In mid-2020, the Trump administration revised asylum rules to restore them to their original purpose. Asylum seekers who have spent more than two weeks in a country en route to the USA must apply in that country. Fear of crime is no longer viewed as persecution for asylum purposes. Claims that are deemed reckless can be closed.
These changes will take effect January 2021. You annoyed many in the asylum representation. They could also save the Biden administration from a surge of migration as COVID-19 wears off – and protect it from another summer-time rush to the border that did so much political damage to the Obama administration in 2014 and 2016.
Almost doubling the standard tax deduction
The 2017 tax legislation did not lead to an investment boom, but it did ease the tax burden of many low-income earners and make their lives easier. Before tax charges, the standard taxpayer deduction was $ 6,350 for singles, $ 9,350 for heads of household, and $ 12,700 for married couples. (There was also a personal exemption of $ 4,050.) In addition to this protected amount, low-income taxpayers could deduct additional amounts – provided they kept proper records.
The tax law removed the need to keep records of low-wage workers. And it's nearly doubled the standard withholding: for 2020 income, single people pay no income tax on their first $ 12,400, heads of households on their first $ 18,650, and married couples on their first $ 24,800.
While most of the benefits of the 2017 bill were gathered from the richest, this measure did a real service not only to the working poor, but also to many middle-income families who can deduct more while reporting less.
Restoring proper process on campus
In 2011, the Obama administration issued new guidelines to universities to protect themselves from sexual harassment and abuse. Many universities interpreted these guidelines as an order to remove protections from due process in cases of sexual assault. Many of the accused students lost fundamental rights such as knowledge of the charges against them. Universities have often saved money by appointing the same officer to investigate allegations, determine guilt, and apply punishment.
Emily Yoffe reported for The Atlantic in 2017 on the extreme injustices that universities have often inflicted under the 2011 guidelines. Courts agreed. The students soon filed and won lawsuits against universities for denying their legal rights – about 100 cases a year by the end of the decade, according to one scholar.
The Trump Education Department repealed the 2011 guidelines and reiterated that sexual misconduct allegations must be handled on campus by the same rules that apply across American society.
A space force
At the dawn of the nuclear age, the US Army, Navy, and Air Force each had their own nuclear roles.