Biden faces mounting pressure to protect immigrants before Trump takes office

Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden is facing mounting pressure from Democratic lawmakers and allies to extend protections to immigrants in the United States amid party fears over President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations.

Behind the scenes, senior Biden administration officials are wrestling with what, if anything, more can be done to protect certain immigrants residing in the United States, juggling demands from allies and trying to avoid overreaching on an issue that, some political strategists argue, cost Democrats the White House.

Immigration dogged Biden for the better part of his administration and was among the top issues for voters in the 2024 presidential election, many of whom disapproved of the president’s handling of the US-Mexico border. That reality is, in part, shaping the discussion internally.

“The paradigm has shifted,” a senior administration official told CNN, referring to the political landscape over the last two years.

Officials, grappling with the electoral results, are assessing what can be done without inviting fierce backlash. But Democrats, concerned about Trump’s immigration plans, are clamoring for Biden to do more for the immigrant community, as advocates express frustration over the administration pressing forward with strict asylum rules while other actions remain in limbo.

“They’re afraid of their own shadow on this issue,” said a Democratic congressional aide.

It’s a reflection of the state of immigration policy, which for the last several years has been made through the executive branch and – as a result – is vulnerable to change depending on who’s in office.

Lawmaker requests include extending a form of humanitarian relief known as Temporary Protected Status and making more immigrants eligible for it, expediting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewals and getting a resolution for individuals with pending asylum cases.

“Mass deportations would jeopardize the safety and security of millions of mixed-status families, sow deep distrust and fear in the communities we represent, and destabilize the US economy,” a group of Democratic senators said in a letter to Biden Monday.

“We urge you to act decisively between now and the inauguration of the President-elect to complete the important work of the past four years and protect immigrant families,” they wrote.

Sens. Dick Durbin, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Mazie Hirono, Tammy Duckworth, Ben Ray Luján and Alex Padilla were among the signatories.

A Democratic Senate aide described the White House as “receptive” in private calls with senators.

“The White House has been receptive to the conversations, and they are ongoing. We are pushing them to make it a priority before the end of the term,” the aide said.

CNN reached out to the White House for comment.

Some administration officials are skeptical that expanding or redesignating TPS would pass muster under an incoming administration beyond those that will already be up for renewal.

Temporary protections for El Salvadorans in the United States, for example, are set to expire in early March. The Department of Homeland Security secretary must decide at least 60 days prior whether to extend or terminate the designation based on country conditions.

Those same protections for Nicaraguans, however, run through July 2025. Biden allies have called on the administration to redesignate and extend protections for Nicaraguans in the US before inauguration day. That remains an ongoing discussion within the administration, but doing so would require the administration to make an earlier than usual determination, which some officials remain wary of.

“We’re trying as hard as we can to thread the needle,” the senior administration official told CNN.

Just before leaving office in 2021, Trump provided Venezuelans already in the United States temporary protection from deportation.

The Biden administration has also continued to announce immigration actions, including a final rule that increases the automatic extension period for people renewing their work permits.

But another rule being finalized would cement asylum restrictions at the US-Mexico border, raising alarm among immigrant advocates who argue the regulation should be discarded and fueling the push for other protections.

“They’ve already exceeded and done extraordinary actions on TPS to take care of a very large number of people,” said a source close to the White House.

“It could be their last major immigration fumble and this time it will cost human lives,” the source said, referring to if the administration decides not to extend protections.

Senior administration officials are bracing for the incoming Trump administration to scrap the immigration policies put in place under Biden – many of which can be undone with the stroke of a pen.

Multiple administration officials who spoke to CNN said there are few, if any, ways to protect the policies implemented by Biden that, for example, provided temporary protections to certain migrants in the United States.

“People are on the edge of their seat,” one immigrant advocate told CNN, referring to immigrants in the United States. “They have no certainty whatsoever.”

In a memo outlining the administration’s final sprint this week, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients cited the administration’s work to drive down border crossings. It did not mention immigration among some of the president’s priorities moving forward.

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