From migrants crossing the Mexican border to outgoing House speaker Paul Ryan recently calling to facilitate immigration from Ireland, alien status has been a key priority of the past two years of the Trump administration.
The flurry of legislative and executive activity on the topic has been met with significant opposition, both from American citizens and from the judiciary, as well as with outspoken support from the President’s base. Here we look at significant developments from the past year.
THE US-MEXICO BORDER
Since the presidential campaign and Donald J. Trump’s promise to build a wall on the US-Mexico border to curb immigration, the region has gained an almost symbolic status when it comes to policies and legislation on the topic. (For a closer look at the Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act of 2018, click here.)
In early November, in the context of a caravan of migrants crossing central America to the Mexico-US border, Trump signed a proclamation asserting that anyone coming to the US outside official ports of entry would be ineligible for asylum, citing national security to explain why he wanted to override existing legislation. This has been struck down by a federal judge in California who ruled that the White House didn’t have the relevant authority to proceed.
This wasn’t the first time the administration had sought to limit the number of refugees who could be admitted in the United-States. This summer, Trump announced a zero-tolerance policy for anyone crossing the Mexico-US border illegally which infamously resulted in families being separated, with parents jailed and children placed in custody or foster care. Following an international public outcry, the White House eventually issued a new executive order that families would be detained together.
PAUL RYAN’S BILL FOR IRISH IMMIGRANTS
Both the United-States and Ryan have a storied relationship to Irish immigration, as some of the speaker’s ancestors came from the European island. Thanks to the bill, Irish nationals could benefit from the same E-3 visa as Australians. This type of immigration is available to people in “specialty occupations” with at least a bachelor’s degree. Ryan’s idea was to offer any E-3 visa not used by Australians to Irish people, as about half of the 10,500 visas allocated are used every year. Ireland agreed to put reciprocal measures in place.
However, Ryan’s Bill, which was passed by the House but has yet the clear the Senate floor, has drawn bipartisan criticism of double standards. Many saw it as presenting immigration from the Global North as the preferred.
WHAT THE NEW CONGRESS MIGHT CHANGE
With a Democrat majority in the House, many expect significant challenges to Trump’s immigration policies over the next two years.
We’ll be keeping an eye on two pieces of legislation that have been under threat from the White House, but upheld by the courts: the Dream Act of 2017 and the American Promise Act. Both laws set up a path to citizenship for vulnerable migrants. The Dream Act focuses on undocumented immigrants who came as minors while the latter is for holders of temporary protected status (TPS) displaced by natural disasters, armed conflicts, etc. The House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has already announced that protecting DREAMers would be one of her legislative priorities, and these acts help to would fulfil such a promise.