Does lame duck Biden have time to Trump-proof democracy?

The skies above the White House were cold and grey. Joe Biden greeted the championship-winning Boston Celtics team, quipping about his Irish ancestry and tossing a basketball into the crowd. But the US president could not resist drawing a wider lesson.

- David Smith

"When we get knocked down, we get back up," he said. "As my dad would say: 'Just get up, Joe. Get up. Character to keep going and keep the faith, that's the Celtic way of life. That's sports. And that's America."

Such events continue to be among the ceremonial duties of a lame duck president with waning influence. Biden has cut a diminished figure, first surrendering his chance to seek re-election, then finding himself sidelined by vice-president Kamala Harris's doomed presidential campaign.

But with his legacy imperilled by Donald Trump, the president, who turned 82 last week, is facing calls to mitigate the oncoming storm. Advocacy groups say Biden can still take action during his final two months in office to accelerate spending on climate and healthcare, secure civil liberties and Trump-proof at least some fundamentals of US democracy.

Trump's signature campaign promise was a draconian crackdown on illegal immigration. He has nominated officials including Tom Homan and Stephen Miller, architects of family separations at the border during his first term, and vowed to use the US military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is leading an opposition effort, urging Biden to halt the current expansion of detention facilities.