On his first day in office, President Joseph R. Biden signed a memorandum for the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security ordering them to preserve and fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA). DACA was instituted by President Obama, terminated by President Trump, and restored by the judiciary. With this proclamation, it seems clear that the government should at least return DACA to the status quo ante and continue to follow the relevant court order:

  • Accept first-time requests for deferred action;
  • Accept renewal requests for deferred action;
  • Accept applications for advance parole documents;
  • Extend one-year grants of deferred action to two years; and
  • Extend one-year employment authorization documents to two years.

In a separate Order, President Biden also extended Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and employment authorization for Liberians until June 3, 2022.

In the meantime, the Biden Administration has also proposed an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws. This proposed legislation includes, among many other things, benefits for DACA recipients and migrants in Temporary Protected Status (TPS).  TPS beneficiaries are individuals from countries ravaged by natural disasters or political unrest who cannot return to their homes.  Like DACA recipients, TPS beneficiaries have been in limbo for years as the Trump Administration attempted to terminate that status while recipients and immigration advocates have supported litigation to keep those protections in place.

It has been reported that the proposed immigration overhaul includes the immediate ability of “Dreamers” and TPS beneficiaries to apply for Green Cards (assuming they meet eligibility requirements) followed by a three-year path to citizenship.

Jackson Lewis will continue to follow developments and provide updates as they become available.

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Photo of Forrest G. Read IV Forrest G. Read IV

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice…

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice focuses on assisting employers in obtaining employment-based nonimmigrant visas (e.g., H-1B, L, O, TN) for foreign national employees and work-related immigrant (green card) visas, including PERM Labor Certifications, and advising employers on compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations. He has broad experience in advising large, mid-size and small employers on their various immigration needs and developing strategies to help them navigate through complex immigration issues. He also has particular experience in counseling employers in the health care industry and addressing immigration-related issues that arise for their broad range of health care professional employees (including advising on and obtaining employment authorization for medical residents and fellows and obtaining J-1 visa waivers for foreign national physicians completing their medical training in the United States). His immigration practice also includes defending employers in connection with Department of Labor H-1B and H-2B investigations.

Mr. Read’s employment law experience includes representing management, particularly academic medical centers in the GME context, in a wide array of workplace disputes and litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including matters related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability, family and medical leave, various wage and hour issues, contracts, and intentional torts. He advises academic medical centers on the interplay between applicable academic law and employment law and the ramifications of what are divergent legal requirements and standards. Mr. Read also provides counsel with respect to the legal impact of competency standards for residents and trainees in GME, including situations involving discipline, remediation, and dismissal. He provides advice and guidance in the peer review process, including provision of verification and assessment of training in response to third party inquiries.

As a member of the Firm’s Corporate Diversity Counseling group, Mr. Read also has experience in providing assessments and making recommendations to corporate and institutional clients with respect to diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, conducting related internal investigations, and shaping, developing and enforcing effective policies and initiatives to ensure consistency with client values and in furtherance of business goals and objectives.