Biden signs immigration executive orders and establishes task force to reunite separated families
(KYMA, KECY, CNN)- President Joe Biden signed three executive orders Tuesday that take aim at his predecessor's hardline immigration policies and try to rectify the consequences of those policies, including by establishing a task force designed to reunite families separated at the US-Mexico border.
The latest orders build upon the actions taken in Biden's first days in office and begin to provide a clearer picture of the administration's immigration priorities.
"I'm not making new law, I'm eliminating bad policy," Biden said at the White House, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, of the stream of executive orders he's signed as President.
"This is about how America's safer, stronger, more prosperous when we have a fair, orderly, and humane legal immigration system," Biden said.
The orders signed Tuesday largely direct reviews of policies and do not have an immediate impact, concerning immigration advocates and attorneys scrambling for answers on the future of migrants subject to Trump-era policies.
Alida Garcia, vice president of advocacy at FWD.us, told CNN she was excited about Tuesday's announcements, but noted that there's also "frustration around the urgency that exists for service providers to have clarity in their ability to advise people in life or death situations."
"We hope to hear more hard logistics soon," she added.
Hours into his presidency, Biden moved to swiftly undo many Trump administration policies in a series of executive actions. He also sent an immigration bill to Congress. But his administration has already faced legal hurdles in implementing those policies. Last week, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked Biden's 100-day pause on deportations, as the case proceeds.
