President Biden issued another stack of executive orders yesterday, bringing the total during his brief tenure so far to 45, far outdistancing his most recent predecessors. He has, in fact, issued so many executive orders since his inauguration on January 20 that even his supporters are beginning to notice. In response, yesterday Biden felt called upon to defend himself:
There’s a lot of talk, with good reason, about the number of executive orders that I sign. I’m not making the law. I’m eliminating bad policy.
Ah, so that’s what they call it nowadays. Back on February 14, 2017, early in the Trump administration, NBC reported on the “large” number of executive orders thus far issued by President Trump, noting in their article’s subtitle:
It’s been less than a month since Donald Trump took office, and the 45th president has already signed a dozen [!] executive orders.
Well, it’s been far less than a month since Biden took over and he has already issued nearly four times as many as Trump. For the record, here’s a rundown on Biden’s executive orders so far having to do with immigration, courtesy of CNN:
| Date | Summary |
|---|---|
| Jan 20 | Undoes Trump’s expansion of immigration enforcement within the United States |
| Jan 20 | Halts construction of the border wall by terminating the national emergency declaration used to fund it |
| Jan 20 | Fortifies DACA after Trump’s efforts to undo protections for undocumented people brought into the country as children |
| Jan 20 | Extends deferrals of deportation and work authorizations for Liberians with a safe haven in the United States until June 30, 2022 |
| Feb 2 | Revokes Trump’s order justifying separating families at the border and creates a task force that recommends steps to Biden to reunite separated families |
| Feb 2 | Rescinds Trump’s memo requiring immigrants to repay the government if they receive public benefits. Elevates the role of the executive branch in promoting immigrant integration and inclusion, including reestablishing a Task Force on New Americans. Requires agencies to review immigration regulations and policies |
| Feb 2 | Aims to address economic and political causes of migration, works with organizations to provide protection to asylum seekers and ensures Central American asylum seekers have legal access to the United States. Rescinds Trump administration policies and guidelines and also initiates a review of policies “that have effectively closed the U.S. border to asylum seekers” |
Doubtless, lots more will be forthcoming. Just keep in mind that when Biden does it, he’s not acting the dictator, he’s just “eliminating bad policy.”
For more, see Breitbart News.