President Biden this week released an executive order aimed at restoring faith in legal immigration and strengthening integration and inclusion efforts for new Americans. Notably, the order calls on agencies to review public charge rules enacted under the Trump administration.
In the order, Biden urges the secretary of state, attorney general, and secretary of homeland security to review existing regulations, policies, and actions to ensure that laws and policies are delivered effectively and efficiently, and that they address barriers preventing immigrants from accessing necessary government services. As part of this review, Biden explicitly asks for an immediate analysis of agency actions on public charge inadmissibility, including:
- understanding the effects of the public charge policy;
- identifying actions to address concerns about the impact of public charge policies on immigrant communities;
- recommending next steps; and
- submitting official reports within 60 days of the order.
Further, the executive order revokes a Trump memorandum from May 23, 2019 (Enforcing the Legal Responsibilities of Sponsors of Aliens) and requires review of any actions developed in response to the memo.
America’s Essential Hospitals released a statement thanking President Biden for his compassionate decision to ensure legal immigrants can participate in all the opportunities our country offers, including access to affordable health care for themselves and their families, and urging the administration to swiftly complete its review and reverse the public charge rules.
President Biden released two additional executive orders related to immigration, on:
- establishing an interagency task force to analyze how best to reunite immigrant families; and
- creating a comprehensive regional framework to address the causes of migration, which implements a multipronged approach to managing migration throughout North and Central America.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
