This week in immigration news – November 10, 2021

Biden says families separated at border under Trump deserve compensation for ‘outrageous’ policy

President Biden this week endorsed the idea of compensation payments for immigrant families who were affected by former President Trump’s 2018 family separation policy at the border, although he did not go as far as indicating a specific amount.

President Biden also denied a previous report from The Wall Street Journal that his administration was considering payments of $450,000 per person affected.

Biden administration wants to re-create DACA through new federal rule. What does that mean?

DACA has faced a flurry of legal challenges, most recently in Texas, where Judge Andrew S. Hanen pushed the issue back to DHS and implied that only Congress can legally implement DACA.

Currently, DACA recipients can still reapply to the program, but new applicants are barred from applying for DACA status.

One of the changes being considered is making DACA status separate from applying for a work permit. This would mean that applicants would be charged $85 for DACA and $410 for a work permit. Immigrant rights advocates have pushed back on this aspect of the rule.

Bill could change the lives of more than 7 million undocumented immigrants

The Build Back Better Act, if passed, could provide work permits and temporary protections to about seven million undocumented people; an expedited path to a green card for about two million; and support to roughly a million undocumented children through the Child Tax Credit.