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Ruben Navarrette Jr., Opinion columnist Published 4:00 a.m. ET Dec. 8, 2020 | Updated 4:55 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2020

Biden has made a lot of lofty promises about immigration reform. We'll see if he actually delivers.

SAN DIEGOWhat will President-elect Joe Biden do with regard to the thorny issue of immigration?

As someone who has written about this topic for three decades and who followed closely the missteps, mistakes and misdeeds of the last administration in which Biden served heres my advice:Mr. President-elect, every time you formulate a policy or face a predicament on immigration, ask yourself, What would former President Barack Obama do? Then do the opposite.

Biden is off to an encouraging start with his first Latino Cabinet pick Homeland Security Secretary-nominee Alejandro Mayorkas.The Cuban American, a former U.S. Attorney who was director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Obama administration, seems to favor a kinder and gentler approach to immigration

Already, Mayorkas is trying to calm immigrant advocates who worry about the return of Obama-style mass deportations.

He tweeted: When I was very young, the United States provided my family and me a place of refuge. Now, I have been nominated to be the DHS Secretary and oversee the protection of all Americans and those who flee persecution in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

In 2017, Mayorkas told PBSJudy Woodruff that he favored expanding theDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program which he developed and shepherded to include more people, based on their age when they came to the United States.

As for Obama, there is a reason the 44th president was heckled by undocumented young people. Theres a reason why immigrant advocates including then-Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., were arrested for protesting outside the White House during the Obama years. And theres a reason why immigration activists picketed outside the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, during the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Obama was vexed by immigration. He couldnt get it right. Heres an executive summary of what went wrong:

Obama broke his campaign promise to make immigration reform a top priority.

Vastly expanded the Secure Communities program, which enlisted local and state police to help in the apprehension of undocumented immigrants.

Deported 3 million people in eight yearsand put into foster care tens of thousands of U.S.-born children whose parents got deported.

Refused initially to halt deportations, insisting he wasnt "a king."

Claimed falsely that his administration only deported criminals.

Ordered, in 2014, thousands of Central American refugees to be removed without due process;jailed thousands of others, including infants and toddlers housed in what activists called baby jails; and released a third group into the custody of U.S. relatives only to round them up a little over ayearlater.

Whenever he faced pushback from the left, blamed the heavy-handed approach on Republicans in Congress whom he supposedly needed to please so he could get through a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters on July 17, 2020.(Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

No such bill was ever produced. The only part of the Obama immigration agenda that turned out to be real was the pain that his administration inflicted on immigrant communities.

The one bright spot was DACA, a change in executive policy by the Department of Homeland Security. Undocumented young people brought here as childrencould apply for a two-year work permit and have their deportation deferred temporarily.

The catch: Recipients had to turn themselves into authorities, get photographed and fingerprinted, and hand over their home address.That was a good deal for the authorities, but as we learned when Donald Trump became president and ended DACA, leaving more than 600,000 recipients vulnerable to deportation not so good for "Dreamers."

What a debacle. Its no wonder thatas Obamasvice president, Biden tried to avoid the topic of immigration during his own presidentialcampaign.

In November 2019, Biden was confronted at a town hall in Greenwood, South Carolina. Carlos Rojas, a Latino immigrant advocate, grilled Biden about Obamas immigration record. Rojas was fishing for an assurance from the Democratic candidate for president that, if elected, he would not repeat Obamas mistakes. Biden defensively snapped at Rojas: "You should vote for Trump!

This February as primaries in states with heavy Latino populations loomed Biden finally acknowledged that the Obama administration had bungled its policy toward immigrants and refugees. They made a big mistake, Biden told Univisions Jorge Ramos before the caucuses in Nevada, where 30% of the population is Latino.

We can't win on immigration alone: Latinos helped elect Biden, but Democrats can do better

The president-electhas promised to issue in the first 100 daysmore than a dozen executive orders and policy changes rolling back Trumps immigration policies.He vowed to reinstate DACA, halt construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, stop separating families, end prolonged detentions,restore asylumand curb deportations.He even promised to send Congress a bill to give legal status to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Dont hold your breath. The same political considerations that tripped up Obama are likely to ensnare Biden.

Obama drove his immigration policy into a ditch by trying to be simultaneously tough and compassionate. He turned out to be much better at the former than he was at the latter.

Now Biden is likely to travel the same road. He cant afford to be seen as soft on border security. If Biden encounters a migrantcrisis like the one that flummoxed Obama in 2014, we can expect him to follow Obamas example and make all the same errors in judgment.

Obama was squeezed between Latinos who wanted legal status for the undocumented and a more lenient approach to deportations, and white working class union members and African Americans who feeling overrun by Latino immigrants and seeing the prospect of legalizing millions of them as economic suicide because it would only increase competition for jobs favored the opposite approach.

Biden will now find himself between the same rock and hard place. Expect him to bring back DACAand call it a day. He may yield to the demand of immigrant activists to strengthen the program and make it permanent, or he couldbe satisfied with just taking DACA back to what it was on the last day of the Obama administration.

Either way, there wont be much else happening on immigration, and Biden will blame his failure to produce anything more on a GOP-controlled Senate led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Meanwhile, deportations will continue at roughly the same pace that theyre happening now, which is an improvement over Obamas deportation juggernaut. And a mass granting of legal status which the right-wing derides as amnesty" will never be mentioned again.

Policy over president: Why activists for police, immigration reform need to focus on policies, not presidents

Thats a far cry from what Biden promised a group of Hispanic supporters in September when he traveled to Kissimmee, Florida, for an event to mark Hispanic Heritage Month. He said that, if elected, he would commence to finally building an immigration system that treats people with dignity and is true to American values.

Thats not likely to happen. The politics of immigration wont allow it to happen. The players change,But the game stays the same.

Ruben Navarrette Jr., a member of the USA TODAYBoard of Contributors, is a syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Groupand host of the podcastNavarrette Nation. Follow him on Twitter:@RubenNavarrette

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On immigration, Biden should look to the Obama administration and do the opposite - USA TODAY

But Biden's efforts could be thwarted if migration at the southern border surges next year, as some expect it to, following a spate of hurricanes in Central America, the economic downturn and Trumps departure. And the incoming presidents focus on immigration could end up losing out to other priorities the most pressing of which includes controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, digging the country out of a painful economic recession, restoring relationships with the countries Trump alienated and tackling climate change.

Reversing everything President Trump did to secure our borders, curb asylum abuse and protect American workers isnt only bad policymaking that will trigger a crisis, its a political plank walk, said RJ Hauman, government relations director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors immigration restrictions. We hope that commonsense and the weight of responsibility for a nation reeling from a pandemic will alter Bidens radical immigration plans once he enters the Oval Office.

The Biden transition did not respond to questions about their immigration agenda.

The incoming president also faces enormous pressure from progressive circles to follow through on his promises to quickly undo Trumps policies and be more welcoming to immigrants than former President Barack Obama, who was dubbed the deporter in chief.

As this pressure has mounted, Biden has placed staffers with immigration policy backgrounds throughout his administration.

For DHS secretary, Biden will nominate Alejandro Mayorkas, the first immigrant and Latino to lead the department. Over at the White House, Pili Tobar, who worked for the Latino Victory Project and the advocacy group Americas Voice, will become deputy communications director. And Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who previously helped run her grandfather Cesar Chavezs foundation, will lead the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Bidens team will have a few moves they can do right away.

After entering office, Biden is expected to instantly repeal the ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries, halt further funding for the southern border wall and lift a moratorium on foreign workers implemented during the pandemic.

But other steps will take longer.

For instance, Biden wants to raise annual refugee admissions from 15,000 to 125,000 but must first build up the capacity to accept such a swift increase. His team will also take over the arduous campaign to find the families of more than 600 children separated from their parents at the southern border. Other regulatory changes will naturally take time, such as revising the criteria used to turn away or admit asylum seekers.

And even Bidens goal of fully reinstating an Obama-era program that offers work permits and legal protections to so-called Dreamers the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children is expected to face years of court challenges.

Its going to have to be a very thorough undertaking, said Manar Waheed, a senior legislative and advocacy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union's immigration wing. There are many, many regulations that have to be rescinded, and it cant be undone overnight. And thats just to get back to where we were, not even to move forward.

Immigration advocacy groups, many of which worked to turn out voters for Biden this fall, are now leaning on the Biden administration to act aggressively.

Greisa Martinez, the executive director of United We Dream, is among those pushing for an indefinite moratorium on deportations and detentions of immigrants. Biden has currently only pledged a 100-day pause on deportations. Martinez also wants Biden to allow the return of people the Trump administration deported who still have family in the U.S.

In the first 100 days, we believe he needs to be bold, swift and act without hesitation, she said. Black and Latinx people showed up for real change in November and gave him a real mandate.

The latest news in employment, labor and immigration politics and policy.

Other advocacy groups, such as Movimiento Cosecha, are pushing for Biden to extend legal protections for undocumented immigrants beyond Dreamers and those displaced by war and natural disasters.

We want to see a program that protects anybody, that doesnt exclude anybody due to age or country of origin," said Carlos Rojas Rodriguez, an organizer who confronted Biden on the campaign trail about his immigration record. If youre a person of good moral character, you shouldnt live under the fear of being separated from your family.

Then theres the desire to offer a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally a policy change that would require Congress to act.

Biden has vowed to push Congress to craft an immigration deal, but that will be tough even if Democrats win a narrow majority in the Senate by capturing both Senate seats set for runoff elections in Georgia next month.

In recent years, Congress has repeatedly tried and failed to enact major overhauls to the immigration system. Presidents of both parties, including George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump, have all urged Congress to act to no avail.

Still, Democrats plan to offer a comprehensive immigration bill that Biden can support. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) is drafting legislation Democrats hope to introduce in January.

There are no magic wands for transforming immigration policy, but what you can change on Day 1 is the atmospherics around immigration, said Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute. Changing policy is going to take time.

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Biden pledged to undo Trumps immigration policies. It will take time. - POLITICO

WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today spoke at the American Business Immigration Coalitions Summit, entitled Reigniting the Economic Engine: Immigration Solutions 2021, about the possibility of comprehensive immigration reform under a Democratic-controlled Senate. Durbin was a member of the Gang of 8 four Republicans and four Democrats that authored comprehensive immigration legislation that passed the Senate in 2013.

If Democrats take the majority in the Senate, we would have the opportunity to reestablish the moral authority, credibility, and relevance of the Judiciary Committee. We would partner with the Biden-Harris Administration, and reach across the aisle to Republicans who are willing to work with us in good faith to repair the damage of the last four years, Durbin said. With Democrats in the majority, we could again advance comprehensive immigration reform legislation. My Democratic colleagues and I are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work if we are entrusted with the majority.

Durbins remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

I want to thank my friend Zaher Sahloul for that generous introduction. Dr. Sahloul has done extraordinary humanitarian work providing medical care in Syria and other war-torn regions. I want to congratulate Dr. Sahloul for recently receiving the 2020 Gandhi Peace Award, a well-deserved recognition of his work.

Thank you to the American Business Immigration Coalition for the invitation to join you today. And thank you for your important work to highlight the economic contributions of immigrants and to advocate for bipartisan immigration reform.

I want to especially acknowledge ABICs extraordinary and energetic Executive Director, Becca Shi.

One month from now, the voters of Georgia will determine whether the United States Senate remains in Republican control, or whether Democrats will take the majority. Make no mistake, the future of immigration reform is on the ballot in Georgia.

To understand what is at stake, look no further than the Senate Judiciary Committee, where I have proudly served for 22 years.

We are now in the final days of four years under the most anti-immigrant President in modern history.

And for the last four years, Republicans leading the Senate Judiciary Committee have turned a blind eye to the worst abuses of the Trump era.

Separating thousands of children from their parents at the border. Banning Muslim immigrants. Ending deportation protections for Dreamers who know no home other than America. Dropping refugee numbers to record lows in the midst of the worst refugee crisis in history.

The Judiciary Committee traditionally holds annual oversight hearings to examine the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. But for the last two years, Republicans have not held a single oversight hearing.

Im proud to serve as the top Democrat the Ranking Member on the Immigration Subcommittee. But with Republicans in charge, the Immigration Subcommittee has held a grand total of one hearing during the last two years.

I would have liked to ask this Administration some questions about immigration. For example, what are they doing to reunite more than 600 children with their parents who still cannot be found? But we didnt have that chance.

Now Id like to talk about an issue that is personal to me. It was 20 years ago that I introduced the Dream Act, bipartisan legislation to give a path to citizenship to Dreamers, young immigrants who grew up in this country.

The Dream Act passed the House in 2010, when Democrats had the majority, but it was filibustered in the Senate by Republicans.

When Democrats had the majority in the Senate, we passed bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation including the Dream Act. But by then Republicans controlled the House and they refused to even debate our bill.

It was ten years ago that I joined with Republican Senator Dick Lugar on a bipartisan basis to call on the President to use his legal authority to protect Dreamers from deportation.

President Obama responded by creating the DACA program. DACA provides temporary protection from deportation to Dreamers if they register with the government, pay a fee, and pass criminal and national security background checks.

More than 800,000 Dreamers came forward and received DACA. DACA unleashed the full potential of Dreamers, who are contributing to our country as soldiers, teachers, and small business owners.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 200,000 DACA recipients are essential critical infrastructure workers. Thats not my term. Its the definition of President Trumps Department of Homeland Security.

Among these essential workers are 41,700 health care workers.

On September 5, 2017, President Trump repealed DACA. Hundreds of thousands of Dreamers faced losing their work permits and being deported to countries they barely remember.

Federal courts stepped in and ordered the Trump Administration to continue DACA for Dreamers who already had received this protection.

However, Dreamers who had not already received DACA have been blocked for applying for this protection for more than three years. The Center for American Progress estimates that approximately 300,000 Dreamers have been unable to apply for the program in that time.

On June 18, the Supreme Court rejected President Trumps repeal of DACA.

In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court held that the Presidents effort was, quote, arbitrary and capricious.

On June 19, the day after the Supreme Court ruling, I led a letter from 43 Democratic Senators to President Trump.

We called on the President to immediately comply with the Supreme Courts decision and reopen DACA to all eligible individuals.

Nearly six months later, we still have not received a response to our letter. And the Trump Administration still refuses to reopen DACA to 300,000 Dreamers who have not had a chance to apply for this protection.

Acting Department of Homeland Security head Chad Wolf issued a memo saying DHS will reject new DACA applications. But a federal judge has held that Mr. Wolf is illegally serving as Acting Secretary so his memo is invalid.

There is something the Senate could do about this today. On June 4, 2019, the House of Representatives passed the Dream and Promise Act on a strong bipartisan vote. This legislation, which is based on the Dream Act, would give a path to citizenship to Dreamers.

The Dream and Promise Act also would provide a path to citizenship to 400,000 immigrants who have been living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS.

More than 90 percent are originally from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. Most have lived in the United States for more than two decades.

As with DACA, TPS recipients must register with the government, pay a fee, and clear criminal and national-security background checks.

Like DACA recipients, TPS recipients are making important contributions to our nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 130,000 TPS holders are essential critical infrastructure workers, including 11,600 health care workers.

Two years ago, I negotiated bipartisan legislation with a path to citizenship for DACA and TPS recipients, but President Trump profanely dismissed our bill in an infamous meeting in the Oval Office.

Instead, the President is trying to rescind TPS protections and deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants with deep roots in our country.

The Dream and Promise Act has now been pending in the Senate for a year and a half.

On June 22, I sent a letter, signed by all 47 Democratic Senators, calling on Senator Majority Leader McConnell to immediately schedule a vote on the Dream and Promise Act. Nearly six months later, Senator McConnell has not even bothered to reply to our letter.

If Democrats take the majority in the Senate, we would have the opportunity to reestablish the moral authority, credibility, and relevance of the Judiciary Committee.

We would partner with the Biden-Harris Administration, and reach across the aisle to Republicans who are willing to work with us in good faith to repair the damage of the last four years.

With Democrats in the majority, the Judiciary Committee and then the full Senate could take up and pass the Dream and Promise Act.

But there is much more to do to fix our broken immigration system and honor our heritage as a nation of immigrants. With Democrats in the majority, we could again advance comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

My Democratic colleagues and I are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work if we are entrusted with the majority.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be with you today. I look forward to working with you to finally fix our broken immigration system.

Text @RB to 618-202-4618 to sign up for Text Alerts from RiverBender!

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Durbin Speaks With American Business Immigration Coalition About Need For Reform - RiverBender.com

Being an immigrant in the United States in the past few years has been difficult, to say the least. The toxic rhetoric against immigration coming out from the White House from day one of the Trump presidencyand the fact that it enjoyed popular support by the Republican basemade many of us rethink whether it was time to simply leave this country for good. Perhaps the most salient feature of Trumps legacy was that he and his policies put in doubt whether America will continue to hold on to its self-proclaimed title of a country of immigrants.

To summarize what the Trump administrations anti-immigration rhetoric and policies consisted of is: Simply put, there is no place for immigrants in America. Over the past four years, over 400 executive actions directly targeted immigration and immigrants of all backgrounds. It was not only about illegal immigration, and it was not only about unskilled foreign workers. It was a full-fledged attack on immigrants across the board.

At first, the White House went against immigrants from Muslim-majority countries in a move that many analysts early on categorized as racist. Then the White House attacked undocumented immigrants, categorizing them as criminals (despite there being abundant evidence contesting such claims) and calling for a more active deportation policy. Next, the Trump administration cut the number of admitted refugees to the United States to its lowest level in 40 years, and actively established inhumane policies to deter refugees crossing from Central America, such as separating minors from their parents and putting them in cages. Finally, claiming without evidence that the ultimate goal was protecting American jobs amid the pandemic, the Trump administration restricted the issuance of green cards and work visas for highly skilled individuals (a move that me and co-authors estimate cost over $100 billion dollars to the U.S. economy almost overnight).

One of the most obvious deductions of what we saw in the past four years is that without a robust institutional binding framework in place to administer global migration flows, any future president could do and undo as he or she pleases.

With the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, most of the world can be relieved that this circus of nonsense anti-immigration policies will come to an end. At least for now. To me, one of the most obvious deductions of what we saw in the past four years is that without a robust institutional binding framework in place to administer global migration flows, any future president could do and undo as he or she pleases. The truth is that there is too much at stake to let that happen: not only the livelihoods of about 250 million immigrants in the world50 millions of them in Americabut also the well-being of the global economy that partly relies on the hardworking and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants wherever they are.

With the likely scenario of a Republican-controlled Senate, a divided government will make it nearly impossible for the incoming Biden-Harris administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform of the sort that the U.S. needs. For instance, offering a practical and a just path to citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrantsincluding Dreamersis a win-win policy: By eliminating once and for all the uncertainty of an imminent deportation, these immigrants will be more likely to make long-term investments in their childrens education, their communities, and their businesses. In addition, the government must get rid of the arbitrary yearly limit of 65,000 H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers, or at the very least, it must allow for the cap to increase along with the demand for skills. A similar case can be made about limits to refugee admissions. Ongoing unresolved conflicts and climate change will likely continue to push entire communities to flee their homes in search of refuge somewhere else. Furthermore, reforms such as offering permanent residence or a path to citizenship to foreign students who complete graduate school in the U.S. would also be smart policy.

But, realistically, we are unlikely to see an ambitious domestic agenda on comprehensive migration reform in the next four years. Hence, it makes sense for the incoming administration to put efforts into the international arena where, without the need for Congressional involvement, important steps can be made to construct an ambitious and robust global governance apparatus for international migration, which could serve as an important stepping stone for a domestic comprehensive migration reform down the road.

In this context, the very first action item for the Biden-Harris administration is to rejoin the United Nations Global Compacts for Migration and for Refugees, which despite being not much more than a multicountry declaration, under the right leadership, it can serve as the basis for establishing a system of global governance with practical policies to administer migration flows. For instance, expanding bilateral or multilateral agreements to include Global Skill Partnerships, so that immigrants can receive training before moving to better satisfy the demand for certain skills in their future destinations, or establishing an international rule system to govern refugee resettlement using market-like mechanisms, to name a couple. These practical global or regional agreements inspired by the Global Compacts should be the basis for a robust and comprehensive institutional framework to govern international migration, such as what we currently have for global trade, for example, embodied in the World Trade Organization.

If theres something weve learned during the global pandemic, it is that in order to better deal with the challenges ahead, we need morenot lessglobal governance and cooperation. This is even more relevant when it comes to immigration, a global flow that will continue to grow. Thus, if the U.S. cannot fix its immigration system at home, it must again lead the way to bring the world together on designing and putting forward the best policies to let immigrants, wherever they are and wherever they come from, achieve their full potential. And for that, the work begins abroad.

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The road to fix Americas broken immigration system begins abroad - Brookings Institution

The number of immigrant children and families being apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border is increasing, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), posing a potential challenge for President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenPennsylvania GOP leader on breaking with Trump on election: 'I'd get my house bombed tonight' GOP Texas senator questions 'legal theory' behind Trump's lawsuit to challenge state's election results Nearly 30 staffers, members of Michigan legislature tested positive for COVID-19 this year MORE as he takes office next month.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the increase Wednesday, the coronavirus pandemic, as well as impacts of the Trump administrations 2019 policy limiting asylum claims in the U.S., resulted in a significant reduction in the flow of migrants from Latin America.

However, CBP data show that in October, about 4,630 unaccompanied children were taken into custody by Southwest border patrol agents, an increase from 712 in April.

The agency also noted that 4,501 migrants traveling with family members were apprehended in October, up from 716 in April.

The Journal reported that a recent federal court filing made by the federal government showed that during a single six-day period in mid-November, roughly 1,000 children were taken into border patrol custody.

This comes after CBP reported in October that border encounters had returned to traditional levels following a spike in 2019.

CBP reported at the time that encounters with people crossing the border illegally decreased 53 percent in fiscal 2020, with 458,088 people encountered, down from 977,509 in fiscal 2019.

However, experts told the Journal Wednesday that the recent increase could be attributed to declining Latin American economies and two hurricanes in the fall that destroyed parts of Honduras and Guatemala.

In August, the Journal reported an increase in the number of illegal crossings at the southern U.S. border following a new policy implemented by the U.S. in March in response to the pandemic that allowed immigration agents to turn most migrants back to their home countries.

Biden, who has called for wide-reaching immigration reform, has pledged to end the Trump administrations 2019 Migrant Protection Protocols program, which mandates that certain migrants must remain in Mexico for the duration of their U.S. immigration proceedings.

According to the Journal, the program has sent more than 68,000 people to Mexico as of October.

However, some experts say that the election of Biden may cause even more migrants to flock to the border in hopes of a change in immigration policy.

Typically when there is a change in administration, weve seen that over the years its a classic pull factor," Mike Fisher, a former Border Patrol chief who oversaw the agencys response to the first wave of families and children at the border in 2014, told the Journal.

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Apprehensions of immigrant children have increased, CBP says | TheHill - The Hill