Blueprint for Regional Migration

During the Transition and first 30 days, the Biden-Harris administration took key steps toward resetting the tone in U.S. immigration discourse, and establishing a forward-leaning and protection-sensitive migration management agenda.

On his first day, President Biden sent a draft text of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 to Congress, which charts a roadmap to citizenship for over 10.6 million undocumented persons, including Dreamers, TPS holders, and immigrant farmworkers, in addition to other provisions related to immigrant and refugee integration, border management and addressing root causes of migration.

Furthermore, the Biden-Harris administration issued a series of key executive orders designed to tackle the root causes of migration with an emphasis on regional cooperation; prepare for the safe and orderly processing of asylum seekers at the U.S. Border; rebuild and expand the United States Refugee Admissions Program; consider protections for people displaced by climate change-related impacts; and reunite families separated under the previous administration. These orders were also accompanied by a series of announcements indicating, inter alia, a termination of the Asylum Cooperative Agreements, and suspension of the Migrant Protection Protocols.

The actions taken thus far are some of the fundamental underpinnings of a new approach to safe, regular, and orderly migration, and mirror some of the policy recommendations the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA) and its partners have advocated for and set forth in this document. CDA welcomes these policies and directives and encourages the Biden-Harris administration to consider this Blueprint as it continues to chart the path forward for implementing its vision.