More good news for immigrants and a not so good one.

Before former President Trump left office, he issued an order extending restrictions for certain classes of immigrant visa classifications and temporary workers. This was initially ordered in the midst of the pandemic in April 2020 which was then extended in June to last until December 2020 and was again re-extended to March 31, 2021. Many deemed this order as a way to limit legal immigration under the guise of the pandemic but in essence, is a way to advance the anti-immigrant agenda of the Trump administration.

All this will change now as President Biden has expressed his plan to rescind that order. Although there is no definite date when it will be signed, this action will surely reignite the hopes of countless immigrants who have been barred from coming to the USA due to such restrictions. One very significant development related to this matter is that President Biden is tasking his immigration officials to review the “public charge rule” that gives discretion to consular officers to deny greencard applications when they deem that an applicant may become a financial burden to the US government. I believe this is a very good step to take since this policy, to me, is anti-poor and obstructs the very essence of why people from all over the world desire to come to America.

Two weeks ago, I wrote in this column about my hope that the Philippines be re-included in the H2A or the temporary seasonal work visa program under the new administration. While it is not the exact category I wrote about, it is the twin, nonetheless, it is still good news that Philippines has been reinstated as one of the eligible counties under the H2B program. This is a non-immigrant visa category for temporary non-agricultural jobs. However it is still not the same as the H2A, or the temporary agricultural work list. This is a very encouraging gesture of goodwill on the part of the new administration. I hope Filipinos will not abuse it. I hope the rampant fraud in the J1 visa will be looked into next.

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In what seems to be a setback for President Biden’s immigration policy, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the implementation of his no-deportation policy. This court-imposed pause is for a period of 14 days while the judge hears a lawsuit from Texas questioning the validity of the 100-day deportation moratorium. Texas argues that such policy is not valid as the federal government failed to inform the state of its plan to implement the no-deportation order. Texas claims that such non-consultation by the federal government violates the agreement it had with the previous administration which committed to consult with Texas and other states and hears its views if there are changes in the policies involving immigration enforcement.

This will be a good case to watch out for in the coming days. I bet this will go all the way to the US Supreme Court regardless of the outcome at the federal court level.