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2020 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION WRAP-UP

Biden calls for “an immigration system that powers our economy and reflects our values.”

August 24, 2020

The Democratic National Convention closed Thursday, August 20 with former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. accepting the party’s nomination. A running theme throughout all four days of the DNC was that immigration makes our country better and stronger. The 2020 Democratic Party Platform states, “[i]mmigrants are essential to our society and our economy.”

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden, watch fireworks with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention in Wilmington, Del.[ANDREW HARNIK | AP]

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But what exactly is the Democratic Party’s plan for immigration?
The 2020 Democratic Party Platform referred to the Trump Administration’s approach to immigration as callous, cruel, and reckless and argued such policies “made our communities less safe, undermined our economy, and tarnished our image around the world.” Specifically, the Democrats criticized President Trump’s policies of forcibly separating children from their parents; deporting veterans who have fought to defend the U.S. or their family members; conducting militarized workplace raids; banning people from traveling to the U.S. based solely on their faith or country of origin; turning away refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution; and ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA).In his acceptance speech, Biden called for “an immigration system that powers our economy and reflects our values.” Similarly, the 2020 Democratic Party Platform calls for “building a 21st century immigration system that reflects our values, repairs past harms, heals our communities, rebuilds our economy, and renews our global leadership.”Highlights from the 2020 Democratic Party Platform include:

Ending the Trump Administration’s Immigration Policies:

Rescind President Trump’s Declaration titled “National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States”, which currently takes funding away from the military to build a wall on the southern border.
Retract President Trump’s Executive Orders and Proclamations imposing travel and immigration bans and invite those who were previously denied because of these policies to reapply to come to the U.S.
Reinstate, expand, and streamline protections for Dreamers as well as parents of U.S. citizens. to help keep families together in the communities they call home.
Reverse the Trump Administration’s policies preventing victims of gang and domestic violence, as well as LGBTQ+ people who are unsafe in their home countries, from being eligible to apply for asylum.
End the Trump Administration’s policies denying protected entry to asylum seekers while they pursue their claims.
End the Trump Administration’s policy of seeking criminal prosecution of asylum seekers at the border.
End the Trump Administration’s policies that force asylum seekers to apply for asylum from “safe third countries,” which are far from safe.
Halt enforcement of and rescind the Trump Administration’s expanded public charge test.

Building a 21st Century Immigration System – Changes Going Forward:

Provide a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented workers, caregivers, students, and children who are an essential part of the economy and the fabric of nation. This process would be fast-tracked for workers who have been essential to the pandemic response and recovery efforts, including health care workers and farmworkers.
Reduce application backlogs and make the immigration process faster, more efficient, and less costly.
Support legislation that ensures no future President can enact discriminatory travel and immigration bans in the future.
Allow the principle of family unity to guide immigration policy by:
- Prioritizing the reunification of children still separated from their parents as a result of the Trump Administration’s policies.
- Restoring family reunification programs ended by President Trump.
- Supporting legislation to treat the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents (i.e. green card holders) as immediate relatives, which will end multi-year separations.
- Eliminating family-based green card backlogs and overhauling the system to speed up family-based visas.
- Supporting the elimination immigration bars including the 3- and 10-year unlawful presence bars and the 10-year waiting period for filing waivers by those subject to permanent bars.
- Expanding the annual number of visas available to victims of human trafficking and other heinous crimes.
- Ensure that same sex-couples and their children receive equal treatment in the immigration and naturalization systems.
Ensure law-abiding individuals with Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure are not sent back to countries where they cannot live safely, and we create a path to citizenship for those who have been in the country for an extended period of time and built their lives in the United States.
Hold employers accountable for abuses of immigrant workers by promoting workers’ rights and prioritizing the enforcement of labor and employment laws across the economy as well as supporting the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights and the Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation (POWER) Act.
Adopt enforcement mechanisms that are humane and consistent with our values and international humanitarian obligations including ending workplace and community raids as well as prohibiting enforcement actions that deter access to justice at courthouses, ending programs that force state and local law enforcement to engage in immigration enforcement, and stopping the targeting those who served in uniform and their families.
Invest in alternatives to detention, end for-profit detention centers, and restrict the detention of children to shortest possible time.
Reform the employment-based immigration system so that it is responsive to labor market needs as well as attracts and keeps talent in the U.S.
Address the causes of migration including violence and insecurity, poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of educational and economic opportunity, and the impacts of climate change.

Stay tuned!
The Republican National Convention begins Monday, August 24, 2020. Cohen & Tucker will be following the convention and will highlight the Republican Party’s immigration policies after the conclusion of the convention. Like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.And as always, if you have questions about your current immigration status, contact us to schedule a free consultation.

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