Here is a timeline of key actions he and his administration have taken during the past 100 days. Still, Biden’s climate-centric vision is unprecedented. His administration aims to return the United States to a leadership role in addressing the global climate crisis, despite skepticism among foreign nations blindsided by four years of Trump’s isolationist and anti-science policies, and the inevitable criticism that Biden’s policies are either too much or not enough. Hours after taking office, he signed an executive order that recommitted the United States to the Paris agreement, revoked the permit for the contentious Keystone XL pipeline, and halted federal oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where just one day earlier the outgoing Trump administration had authorized nine new leases. He has responded by making climate concerns the cornerstone of his agenda, wedding environmental goals to pandemic recovery, infrastructure development, and international security. It emphasized the need for immediate action: “2021 is a make or break year,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in the accompanying statement, adding that the study’s findings were “a red alert for our planet.”īiden’s presidency coincides with a narrowing window of time to act. Speaking at a UN climate and security debate in February, naturalist David Attenborough called the climate crisis “the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced.”Ī UN study released days later concluded that the world’s nations have to redouble their efforts to meet the objectives of the Paris climate agreement. Climate change is progressing at such a rate that if we fail to halt it, scientists say, we will face irrevocable and worsening damage. President Joe Biden took over at a moment of existential threat, when the long-term ability of humans to thrive on Earth is no longer assured. The Biden administration argued in court filings that the agreement is unenforceable because “an outgoing administration cannot contract away that power for an incoming administration.” Paxton’s office, meanwhile, submitted a Fox News opinion article as evidence that “refusal to remove illegal aliens is directly leading to the immediate release of additional illegal aliens in Texas.President Biden at last week's virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. That agreement required Homeland Security to consult with Texas and other states before taking any action to “reduce, redirect, reprioritize, relax, or in any way modify immigration enforcement.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that the moratorium violated federal law as well as an agreement Texas signed with the Department of Homeland Security late in the Trump administration. The 100-day moratorium went into effect Friday and applied to almost anyone who entered the U.S. That was a reversal from Trump administration policy that made anyone in the U.S. “President Biden remains committed to taking immediate action to reform our immigration system to ensure it’s upholding American values while keeping our communities safe,” the White House said.ĭavid Pekoske, the acting Homeland Security secretary, signed a memo on Biden’s first day directing immigration authorities to focus on national security and public safety threats as well as anyone apprehended entering the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security referred a request for comment to the White House, which issued a statement saying the moratorium was “wholly appropriate.” Immigration agencies typically have latitude in processing cases and scheduling removal flights. While Tipton’s order bars enforcement of a moratorium for 14 days, it does not require deportations to resume at their previous pace.
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