Among the executive actions President Biden signed a bit ago is an order to reverse the Trump administration’s ban on citizens entering the U.S. from several predominantly Muslim countries.
It took the Trump administration several tries to put in place a ban that passed legal muster. Its third attempt, an order that came in September 2017, barred entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven countries, including Iran, Syria and Somalia; it was expanded in 2020 to include six more countries primarily in Africa.
The ban caused chaos at airports across the U.S., as arriving foreigners were denied entry, and, for a few years, kept parents and other loved ones from visiting family members living in the U.S.
Former President Donald Trump said the ban was aimed to protect against potential terrorists coming into the country. Elizabeth Neumann, a Homeland Security official in Mr. Trump’s administration from 2017-2020, who later supported Mr. Biden for president, said she believes the ban was akin to “[putting] up the ‘you are not welcome’ sign.”
“When you dig into the security issues,” she said, “there really isn’t a justification for country-wide bans.”
Roohollah Ebrahimian, a math professor at the University of Maryland who first moved to the U.S. on a student visa and became a U.S. citizen in 2018, said because of the travel ban his family in Iran has never been able to meet his American-born son, now two years old.
“It felt humiliating, like, you’re a U.S. citizen, but still not equal,” he said.
He noted that lifting the ban still wouldn’t make it easy for his family to visit; for one, a separate travel restriction imposed during the coronavirus pandemic limits travel from Iran. Still, “It’s a great relief, that at least we now have this option,” he said.
In addition to repealing the travel ban, Mr. Biden issued orders to halt construction of Mr. Trump’s border wall; direct that everyone present in the U.S. be counted in the 2020 census; and instruct the Secretary of Homeland Security to “fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that offers deportation relief to some young immigrants.
Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s chief immigration adviser, criticized Mr. Biden’s day-one actions in a tweet.
“Today, @POTUS pledged to be a president for all Americans,” he wrote, referring to Mr. Biden’s new Twitter handle. “It’s unclear how all Americans are served by opening travel from terror hot spots, proposing a giant amnesty, or halting the installation of security barriers along the Southwest border.”
More executive actions are expected on Jan. 29, which the White House has designated as an immigration-themed day.
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