As critics in the immigrant-rights community labeled Barack Obama as “deporter in chief,” enforcement advocates routinely accused him of being soft on unauthorized immigrants.
Changes to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enforcement activities and practices under Obama increased penalties for unauthorized border crossers by putting more of them in forced removal proceedings instead of voluntarily returning them across the border, a longstanding practice.
The Obama administration’s record is characterized by much higher removals than preceding administrations. Its prioritizations were achieved by a slow yet deliberate policy as noted by the administration’s November 2014 executive actions on immigration. The administration’s process of focusing and targeting enforcement resources set the stage for the Trump administration to act as it has — albeit in a less humane fashion.
But when it comes to Joe Biden, immigration reform is a weak point that promises no tangible change. He claims that the Obama administration “didn’t lock people in cages” and “didn’t separate families,” when in fact, it did. Many will argue that it was done in limited cases, but they can only do so in comparison to the Trump administration. Which isn’t really an argument.
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