End to the Muslim Travel Ban

Jersey City, New Jersey – The Biden administration came out of the gates quickly with several executive actions and policy directives in the first few days after taking the oath of office. These policies include putting an end to the Muslim Travel Ban, ending the expansion of expedited removal, and ending the remain in Mexico policy for asylum seekers. These are great first steps that will help millions of people. The administration has also made an announcement that it will send a bill to Congress seeking comprehensive immigration reform by eliminating the three- and ten-year bars, creating a path to citizenship for the undocumented and protecting and expanding DACA. It would be amazing if such changes to the laws could be passed, but it is essential that citizens and non-citizens understand the changes to immigration policy will take time, will not solve everyone’s problems all at once, will not help everyone who is not a citizen, and, worst of all, may not come close to making all the changes that are necessary or desired.

The Trump administration made a lot of horrible changes to the way the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) enforces and prosecutes the immigration laws. Among those changes were taking away the ability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), both Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”) and Office of Chief Counsel (“OCC”) to exercise discretion in making arrests, releasing on bond, consenting to terminate cases and who is removed and when. The Biden Administration has already changed the policy to return to pre-Trump era priorities, putting the focus on threats to national security and those with serious criminal convictions. The policies are currently temporary and will be adjusted and finalized at some point. But until they are, nothing can be taken for granted. Decisions must be made by taking into consideration the current policies and the potential implementation of new ones.

Most importantly, those hoping to benefit from changes in policies and laws must be careful. There will be many people, immigration lawyers, non-lawyers, paralegals, consultants and notarios who do not understand the changes, or who do not really care about whether they are helping people, who will take money to pursue course of action that are not beneficial or even detrimental to those from whom they take money. While the changes will benefit many people, they will not benefit or be useful to everyone and allowing blind optimism to steer decisions will hurt those who do so. It is essential to consult with and retain a lawyer who closely monitors and understands changes to policies and who will act in the client’s best interest.

Here at the Law Office of Eric M. Mark, we monitor changes in policies and court decisions every day. Where those changes will benefit our clients we are eager and ready to act accordingly. Where those changes will not benefit our clients, we will honestly inform the clients and look for alternative ways to achieve those goals.