President Joe Biden signed a number of executive orders and directives within hours of taking office on Wednesday, including lifting travel restrictions against individuals from predominantly Muslim countries and halting construction of the U.S-Mexico border wall.
Here is a closer look at immigration-related executive actions the new president took after his swearing in:
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Biden signed a presidential memorandum directing the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security to take "all appropriate actions under the law" to preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which provides deportation relief and work authorization to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. at a young age.
"The president-elect is committed to preserving and fortifying DACA," Biden's transition team said.
As of June 2020, more than 645,000 people are DACA recipients, according to data available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Trump rescinded DACA in September 2017, a decision that the Supreme Court deemed unlawfully arbitrary and capricious in a 2020 ruling. However, DACA continues to face a legal challenge from a coalition of states, led by Texas, which contend that then-President Barack Obama overstepped when he implemented the program in 2012.
Undocumented Immigrants and the Census
Yet another executive order revoked Trump's directive to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 census, which is used to allocate federal resources and draw congressional districts.
"At no point since our Nation's Founding has a person's immigration status alone served as a basis for excluding that person from the total population count used in apportionment," Biden said.
Biden's order also called on the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to "take all necessary steps" to ensure that the population count is accurate.
Enforcement of Immigration Policy
Biden also rescinded Trump's January 2017 executive order broadening the categories of undocumented immigration prioritized for removal.
"My administration will reset the policies and practices for enforcing civil immigration laws," Biden said in the brief order.
Protections for Liberian Immigrants
Biden extended deportation protections and work permits for Liberians in the U.S. until June 30, 2022.
The policy, laid out in a presidential memorandum, will direct the head of Homeland Security to ensure the timely processing of Liberians' residency applications.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Wall
Through a presidential proclamation, Biden declared an immediate end to the national emergency Trump declared to divert already-appropriated defense funding to border wall construction activities.
The proclamation also places an immediate freeze on the border wall while Biden's administration reviews the "legality of the funding and contracting methods used" and determines how to redirect the diverted funds, according to the new president's transition team.