During his first hours in office, President Joe Biden on Wednesday afternoon signed three executive orders to make it easier to enter and then stay in the United States illegally.
One of the orders “reset[s] the policies and practices for enforcing civil immigration laws to align enforcement with [the administration’s] values and priorities.” In simpler terms, this means certain immigration laws will openly not be enforced under Biden’s reign.
A second order mandates that the Homeland Security secretary “take all appropriate actions under the law” to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. That same order also calls on Congress to enact legislation providing permanent status and a pathway to citizenship for people who were brought to America illegally as children.
Third, Biden ordered an “immediate termination of the national emergency declaration that was used as a pretext to justify some of the funding diversions” for the border wall being built on the United States’ southern border.
“The proclamation directs an immediate pause in wall construction projects to allow a close review of the legality of the funding and contracting methods used, and to determine the best way to redirect funds that were diverted by the prior Administration to fund wall construction,” an announcement from the administration reads.
This order asserts that “building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.”
“It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security,” the order adds. “It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall.”
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) released a statement opposing this move.
“I have serious concerns about President Biden’s executive order to stop construction of a wall along the southwest border,” said the freshman senator from Lee County. “Over the last four years, we have witnessed the effectiveness of more than 400 miles of new physical barriers in curbing illegal border crossings, assisting our border patrol agents in enforcing the law, and impacting daily apprehension rates. For the Administration to hit pause on those efforts sends the exact wrong message to our adversaries and those seeking to enter this country illegally.”
“If we stop effectively protecting our border, we will see American jobs impacted at a time when we need to be getting Americans back in the workforce,” Tuberville continued. “Not to mention an under-protected border will give way to an increase in drug flow and human trafficking – two issues on the rise in our country. If President Biden truly cares about getting American workers back on their feet after the pandemic and protecting our country, he will reconsider this decision and recommit to enforcing the laws as passed by Congress.”
It should also be noted that Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order ending travel bans from certain countries; while his administration claimed they were ending the so-called “Muslim Ban,” the fine print raises questions as to the accuracy of that statement in describing Biden’s actions. In fact, he is now allowing travelers from North Korea and Venezuela into the United States, breaking with the policy of the Trump administration; neither of these countries, of course, is anywhere close to being predominantly Muslim.
Additional countries Biden is newly allowing travel from include hotbeds of terrorism and crime: Chad, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
On his first day in office, President Biden has made it clear that putting Americans first is over. These priorities cater to foreign powers like China and Russia, encourage illegal immigration, and put devastating limits on efforts to rebuild our economy. https://t.co/sMZWE01INk
— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) January 20, 2021
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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