The Department of Homeland Security placed a 100-day pause on most deportations that went into effect Thursday of last week. The goal of the moratorium is to give federal agencies time to review and revise immigration policies.
Maria Andrade director of Immigrant Justice of Idaho said, it’s only a stopgap to a bigger issue.
“This is a pause that allows the current administration to address a mess at the border that's been created in the last administration to address the high levels of deaths in detention and COVID exposure of people in detention,” she said.
This pause doesn’t apply to immigrants who voluntarily waived rights to stay, were not physically present in the states before Nov. 1 of last year, or have engaged in or are suspected of terrorism or espionage.
"They want to pause so they can take a look at who's being detained,” Andrade said. “Why are they being detained? Are there alternatives to release? And are the detention facilities in compliance with what this administration says are appropriate protocols?”
President Biden is also set to introduce new legislation in the following weeks with hopes to overhaul the immigration process, and potentially grant residency to roughly 11 million undocumented people living within the U.S.
Andrade said this move and other recent changes from the White House could indicate a more humanitarian focus to the U.S. immigration system.
Copyright 2021 Boise State Public Radio
