The US has an unofficial new president

It seems that the United States of America will have a new president on January 20, 2021 with former vice president Joe Biden projected to garner more than 270 electoral votes. I say “seems” because it is only the media that declares him to have won over incumbent President Donald Trump. There are still states that are counting and only and until all states have certified the election results and Congress declares the winner, then Mr. Biden can be officially called president-elect. On the other hand, Mr. Trump has been unyielding in his protestations that there are a number of voter fraud and election irregularities that swayed the results against him. Presently, there are a number of lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign against several states in hopes that these could lead to Mr. Trump’s re-election. However as the days go on, Mr. Trump’s chances are getting slimmer while Mr. Biden’s lead has widened and appears to be unreachable. For the sake of the country, we hope that the election results will be certified as soon as possible.

Which bring us to the second point. If and when Mr. Biden sits in the Oval Office, he vowed to repeal any and all the Trump’s executive orders relating to immigration. So this means that DACA will be reinstated, the various immigration bans will be overturned, and limitation on the number of asylum visas will be lifted. Mr. Biden has made the legalization and pathway to citizenship for an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants a top priority. Whether this becomes a reality or not depends on how he gets it done with what could be a Republican-controlled Senate. If the two Senate Democratic candidates win in the runoff elections this coming January, he will have both the House and Senate majorities which may be able to help him fulfill this campaign promise.

While he is still in office, immigrants still have to endure the effects of Mr. Trump’s present immigration policies. The ban on certain employment and family-based immigrants is still in effect until the end of this year. All along, scheduling delays and restrictions are imposed by various consulates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that have prolonged wait times and interview appointments.

Next week, we will feature reader’s questions and answers.