AIS Applauds Biden Administration Rollbacks of Previous Policies Used to Harm Immigrant Survivors

Since the Biden Administration took office, we have seen a positive rollback of tools used to harm immigrant survivors and asylum seekers. We are excited to share with you some highlights, including the advocacy we have done together to improve access to safety for all survivors.

We aim to build on this momentum and will continue to provide resources and opportunities to join with us to center immigrant survivors and help hold the Biden administration and Congress accountable for their promises. We hope it’s time to not just roll back harmful policies, but to move forward by using administrative and legislative policies that strengthen protections for immigrant survivors.

Administrative Policy Updates

  • Notice to Appear: On his first day in office, President Biden rescinded the Notice to Appear (NTA) guidance from 2018. This cancelled 2018 policy guidance which stated that a NTA could be issued in cases where applications for survivor-based protections have been denied, including VAWA self-petitions and U and T visa applications. An NTA is a document instructing an individual to appear before an immigration judge and is the first step in starting deportation proceedings.

  • Public Charge: On March 9, the Biden Administration decided to stop defending lawsuits challenging the Trump-era public charge regulations. Right afterward, Federal courts dismissed the government’s appeals, meaning that the Trump Administration’s 2019 public charge rule is permanently blocked nationwide. Since it was first proposed, AIS and our Co-chairs have joined with hundreds of organizations as part of the Protect Immigrant Families (PIF) campaign to challenge the rule. Find out more.

  • Guidance for ICE and CBP in or near Courthouses: On April 27, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new guidance to limit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) civil enforcement actions in or near courthouses – a welcome and vital shift since many immigrant survivors are often too afraid to go to court to get help. We’d love to hear from you about your experiences with this new policy. If you’re witnessing situations or hearing that ICE is not following this policy in your area, please let us know by contacting us at info@immigrantsurvivors.org so that DHS can do more outreach with local ICE officials.

  • Biometrics: On May 10, USCIS withdrew the harmful proposed biometrics rule, initially published in September 2020. This rule would have posed significant privacy, confidentiality and safety implications for immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, and other crimes (see ASISTA’s previous comment).

  • USCIS Improvements: In a welcome shift, instead of adding impediments to the immigration system, USCIS under the Biden Administration is proactively seeking public input on identifying barriers to immigration benefits and services. AIS submitted our joint comment after coordinating a collective response from the field, including outreach to policy experts, advocates, and service providers and hosting a virtual listening session to elicit ideas and input. We’ll report back the outcome when announced.

  • TPS & DED Protections: Since coming into office, the Biden Administration has extended Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians and extended or designated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela, and most recently, Haiti, shielding some 150,000 Haitians living in the U.S. from deportation and making them eligible for work permits. We applaud the Biden Administration for taking these steps and recognize these decisions come only after years of concerted advocacy, often led by Black immigrants activists. For more about countries which currently have TPS due to designation or litigation, see Immigration Impact.

  • Title 42 Expulsions: There are also examples where the Administration should be taking action, but has yet to do so. Since March 2020, hundreds of thousands of people have been denied their right to seek asylum and expelled using a little-known provision of U.S. health law, section 265 of Title 42. Despite federal courts rejecting the legal basis for the use of Title 42, the previous Administration extended the order indefinitely. The Biden Administration amended Title 42 to exempt unaccompanied children from being expelled in response to a federal court order, but the rest remains largely intact, which continues to put refugees and asylum seekers in harm’s way.

  • VOICE office: In another example, the previous administration established the Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office purportedly to serve the needs of victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. Yet VOICE primarily served as a public relations office focused on supporting the narrative that immigrants commit high levels of crime. Biden promised to eliminate the office, but has yet to do so and must.

Legislative Updates