President Joe Biden moved to 鈥減reserve and fortify鈥� executive action that shields certain undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as young children, said in an executive order that laws that prohibit sex discrimination also prohibit discrimination against gender identity, and in another executive order initiated a government-wide push to emphasize racial equity on his first day as president.
Biden also revoked an executive order from outgoing President Donald Trump that created a commission to promote 鈥減atriotic education鈥� in schools and elsewhere. That group, the 1776 Commission released a report Monday that lamented what it called the role of identity politics and the progressive movement in historical studies; it was criticized by many historians for how it treated slavery and other elements of American history.
Biden took these and several other executive actions Wednesday, when he was inaugurated as the nation鈥檚 46th president. For months, Biden has pledged to reverse Trump administration actions on a variety of fronts, including on hot-button education issues. Wednesday鈥檚 raft of executive orders accomplished that goal, and also demonstrated his administration鈥檚 early priorities.
鈥淭hese actions are bold, begin the work of following through on President-elect Biden鈥檚 promises to the American people, and, importantly, fall within the constitutional role for the president,鈥� Biden鈥檚 transition team said in a statement Wednesday.
Racial Equity and DACA
Biden issued a memorandum 鈥減reserving and fortifying鈥� the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides certain legal protections to people who came to the country as undocumented immigrants while still young children, and he assigned this task to the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General.
He also said he would push Congress to create a path to citizenship for those protected by DACA. President Barack Obama instituted DACA in 2012, and Trump unsuccessfully tried to eliminate it. It鈥檚 worth remembering that Congress has tried but failed to address DACA in recent years as part of broader immigration legislation. As of roughly three years ago, an estimated 9,000 educators were protected by DACA. Preserving the program has been a priority for many education groups.
鈥淢any are serving our country in the armed services or as essential workers on the front lines of the pandemic,鈥� Biden鈥檚 announcement of these and other executive actions, released Wednesday before his inauguration, said of those helped by DACA.
These actions are bold, begin the work of following through on President-elect Biden鈥檚 promises to the American people, and, importantly, fall within the constitutional role for the president.
Elsewhere, the on Wednesday for 鈥淎dvancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government鈥� will mean lead to 鈥渁n equity assessment in federal agencies,鈥� designating federal resources 鈥渢o advance fairness and opportunity,鈥� and the establishment of a new 鈥渆quitable data working group,鈥� among other things.
In the same order, Biden revoked Trump鈥檚 executive order that promoted 鈥減atriotic education鈥� and established the 1776 Commission.
In addition, the order revoked a Trump executive order that cracked down on diversity and inclusion training in the federal government.
Transgender Rights and Student Loans
Separately, Biden signed an executive order interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year in the Bostock v. Clayton County case to mean that 鈥渓aws that prohibit sex discrimination ... prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, so long as the laws do not contain sufficient indications to the contrary.鈥� The executive order says this applies to the federal Title IX laws for education that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.
It鈥檚 a signal that the new administration, as Biden promised to do during his campaign, plans to reinstate Obama administration guidance about transgender student rights. (The Trump administration rescinded that guidance in 2017.) 鈥淐hildren should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,鈥� Biden鈥檚 new executive order states.
The executive order told agency leaders to review guidance documents, regulations, policies, and other 鈥渁gency actions鈥� to see if they complied with the executive order鈥檚 interpretation of federal law.
See some helpful background on the Bostock ruling here.
On the higher education front, Biden鈥檚 Education Department on collecting interest and principal payments on direct federal loans until at least Sept. 30 of this year.
Biden also a Trump directive that resulted in 鈥渉arsh and extreme immigration enforcement,鈥� and he called for an immediate halt to the construction of the border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
