Biden's immigration executive orders don't do much. That could be by design.
President Biden is set to sign another set of immigration-related executive orders on Tuesday — but they don't exactly do much.
While the actual wording of the orders has yet to be revealed, both a White House fact sheet and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki indicated they have more to do with reviewing the Trump administration's immigration policies than actually undoing them. The vague orders drew criticism from advocates who want Biden to reunite families split under the zero tolerance policy and end the so-called Remain in Mexico policy — things he will only be committing to looking into on Tuesday.
But as The Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell theorized, Biden's hedging could be his way of avoiding court challenges to heavy-handed orders.
Not sure, but I suspect that not putting more specific directives in EO itself is about implementing changes in a way that's more likely to stand up in court. Trump put specific, significant policy changes right into his EOs - and that may have made them more vulnerable under APA
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) February 2, 2021
Nicholas Bagley, an administrative law expert and professor at the University of Michigan, meanwhile argued Biden could be enacting a legal strategy. But seeing as both Biden's and former President Donald Trump's executive orders were often vague, it's more likely this is Biden's way to build "trust" among those invested in his policy goals.
2/2 It's more likely about stakeholder management and trust. Trump used his EOs to signal commitment and to box in administrators who might undermine/misconstrue his orders. Biden has less need to signal (at least for now) and thinks he's got the bureaucracy on his side.
— Nicholas Bagley (@nicholas_bagley) February 2, 2021
Also on Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas to head the Department of Homeland Security. Mayorkas will be the first immigrant to head the department that oversees the U.S. immigration system.
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