Since arriving at the White House on Wednesday, the new US president, Joe Biden, has has signed nearly 30 executive orders aimed at addressing the serious health crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, as he tried to reverse the controversial policies of his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, into what is seen as a 180-degree turn.
(You may be interested in: Trump’s impeachment trial begins the week of February 8).
Just on January 20, Biden signed 17 executive orders just hours after taking the reins of the country and calling for unity to get out of the crisis.
One of the measures that attracted the most attention is those referring to Trump’s legacy. Some of these related to immigration.
For example, one of the first executive orders canceled the national emergency declared by the Republican to divert and fund funds the construction of the border wall with Mexico, one of the issues most exploited by the Republican government in the past four years.
(Read here: What will happen to the border wall now that Biden takes power?).
In addition, Biden has expanded protection against deportation for so-called dreamers, children of illegal immigrants who grew up in the country without papers; destroyed the immigration veto Trump imposed on travelers from 11 Muslim-majority countries four years ago, ordered to recount undocumented immigrants in the census conducted every ten years, and also to review the mechanisms of the United States Immigration and Customs Office (ICE) when it comes to the arrest of undocumented migrants.
Unlike former President Trump, President Joe Biden was one of the first to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Likewise, and as promised in the campaign, Biden ordered the US returns to Paris climate agreement, suspending country’s exit from World Health Organization (WHO) that Trump ordered in the midst of a pandemic last year.
The latter two decisions earned Biden the recognition of the international community, which praised his commitment to the fight against global warming and global health.
(Further: What is the immigration law that Biden presents about?).
Despite the fact that Biden tried to set a different tone from day one, experts predict a complex path. “These first steps are welcome. But much of the damage caused by the Trump administration it’s so deep it will take time to undo and heal it, ”the Washington Office on Latin America (Wola) warned this week.
The truth is, most of the measures and decrees that Biden signed in his early days were aimed at fighting the pandemic, which has already left more than 414,000 dead in the United States. a figure that exceeds the number of Americans who died during World War II and that, as the president warned on Friday, it could exceed 600,000, the highest figure reported so far.
These first steps are welcome. But much of the damage done by the Trump administration is so profound that it takes time to undo and heal.
From the beginning, Biden signed an executive order on the day of his possession Urging Americans to wear face masks – only required in some states – for the first 100 days of his presidency and that requires its use in federal facilities. And the next day, he signed a further ten measures to halt the advance of Covid-19 in what he classified as a “wartime” strategy.
Among other things, Biden’s plan aims to speed up the production, distribution, and administration of vaccines, ensure their access to all Americans without discrimination, and combat the skepticism of those who do not want to receive the injectable.
Further, the federal government plans to work with states to create “all the vaccination centers needed”, including stadium furnishings.
(You may be interested in: Biden is accelerating the fight against Covid-19 in the United States).
In addition, the president ordered his government to resort to the defense production law, legislation passed in 1950 in response to the Core Wara, to mobilize the industrial sector and accelerate the manufacturing of anti-pandemic equipment.
However, experts believe that this measure will not help much to speed up the production of the vaccine, as the production capacity is already at its maximum.
In response, the White House assured that activating this law will help, for example increase production of a special syringe that can draw six doses from each Pfizer vialinstead of five.
The US is one of the countries most affected by Covid-19.
Biden promised that the US will manage 100 million doses of the vaccine in the first 100 days in the office, a target many consider low, because by the end of that period, on April 29, the federal government should already have at least 200 million units available.
Another important decision to stem the spread of the pandemic confirms this Those wishing to travel to the US from abroad should get a covid-19 test before flying and remain isolated once they arrive in the country. A measure that has already been implemented in several countries around the world.
(In context: Passengers arriving in the US must be quarantined).
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already requires a negative coronavirus test before entering the country, Biden’s decree calls for a revision of that order in case it is necessary to further tighten the conditions to be tested.
The Democrat’s measure also requires his cabinet to negotiate with the governments of Mexico and Canada about the possibility of strengthening public health protocols for land access to the US, now closed.
The same decree ordered the mandatory use of face masks at airports and on most airplanes, trains, boats and buses, something that Trump refused to do so and many airlines and state and local authorities have been claiming that for months. Among other things, the president also signed two executive orders expanding federal aid for low-income families.
Those wishing to travel to the US from abroad should get a covid-19 test before flying
However, Biden’s power through executive orders is limited, and for his large-scale plans he will face a convention in which while the Democrats control both housesthe majority in the Senate is so tight that the road is expected to be complicated.
Especially with regard to his two-star proposals: a new one fiscal stimulus package worth $ 1.9 trillion with new direct transfers to citizens and an immigration reform that would open the way for the legalization of more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.
(Read here: Diversity and experience in the cabinet of Biden and Kamala Harris).
Biden, who was a senator for more than three decades, knows the upper house well and will have to convince the Republican caucus to give the green light to both proposals at a time of maximum polarization. Especially since the approval of the tax incentive is crucial to making its strategy work against the Covid.
But, as reported The Washington Post, among some Republicans there is discomfort about the rain of executive orders, Well, the feeling is that these conflict with the call for unity made by the agent.
And to the Republican reluctance it is added that the Democrats will be sending to the Senate tomorrow of the charges for Trump’s impeachment for “instigating insurrection” during the violent assault on the Capitol. They also said the impeachment will begin in the second week of February.
INTERNATIONAL SETUP
* With information from AFP and EFE
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