We can all picture it: the viral photo of Yanela Sanchez, a Honduran toddler wearing a baby pink shirt and crying desperately as U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detained her mother at the U.S.-Mexico border. The two asylum seekers were captured on film by photographer John Moore just before being whisked into a processing center to await their fate. While Yanela and her mother were lucky to remain together throughout the dangerous migration to the U.S., most aren’t. Pledging to end family separation and reconstruct our fiercely oppressive U.S. immigration system, Biden’s presidency would begin to minimize these tragic narratives.
Trump’s xenophobic anti-immigration rhetoric has fueled his racism and virulent opposition to more lenient policy. Thanks to him, American immigration policy lies in immoral shambles. Trump’s damage, rooted in racist rhetoric, barely begins with his obstructions to obtaining legal citizenship and his draconian visa policies. Trump also attacked the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program despite Supreme Court rulings favorable to it. In the past, he professed admiration for “Operation Wetback,” the largest forceful mass deportation of Latinx immigrants in American history.
In 54 days, Trump’s nightmarish presidency will be over. In the realm of immigration policy, his successor promises to become his polar opposite; under the Biden administration, we should expect to see clearer pathways to citizenship, the end of family separation, abandonment of Trump’s nascent border wall and a shift toward more inclusive rhetoric.
Biden’s approach to immigration is multifaceted; while he maintains a strong emphasis on humanitarianism abroad, he also aims to reassert American inclusivity. It is clear that his agenda will support all populations — not just Americans. As opposed to Trump’s exclusive outlook on global politics, Biden sees the world as one community and is ready to welcome newcomers.
His official statement about immigration policy reads that he will “take urgent action to undo Trump’s damage and reclaim America’s values, modernize America’s immigration system, welcome immigrants into our communities, reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees, tackle the root causes of irregular migration, [and] implement effective border screening.” These action-oriented steps prioritize the larger picture and promise to reform the landscape of immigration as a whole. Trump attacked immigrants who came to America seeking better living conditions, but Biden affirms he will attack the horrific spouts of violence and conflict that forced them to do so.
Moreover, Biden will likely act quickly in that vein via executive orders. Forbes predicts that Biden will likely “make a clean break from the Trump era.” Achieving this will include redacting all executive orders on immigration, including travel bans on Muslim countries but excluding those related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, Biden proves that his steps are not only about immigration; they are about an overturn of American rhetoric and perspective on immigration to be rooted in strength and community rather than crime and invasion. Biden has proposed a future that is inclusive and welcoming — he wants to open America to those who seek it.
Whether Biden is able to realize his vision of a more inclusive, lenient American immigration policy or not, his commitment to restoring inclusivity in the U.S. remains. Trump’s immigration policies, including his infamous detention centers, and his racist comments, such as “[Mexicans are] bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists,” haveembarrassed the U.S. internationally and exacerbated further racism at home.
However, America’s future as a more inclusive nation is by no means assured. Without a Democratic Senate, Biden’s dream for America — and the dreams of thousands seeking U.S. citizenship — will fail to materialize. Georgia has the power to stop that from happening. Two Senate runoff elections are approaching, and we must vote again. Not just for America but also for potential Americans — for those who have left their homes by choice or by force to arrive on the doorstep of the land of opportunity.
Lena Bodenhamer (24C) is from Fort Collins, Colorado.
