Harris County, TX Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, President Biden’s pick to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in a July 15, 2021 hearing to field questions about his suitability for the role.

On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his nominations to fill top posts in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The administration has also made changes to the DHS advisory board as pressure builds to handle the influx of migrants to the southern border.

On March 25, 2021, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an urgent memorandum for current GS-9 to GS-15 federal employees to volunteer for 120-day details to the southern border. The number of unaccompanied children at the southern border of the United States has increased significantly since the beginning of 2021, causing the Biden administration to request additional support to care for and place the unaccompanied children.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to launch an effort to care for unaccompanied children who are entering the United States from the southern border.

The Biden administration recently proposed the 2021 U.S. Citizenship Act to Congress. The bill has been introduced in both chambers by Congressional Democrats. The act would revamp the United States immigration system and reverse many immigration initiatives that were introduced by the Trump administration. The plan also includes several reforms aimed at improving the homeland security workforce.

The House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on February 11, 2021 titled The U.S. Immigration System: The Need for Bold Reforms. The discussion covered a number of topics ranging from the terminology of using “illegal alien” versus “undocumented immigrant” to some policy steps the government can take to better approach the immigration system and solve its problems.

President Biden has issued many executive actions within his first week in office. Several of these actions relate directly to criminal justice reform and immigration policy.

President Joe Biden began to overhaul the immigration policies of the Trump administration on his first day in office by introducing a plan for far reaching legislation that would allow people who entered the country illegally a path to apply for permanent legal residency. Currently, there are temporary programs in place to shield people who entered the country illegally from deportation, but President Biden’s plan would create more solidified pathways for these immigrants.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf gave the annual 2020 State of the Homeland address this week. Wolf covered issues including COVID-19, law enforcement, immigration, terrorism, and the upcoming election.