What does the end of the restriction mean on some immigrant visas

Biden Reverses Immigrant Visa Measure 0:42

(CNN) -

President Joe Biden on Wednesday reversed a Trump decree temporarily banning some immigrant visas during the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure opens legal avenues to migrate to the United States that former President Donald Trump had closed, arguing at the time that it was the best thing for the economy in the first months of the pandemic.

Biden said in a proclamation Wednesday that Trump's order "does not advance the interests of the United States.

On the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of US citizens and legal permanent residents from joining their families here.

"It also hurts America's industries that use talent from around the world," the president continued.

"And it hurts people who were selected for the opportunity to apply for, and who have also received, immigrant visas through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery."

Diversity visas are granted by random selection in selected countries to promote immigration from places that would not otherwise send many immigrants to the United States.

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The proclamation marks just the latest effort by the Biden administration to dismantle the hardline immigration policies championed by the Trump administration.

Over the course of the Trump presidency, the administration modified the US immigration system, destroyed the asylum and reduced the number of refugee admissions to record lows and dramatically reduced legal immigration.

The coronavirus pandemic accelerated further adjustments to the system that had previously been left unimplemented, including Trump's April decree, which he had argued was necessary to save American jobs.

"This order will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds are first in line for jobs while our economy reopens," he said at the Trump White House at the time.

“Crucially, we will also preserve our health care resources for American patients.

We have to take care of our patients;

we have to take care of our great American workers.

And that's what we're doing".

Biden had outlined an ambitious immigration agenda in the election campaign that would reverse the actions of his predecessor, promising, for example, to introduce comprehensive immigration legislation and maintain programs that provide relief to immigrants living in the United States.

He began his term with the signing of a series of immigration executive actions last month, although other changes in immigration policy will require more time and coordination with Congress.

There is a long way to go.

These are just executive actions, ”Biden told reporters on his first day in office.

"But we are going to need legislation for many of these (policies) that we are going to do."

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