The newly inaugurated American president, Joe Biden, has issued an executive order nullifying a travel ban imposed on some major countries’ citizens.
Mr Biden, immediately after his inauguration on Wednesday, issued several executive orders including one to reverse Trump’s immigration policies which restricted travel to the U.S.
The order directs the State Department to resume visa processing for those countries and develop a plan to address people affected, such as those denied entries into the United States.
The countries initially affected by former president Donald Trump’s travel ban include Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Chad, North Korea, Venezuela, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania.
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“There’s no time to waste…These are just all starting points,” he said before signing the 17 executive orders in the White House, a statement that connotes the possibility of many more to come.
Leaders and civic groups have condemned Mr Trump’s strict immigration policies in the past.
On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union lauded Mr Biden’s decision berating his predecessor’s travel policy a “cruel Muslim ban that targeted Africans.”
Biden is also propositioning a comprehensive immigration bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for roughly 11 million people living illegally in America. This legislation contrasts with the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict legal and illegal immigration during its four years in power.
The proposal calls for an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, down from 13, and an even shorter one for those known as Dreamers who were brought illegally as children to the US, as well as those with temporary protected status.
On Wednesday, Biden is also signing an executive order rescinding the Trump administration’s immigration-enforcement priorities that stepped-up patrols along the U.S. southern border and cast a wider net in the interior of the country. The decision clears the way for the Biden administration to set narrower targets.
Source: Daily Post
