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Recent White House Actions on Immigration
Updated March 23, 2021
In the past several weeks, the Biden Administration has engaged in a series of executive actions on a
range of issues. Some concern the administration and enforcement of federal immigration laws. These
immigration-related initiatives purport to revise substantially Trump Administration policies that
generally prioritized immigration enforcement activities and restricted the ability of some non-U.S.
nationals (aliens) to enter the United States or pursue immigration benefits. Some of these prior policies
have been discussed and analyzed in other CRS products which can be found here. This Legal Sidebar
provides a brief overview of President Biden's executive orders and other directives relating to
immigration through March 23, 2021.
Presidential Proclamations Restricting Entry into the United States
Under § 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the President may suspend entry of all
aliens or any class of aliens whose entry he finds . .. would be detrimental to the interests of the United
States. Relying on @ 212(f), President Trump issued a series of proclamations restricting the entry of
aliens from designated countries on grounds related to national security and the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic. Through three iterative executive actions in 2017, sometimes called the Travel
Ban, the President provided for the exclusion of broad categories of nationals of specified countries,
most of which were predominantly Muslim. Though subject to legal challenge, the Supreme Court held
that these restrictions fell within the President's @ 212(f) authority. President Trump also issued several
proclamations restricting the entry of foreign nationals from certain regions and countries to deter the
spread of COVID-19 (President Trump later terminated some of these entry restrictions), and more
generally suspended the entry of certain immigrants and nonimmigrants (subject to exceptions) to protect
American workers during the COVID-19-related economic recovery.
On January 20, 2021, President Biden revoked the Travel Ban restrictions and directed Department of
State officials to resume visa processing for immigrant visa applicants from the designated countries. But
citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and emerging variant strains of the virus, President Biden on
January 25, 2021, suspended the entry of aliens who, within the prior 14 days, had been in Brazil, the
European Schengen Area, Ireland, South Africa, or the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories
outside Europe), subject to certain exceptions (e.g., lawful permanent residents [LPRs], foreign
government officials). President Biden has left intact former President Trump's COVID-19-related entry
restrictions for aliens who had been in Mainland China or Iran. President Biden has revoked the entry
restrictions that aim to protect American workers by barring certain immigrants, but has not acted on the
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10574
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govectl0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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