Evelyn Morales, 6, holds a sign during a media meeting of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition outside the state Capitol, March 19, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. | George Walker IV / AP
In his 2020 campaign pledge, President Joe Biden vowed to support and welcome newcomers, strengthening our nation. Earlier in his administration, he began taking steps in that direction.
On his , first day in company, Biden proclaimed an ending to his presidency’s” Muslim ban”, which quickly banned movement from some Muslim- bulk countries. And In February 2021, Biden , introduced an administrative order , aimed at reversing some of the Trump government’s harm to our immigration system, from household divorces to , bottlenecks in our prison system.
According to Biden,” gaining our borders does not need us to ignore the society of those who seek to mix them.” ” Nor is the United States safer when resources that should be devoted to attempts to stymie genuine asylum applicants are squandered on work that should be poured into policies targeting real challenges, such as drug cartel and human criminals, are squandered.”
Biden appeared to understand that being” tough” does not imply that you must help cruel and ineffective procedures. Unfortunately, as immigration has become a more polarizing topic, the administration has backed away from this more humane approach.
Instead, in many ways, Biden has actually continued down Trump’s path , on immigration.
For instance, the Trump administration imposed a Title 42 rule during the COVID pandemic, which allegedly meant to protect public health. Biden , continued to implement that policy , for years, even without the flimsy public health justification.
Along with new asylum restrictions and a measure that would grant the president the power to completely shut the border, Biden recently supported funding for a border wall he once promised to not fund. Biden is also , considering , using the same authority the Trump administration invoked in its Muslim ban to restrict asylum access.
A few weeks ago, Biden and Trump separately visited the U. S. Mexico border. Instead of proposing , actual solutions , to support our immigration system, Biden uplifted the failed , Senate bill—and even went so far as to invite Trump to” join him” in working for it to pass.
Biden had the opportunity to stand out from Trump during his State of the Union address in March. His speech, however, showed a clear disconnect between his words and his actions.
Biden said he would not demonize immigrants, but in the same speech used the offensive term “illegal immigrant“. No human being is “illegal”. Echoing that language is dehumanizing and exposes immigrant communities to violence. ( Biden later stated that he regrets using the phrase but did not make an apology. )
Biden said he would not separate families, but his current and proposed immigration policies , have separated and continue to separate families. He said he would not ban people from the country  , because , of their faith, but , his proposed action , would make asylum harder for nearly everyone , regardless , of their faith.
Biden has referred to the Great Famine in Ireland as a symbol for immigrants seeking a better life in the United States, invoking his Irish heritage. But families seeking shelter today from similar hardship would have  , extreme difficulty , getting into the country under the policies he wants to implement.
Once, Biden realized that punitive measures would neither make Americans or immigrants safer or more orderly our immigration system. He understood that we had to establish legal and citizenship paths, uphold our duty to provide refuge to asylum seekers, and uphold our country’s values.
If Biden’s sincere about finding real solutions, he needs to remember those commitments. It’s time to stop politicizing immigrants ‘ lives.
Institute for Policy Studies/Center for Law and Social Policy
As with all op- eds published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.
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