Others are still in the works or depend on Congress for resolution. This is especially true for his promises to reform our nation’s immigration system. Biden is caught between his Democratic base and Latino voters, and the reality of an influx of immigrants to the U.S.
As he closes his first year, we take a look at where Biden stands with respect to some of his key promises.
COVID-19
• Reach normalcy by Christmas 2021
Broken. Broken.
Provide 1 Billion Home Tests to Americans
Progress. Biden announced last week that he would distribute 500 million more rapid tests in response to a spike in highly transmissible Omicron variants. Wednesday saw the launch of a distribution website.
• Provide 100 million vaccines to Americans within his first 100 days. • Vaccinate 70% of the world’s population for COVID by September 2022.
Progress. Biden exceeded the domestic vaccination goal. However, only 61% of the world population has received one dose.
• Safely reopen most K-8 schools and keep them opened.
Most of the tasks were completed. Most schools are back to in-person learning. However, the omicron surge caused closures and other problems in a few school districts across the country.
• Pass a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief legislation package.
The bill was passed in March. He also fulfilled his promise to pay $2,000 to Americans in direct aid.
CLIMATE
Keystone XL oil pipe permit revoked. Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Join the Paris climate agreement. Accept the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol to lower harmful hydrofluorocarbons (HFC’s).
Done.
• Ban all new oil and gas leases on Federal lands and Offshore waters.
Broken. Broken.
ECONOMY
— Reverse President Donald Trump’s 2017 reductions to corporate tax rates
Broken. Broken
— Pause federal student debt payments.
Done.
Request a review of U.S. supply chain chains.
Done.
IMMIGRATION
— Increase refugee cap from 15,000 to 125,000 by Trump
It’s not even close. Biden signed an executive decree in February that raised the cap to 62,500 refugees.
• Increase humanitarian resources at the border and encourage public/private partnerships to address an increase in migration.
But officials still have difficulty dealing with the influx at the border. Biden signed an executive directive asking officials to create plans for the use of humanitarian resources at the border. Biden has not yet established new public-private partnerships.
Reform the U.S. asylum systems
Incomplete. Incomplete. The Trump-era policy of allowing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to expel migrants without authorization in order to prevent the spread COVID-19 has been continued by the Biden administration.
— Trump’s policies regarding travel restrictions for people from certain Muslim-majority nations, funding and building of the border wall, funding to reverse them, a provision that discourages migrants from receiving public benefits and an expanding criteria for deporting immigrant families.
Done.
— Speed up and improve naturalization for holders of green-cards
Still in progress. Biden signed an executive directive in February to improve naturalization. The Department of Homeland Security has since repealed Trump-era rules.
• End the policy of family separation and create a taskforce to reunite families that have been separated at the border.
Done. Biden signed executive orders ending this policy and establishing an task force to reunite families. Due to difficulty in locating parents, only a few families have been reunited.
Restore the Obama-era policy to protect young immigrants who were brought illegally into the U.S. by their parents.
Still in progress. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in March that his agency had issued a rule to “preserve & fortify” its policy. This would protect young immigrants from being deported. However, the policy itself still faces challenges in court.
• End long-term migrant detention.
Broken. No additional investments have been made in case management systems. Although the administration stated in March that it would release parents and children within 72-hours of arrival, officials admitted that Border Patrol has held hundreds of children for longer. The administration is facing problems with unaccompanied minors who are arriving at the border more frequently and lack of housing facilities.
DOMESTIC POLICY
• Reverse transgender military ban
Done.
— Establish police oversight board.
Abandoned. Based on the input of civil rights groups as well as police unions, the Biden administration decided not to pursue this idea.
— To direct the attorney general to present a list of suggestions for restructuring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and all other Justice Department agencies in order to enforce gun laws more effectively.
It is not yet.
Report from the FBI on delays in background checks for guns purchases
It is not yet.
FOREIGN POLICY
End the forever wars in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and end U.S. involvement with the Yemen civil war.
Mixed. Mixed. However, the administration announced in November that it would sell $650million worth of air-to–air missiles to Saudi Arabia, which is a key player in the Yemen conflict.
– Place human rights at center of foreign policy
Mixed. Biden repeatedly criticized China for executing democracy activists in Hong Kong, and for human rights violations against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. Biden also expressed concern about Alexei Navalny’s treatment and imprisonment. Despite U.S intelligence showing Salman approving of the attack, he declined to hold Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown Prince, directly responsible.
• Improve relations with allies that had rocky relations to Trump.
Mixed. Allies praised Biden’s efforts to restore U.S. leadership in climate issues. Coordination efforts regarding China policy have been a success for the leaders of the Indo-Pacific. Biden admitted that his administration made mistakes in implementing a deal to supply nuclear submarine technology to Australia. This move torpedoed an $66 billion French agreement and caused Paris to temporarily recall its ambassador to Washington. Some NATO allies were disappointed by Biden’s decision to continue with the U.S. military withdraw in Afghanistan. They wanted to extend the mission to prevent a Taliban takeover.
As long as Tehran complies, you can quickly rejoin the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Still not done. Although indirect talks have not collapsed, White House hopes for a resolution are fading.
