SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden has lifted a Trump-era ban issued during the pandemic that lawyers said was blocking most legal immigration. Last spring, former President Donald Trump halted the issuance of green cards until the end of 2020 in the name of protecting the coronavirus-wracked economy. On Dec. 31, Trump extended those orders until the end of March. Biden said keeping out immigrant labor was hurting the U.S. economy, not protecting it. The order was blocking tens of thousands of people, including the relatives of U.S. permanent residents, immigrant employees and visa lottery winners.
