On the first day of his presidency, Biden sent a comprehensive immigration plan to Congress, which included intentions for theDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
More than six months later, many of Biden's immigration-related promises have yet to be fulfilled. Why?
In July, a federal judge in Texas ruled DACA to be "unlawful," saying that former President Barack Obama exceeded his authority in creating the program, and suspended program applications. The pandemic has hampered the government’s processing of immigration cases, causing a backlog of new and renewal DACA applications that now remain in limbo due to the ruling.
Immigrant-rights activists are demanding President Biden do something to keep DACA alive and take more meaningful action to keep other immigration promises made on the campaign trail and in the early days of his presidency.
What are Biden's stated priorities for immigration reform and how does he plan to achieve those goals? What steps has his administration taken so far?
How long will it take to reverse the Trump-era immigration policies? What other hurdles will Biden have to overcome to move his immigration agenda forward?
What are Dreamers impacted by the recent DACA ruling? Will there be an appeal? When will backlogged applications be reviewed?
Guests:
- James Hollifield, Ph.D., professor and director of the Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs at Southern Methodist University, and a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C.
- Renuka Rayasam, Texas correspondent for POLITICO
- Ruth Wasem, Ph.D., clinical professor of policy practice in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center's Immigration Project
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or tweet @TPRSource.
*This interview was recorded on Thursday, August 12.