- April 14, 2021
“I can say quite clearly: Don’t come,“ U.S. President Biden recently said in an interview, addressing migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Time and again, thousands of migrants from Central and South America make the long and arduous journey to the southern border of the United States. For four years, Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had pursued rigorous anti-immigration policies. Joe Biden has reversed some of those measures so far using executive orders. But the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border remains tense: CBP and HHS border facilities are at capacity, agencies are overwhelmed, and FEMA is deployed to help with the surge of unaccompanied migrant children. At the same time, the Biden administration is working on fundamental immigration reform.
To what extent are Biden’s executive orders to end construction of a border wall with Mexico and to repeal the Muslim Ban simply symbolic changes? What policies could change the devastating situation at the border for the better? How realistic is long-term immigration reform, considering Republican support in Congress is needed? What long-term opportunities would immigration reform offer? Our podcast hosts Dr. David Deißner and Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner are joined by Victoria Rietig, head of the Migration Program at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Klaus Brinkbäumer, Program Director of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR).
“America’s Choice – Der USA-Podcast” is a German-language podcast on U.S. politics, co-produced by the Aspen Institute Germany and the Atlantik-Brücke. The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.
