Immigration Reform

"I wholeheartedly support what [the Biden administration] is trying to do and I'm sure they're going to receive lots of criticism. But it's a long-term process, so I salute them for getting started," Mayor John Ferguson of Presidio, Texas, told Newsweek.

"I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border," Harris said in her speech Monday. "Do not come. Do not come."

The digital ad buy targeting Senate Democrats in their home states argues that they should work to deliver a pathway to citizenship even if Republicans are not on board.

"The hope is to get these people out of the shadows and into the light so that they can become contributing members of society as well," Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea told Newsweek.

The controversy began when eight Democrats voted in favor of an amendment in the COVID relief package from GOP Sen. Todd Young that aimed to block undocumented immigrants from receiving aid, prompting outrage among activists for 'mixed-status' households with undocumented migrants and U.S. citizens.

The SECURE Act would provide a pathway to permanent resident status for over 400,000 immigrants who have Temporary Protected Status after fleeing natural disasters and civil unrest in their home countries.

Though it didn't often come up during the 2020 campaign with immigration sidelined amid the pandemic and protests over police brutality, Trump and Biden fundamentally view immigration to the United States differently, with Biden welcoming it and Trump seeking to clamp down throughout his presidency.

Immigration activists are creating coalitions to hold the Biden administration accountable to the president's campaign promises, leaving open the possibility of intensifying public pressure.

Activists and Latino leaders were pleased by Biden's immigration proposal and executive orders to undo Trump's policies. The hard job: getting a bill passed now.

"Every time the van stopped to pick up another deportee, I was sure someone would come on board, point at me and say, 'Not that guy—he's a veteran.'"

Biden's boss Barack Obama was called the "Deporter in Chief." Immigrants and their advocates want to see what the new president does on immigration reform.

Even assuming a log-jammed Congress, there are still avenues for Biden to single-handedly provide temporary protection for millions of immigrants.

The incoming Biden administration plans to quickly introduce a sweeping immigration reform bill.

Neither political party wants to create immigration policy that elevates people—Americans and immigrants alike—above profit and power.

While weary and wary immigration activists count down the days until Biden can erase Trump's administrative orders, they do not see a large-scale legislative overhaul contained within one bill as a workable strategy any longer.

Until now, American Samoas were deemed "non-citizen nationals," and therefore denied the right to vote, run for office, work in certain jobs, sponsor family members for immigration and get federal aid for school.

"We're looking at a lot of different things having to do with illegal immigration," he said, calling on Congress to pass immigration reform legislation. "We're going to do whatever we can do to get it slowed down."

"ICE doesn't need to be abolished, it needs to be reformed," a former senior official with the agency said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan's challenger Randy Bryce just joined a chorus of 2018 progressives who want to see the Democratic Party take a stronger stance on ICE.

The Republicans didn't get money for the president's border wall; Democrats didn't get a solution on DACA. What now?

Democrats in Nevada worry that Latino voters feel disillusioned by the Democratic Party, whose leaders have put off immigration reform for almost a decade.

The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to intervene in several ongoing court cases against the Trump administration's decision to end the immigration program.

Maryland pastor calls comments Trump reportedly said about African nations and Haiti "dehumanizing."

Although not among the largest trade partners for the U.S., sub-Saharan Africa, El Salvador and Haiti are significant as Trump fumes over immigration reform.

The president has said Democrats are not doing anything to fix the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Applicants affected by mail delays will be allowed to resubmit their applications for DACA protections.

Only 112,000 out of 154,000 eligible immigrants have submitted renewal paperwork.

Trump said Thursday that "92 percent of the people agree on DACA," but it's not clear where that number comes from.

Trump has urged Congress to take up the issue, tweeting that lawmakers should "get ready to do your job."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday that he will wind down the Obama-era policy.