LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — President Joe Biden signed more than a dozen executive orders during the first day of his term. But how much of an impact will those decisions have on Nevadans?
One order of particular importance to the Silver State fortifies the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program, which shields certain people who came to the U.S. as children from deportation.
“We have a lot of friends and neighbors here in Nevada who are Dreamers,” shared Nikki Levy, staff attorney with ACLU of Nevada.
According to the American Immigration Council, 12,000 Dreamers lived in Nevada as of March 2020. The ACLU of Nevada tells us this executive order also calls on Congress to create a path to citizenship.
“For a Nevada Dreamer, right now this means that there’s some sense of security, at least that your situation will not change immediately,” Levy explained.
Another executive order extends the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium until at least March 31. But experts say Nevadans should focus on our state’s declaration form.
“In Nevada, because the Governor has enacted a stronger eviction moratorium through March 31, the CDC’s eviction moratorium will have no impact,” said Aaron MacDonald, staff attorney with the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada’s consumer rights department.
One executive action that will impact Nevadans is extending the existing pause on student loan payments through at least September.
“Our student body is majority of color, low-income, first generation, all of these risk factors, and so they are the least likely to have funding for college,” said Stefani Relles, associate professor of higher education policy at UNLV.
While these are good steps forward, most agree that there is more work to be done.
“There is quite a bit of work left to do,” Levy confirmed.
