Priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration's
First 100 Days: Recommended Executive Orders or Actions
First 100 Days: Recommended Executive Orders or Actions
Communities like ours, that have already been marginalized by structural barriers to equal opportunities and have low levels of wealth, are particularly vulnerable during all emergencies, whether natural disasters, economic downturns, or a health pandemic like the one caused by COVID-19. In order to respond to the crisis being faced by Latinos due to COVID-19, as well as to address other issues negatively impacting Hispanic and immigrant communities across the country, we urge the Biden-Harris administration to issue the following Executive Orders as soon as possible.
Automatically extend Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and underlying status of work-authorized immigrants, including for DACA and TPS holders for at least the original time period granted to the individual.
Take immediate action to grant TPS for Mexican nationals. The COVID-19 crisis in Mexico represents extraordinary and temporary country conditions that make it unsafe to return Mexican nationals.
Reverse efforts to end DACA. Begin implementation of deferred action to undocumented parents under the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) policy, extend DACA to allow relief for more individuals who came to the United States as children, and enact policies to extend deferred action to LGBTQ immigrants without children, in the absence of federal legislation.
Take immediate action to protect communities impacted by the devastation caused by Hurricanes Iota and Eta by directing your State Department to grant TPS re-designation for Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador and include Guatemala in the designation.
Direct the Dept. of Justice to end appeals of the Federal District Court’s determination that residents of Puerto Rico should be eligible for the SSI program.
Issue an executive order on Hispanic hiring to increase the representation of diverse Hispanics in career federal employment positions and other government posts. Include funding for initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion in workforce hiring, training and retention, and strong accountability mechanisms that encourage agencies and managers to meet diversity hiring targets for Hispanics (including in race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability).
Issue an executive order to immediately halt construction along the Southern border and terminate contracts by activating the clause that allows the government to break any contract and create a commission on Healing and Reparations for border communities and to assess mitigation for ecological damage to the environment, habitat, and sacred native lands.
Reprogram the $1.375 billion for the southern border wall, which was recently appropriated to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to begin repairing fragile ecosystems, desecrated Indigenous sacred sites, and reverse the deadly militarization of the region.
Address the student debt crisis and wealth inequality by broadly cancelling federal and private student loans prioritizing low income, and first-generation college students to help close the wealth gap.
Elevate the leader of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) to an Assistant Secretary position similar in status to the head of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Office for Civil Rights.
Rescind July 11, 2019 Executive Order on Collecting Information about Citizenship Status in Connection with the Decennial Census.
Rescind July 21, 2020 Presidential Memorandum on Excluding Illegal Aliens From the Apportionment Base Following the 2020 Census.
