In or Out? The Biden Administration’s Conflicting Messages on Immigration Policy

During the presidential campaign, Joe Biden set out an ambitious immigration agenda, pledging to end many of the Trump Administration’s brutal policies. He would stop building the wall, restore refugee admissions, rebuild the asylum system, cancel rules that harmed low-income migrants, reduce detention of immigrants and rein in the Border Patrol. His record so far has been quite mixed: wall construction has stopped but the COVID regulations remain in place; some asylum rules have been changed but the huge backlog of cases remains; Haitian asylum seekers coming from South America states have been summarily returned to Haiti; cooperation with Mexico and corrupt regimes in Central America to keep migrants from reaching the US continues; tens of thousands of Afghani refugees are stuck on military bases and elsewhere outside the US awaiting processing.

A panel of experts will evaluate these developments, prospects for the future and the likelihood of federal legislation.