This Issue: A Biden Administration could use the regulatory process to reverse Trump policies that protect American workers and public safety

Most news media are predicting a Biden White House and a Republican-held Senate come January. If so, the main immigration action at the beginning of the year is likely to be inside the Administration through regulatory changes. We have some strong indications of what those attempted changes might be.

Foreign Workers

In the midst of a global pandemic and record-level job losses, Pres. Trump has frozen most foreign guest worker visas along with the issuance of many green cards in several categories, including the visa lottery, family chain migration, and employment-based.

While the economy has improved some after a terrible second quarter, there's still a long way to go on the road to recovery. Trump's pause has helped ensure that most new jobs go to American workers instead of new foreign workers. Still, promises made by candidate Biden suggest that his Administration would end Trump's pause, opening the door for employers to hire many new foreign workers despite this year's massive job losses.

The Trump Administration has also taken steps this fall to strengthen worker protections in the H-1B program, including increasing prevailing wage levels and issuing visas in descending order of salary instead of by lottery. Silicon Valley employers, who were heavy supporters of the Biden campaign, will lobby vigorously to overturn these Trump regulations. But a Biden Administration may be less likely to kill the new H-1B regulations for fear of alienating hundreds of thousands of U.S. tech workers whose jobs and salaries are protected by the new rules. The level of grassroots opposition to rescinding the Trump protections will determine the outcome.

Asylum/Refugees

Asylum and Refugee policy is one area where a Biden Administration would be aggressive. Expect a 10-fold increase in refugee admissions along with lowering the bar on illegal aliens who claim credible fear -- the first step in the asylum process.

Candidate Biden also promised to end Pres. Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols, commonly referred to as the Remain in Mexico policy, that requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their asylum hearing. A Biden Administration would also likely reduce detention space and reinstate catch-and-release, allowing illegal aliens to disappear into the United States after being apprehended by Border Patrol.

However, Americans don't like border surges, and the Biden Administration would have to be careful not to allow one migrant caravan after another to crash the border. A few moderate Democrats in border states are already sounding the alarm that border control is a key issue in their districts.

Enforcement

As a candidate, Biden pledged to suspend deportations of illegal aliens for 100 days.

Should he follow through with the enforcement pause, his administration would likely use that time to roll back the 287(g) program that allows local law enforcement to partner with federal immigration officers. And he would reprioritize enforcement efforts to focus only on aliens with convictions of violent crimes.

Additionally, Biden would likely end many of the Trump Administration's efforts to eliminate sanctuary policies, allowing jurisdictions across the country to once again protect illegal aliens from any sort of federal enforcement.

Chris Chmielenski NumbersUSA Deputy Director