Biden's executive actions on immigration send mixed signals : Consider This from NPR (2024)

President Biden announced several executive actions on immigration this month, with each action sending very different messages.

In early June, he severely restricted asylum requests from migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border with no authorization, saying,

"This ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that our system can effectively manage."

The ban means that people who cross the border to ask for asylum, for the most part, will now be fast-tracked for deportation. This has garnered criticism from humanitarian groups, and civil rights groups are suing, saying that under U.S. law, migrants have a right to ask for asylum no matter how they came in.

Then just two weeks later, addressing a different group of immigrants, the president struck a more welcoming tone with the announcement of a different executive action.

"For those wives, their husbands and their children who have lived in America for a decade or more but are undocumented, this action will allow them to file paperwork for legal status in the United States, allowing them to work while they remain with their families in the United States."

This order could be life changing for thousands in the United States. But what is the strategy and impact of these contrasting messages from the president's camp?

Alejandro Medrano is originally from Mexico; now he lives in Pennsylvania. He's been in the U.S. for almost 20 years while married to his wife, Erin, who is a U.S. citizen.

He told NPR immigration correspondent Sergio Martinez Beltran that when he kisses his wife goodbye before work every day, he's not sure if it'll be their last.

Getting protection would change the couple's life. To some immigration advocates, that is a reason to celebrate. But other experts are tempering expectations about the actual impact of this policy.

Erika Shomer is a law professor at Saint Mary's University's Immigration and Human Rights Law Clinic in San Antonio, Texas.

She told NPR that immigrants will be protected on a case-by-case basis, so not every spouse of a U.S. citizen will qualify.

"This is not some sort of blanket amnesty that's just going to automatically overnight convert a whole bunch of people into residents or citizens."

NPR Immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd says that if Biden's messaging seems unclear, it's likely intentional.

"It's an election year. It's projected to be a close election. And one of the big issues is immigration. It's a centerpiece of former president Donald Trump's campaign. It's what Republicans accuse Biden of being weak on," Garsd explained.

"And even the Democratic Party has shifted further to the right on immigration in recent years. So Biden is balancing that political reality with the knowledge that he can't afford to alienate immigrant communities and many Latino voters."

This move to protect undocumented spouses has been described as a watershed moment.

"It is the most substantive thing a president has done to protect immigrants since Obama announced DACA back in 2012. But I think it's complicated," said Garsd.

"I'm at the border right now, and I can tell you there is still a humanitarian crisis. The only difference now is people who are desperate cannot ask for asylum. And a lot of people think that's a travesty. On the other hand, a lot of immigrants have told me they are thrilled that the president has taken the lead on protecting undocumented spouses and children. And I've also heard from people who say, 'You know what? Why didn't he do this sooner?'"