Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer in “ICE ‘Deep State’ is Blocking Biden’s Quest for Justice for Refugees.” Steve said that President Biden faces a long road in undoing former immigration policies. “First, former President Trump emboldened ICE agents to arrest anyone they suspected of being here illegally, even if the person merely overstayed their visa. ICE officials will not want to return to the pre-Trump era, where they were supposed to prioritize deporting immigrants who had serious criminal convictions. That is harder work.” In sum, he said, “changing the ICE bureaucracy is like steering an ocean liner. It takes time to change course. And it is harder when the crew may refuse to comply.” The full article can be found at https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/biden-deportations-ice-haiti-cameroon-mexico-20210211.html

Steve was quoted by Mediapart France in “États-Unis: Biden promet une grande réforme de l’immigration” (“United States: Biden promises major immigration reform”). Mr. Yale-Loehr said that two essential questions relate to the content and “timing” of reform, considering that the midterm elections in 2022 could reshuffle the cards in the Senate. For the left, the possibility exists of fragmenting any reform project into first attempting to strengthen measures in Congress that are more “modest” and consensual like the DACA program, he said. Congress is not the only obstacle in the path of the Democrats. A federal judge in Texas, appointed by former President Trump, has effectively temporarily blocked a decision by President Biden to suspend deportations for 100 days, he noted. The full article can be found at https://bit.ly/3d9v79y (subscription)

Steve was quoted by the Associated Press in “ICE Nearly Released Sex Abuse Convicts Despite Biden Memo.” He said a conviction for sexual abuse of a minor normally would qualify as an aggravated felony, and that “such individuals remain immigration enforcement priorities.” The full article can be found at https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-us-news-immigration-crime-texas-09f40966250e15b9d54942ddb267df7b