decades.

AILA President Jennifer Minear highlighted several key provisions of the proposed Biden legislation, including changes to strengthen the legal immigration system, reunify families, and provide a path to citizenship for undocumented people residing in the United States. She stated, "The Biden-Harris administration is offering creative solutions that will increase America’s prosperity by reuniting families separated by visa backlogs, addressing the root causes of migration from Central America, and creating a path to legal status and citizenship for Dreamers and so many others. Since the elections, AILA has been urging the new administration to implement these and many other reforms as set forth in AILA’s Vision for a Welcoming Nation. I am eager to stand with my colleagues and offer expertise and insights to ensure this vision becomes a reality."

AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson added, "It is so important that this new administration not just fix what Trump has broken, but make things better than they were four years ago. It is heartening to see that President Biden plans to have his agencies offer Temporary Protected Status to foreign nationals whose countries need protection from disaster and conflict but were deprived of that protection by the current president. Rescinding the bans, reducing the backlogs both for adjudications and for immigration court hearings, and reforming our asylum process are all crucial to restoring the integrity of our immigration system. However, deep, lasting change will require Congress to take action, particularly on the need to regularize the status of millions who work shoulder to shoulder with others in their communities, contributing their hard work and desire to belong to the fabric of our nation. With the roll out of these plans and proposals, President-elect Biden has begun a new conversation and shared a new vision on immigration, one full of possibility and purpose."

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 21011941.