BIDEN WILL OVERTURN TRAVEL BAN ON FIRST DAY
▶ Restriction on immigration from some Muslim-majority countries to be lifted within first hours of presidency
In his first hours as US president, Joe Biden plans to take executive action to reverse some of the most contentious decisions of his predecessor and to address the coronavirus pandemic, his incoming chief of staff said.
It will be part of a 10-day sweep of executive action as Mr Biden swiftly redirects the country after Donald Trump’s presidency, without waiting for Congress.
On Wednesday Mr Biden will end Mr Trump’s restriction on immigration from some Muslim-majority countries, move to rejoin the Paris climate accord and mandate the wearing of masks on federal property and during interstate travel.
Those are among about a dozen actions he will take on his first day in the White House, Ron Klain said in a memo to senior staff.
Other actions include extending the pause on student loan repayments and measures to prevent evictions and foreclosures for those struggling during the pandemic.
“These executive actions will deliver relief to the millions of Americans that are struggling in the face of these crises,” Mr Klain said.
“President-elect Biden will take action not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration, but also to start moving our country forward.”
Mr Klain said “full achievement” of Mr Biden’s goals would require Congress to act, including on the $1.9 trillion virus relief bill he outlined on Thursday. Mr Biden will also propose a comprehensive immigration reform bill on his first day in office, he said.
Providing a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are in the US illegally will be part of Mr Biden’s agenda, sources say.
Ali Noorani, president of the National Immigration Forum and among those briefed, said immigrants would be put on an eight-year path. There would be a faster track for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which protects people who went to the US as children from deportation, and for those from strife-torn countries with temporary status.
On Thursday, the new president’s second day in office, Mr Biden will sign orders related to the Covid-19 outbreak aimed at reopening schools and businesses and expanding virus testing, Mr Klain said.
The following day, action will be taken to provide economic relief to those suffering the economic costs of the pandemic.
In the following week, Mr Biden will take additional actions relating to criminal justice reform, climate change and immigration, including a directive to speed up the reuniting of families separated at the US-Mexico border under Mr Trump’s policies, Mr Klain said. More actions will be added once they clear legal review.
US presidents traditionally sign many executive actions soon after they take office. Mr Trump did the same, but he found many of his orders challenged and even rejected by courts.
Mr Klain said that Mr Biden should not suffer similar issues.
“The legal theory behind them is well-founded and represents a restoration of an appropriate, constitutional role for the president,” he said.
President-elect Biden will take action ... to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration
RON KLAIN
Biden administration chief of staff