Business World

Biden revokes Trump ban on green card applicants

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WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden on Wednesday revoked a proclamati­on from his predecesso­r that blocked many green card applicants from entering the United States.

Former President Donald Trump issued the ban last year, saying it was needed to protect US workers amid high unemployme­nt due to the coronaviru­s pandemic.

Mr. Biden rejected that reasoning in a proclamati­on on Wednesday rescinding the visa ban. The Democratic president said it had prevented families from reuniting in the United States and harmed US businesses.

Mr. Biden, a Democrat, has pledged to reverse many of Mr. Trump’s hardline immigratio­n policies. Immigrant advocates had pressed in recent weeks for him to lift the visa ban, which was set to expire on March 31.

Mr. Biden left in place another ban on most foreign temporary workers.

In October, a federal judge in California blocked Mr. Trump’s ban on those foreign guest workers as it affected hundreds of thousands of US businesses that fought the policy in court.

Curtis Morrison, a California­based immigratio­n attorney, who represents people subject to the ban said Mr. Biden will now have to tackle a growing backlog of applicatio­ns that have been held up for months as the pandemic shut down most visa processing by the State Department. The process could potentiall­y take years, he said.

“It’s a backlog that Trump created,” Mr. Morrison said. “He broke the immigratio­n system.”

The State Department did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment. —

 ?? REUTERS ?? INTERNATIO­NAL PASSENGERS arrive at Washington Dulles Internatio­nal Airport, Virginia, US, June 26, 2017.
REUTERS INTERNATIO­NAL PASSENGERS arrive at Washington Dulles Internatio­nal Airport, Virginia, US, June 26, 2017.

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