Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday, May 5,
2023, is now posted.

You can find the online version of the bulletin
here: [link removed]
<[link removed]>
[link removed]


All the best,

Alexandra 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, May 5, 2023**Welcome to the National
Immigration Forum's weekly bulletin! Every Friday, our policy team
rounds up key developments around immigration policy in Washington and
across the country. The bulletin includes items on the legislative,
executive, and judicial branches, as well as some coverage at the state
and local levels. 

Here's a breakdown of the bulletin's sections:

BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED <#bills-introduced-and-considered>

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR <#legislative-floor-calendar>

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS <#upcoming-hearings-and-markups>

DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION THIS WEEK <#Themes-In-Washington-This-week>

GOVERNMENT REPORTS <#government-reports>

SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
<#spotlight-on-national-immigration-forum-resources>

**BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED**It can be challenging to keep up with
the constant barrage of proposed legislation in Congress. So, every
week, we round up new bills. This list
<[link removed]>
includes federal legislative proposals that have recently been
introduced and that are relevant to immigration policy. 

Please follow this link
<[link removed]>
to find new relevant bills, as well as proposed legislation from past
weeks. 

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
Representatives will be in session from Tuesday, May 9 through Friday,
May 12, 2023.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**Here, we round up congressional
hearings and markups happening in the field or in Washington. 

****Evaluating High-Risk Security Vulnerabilities at our Nation's
Ports****

**Date:**Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. EST (House Committee on
Homeland Security)

**Location:**310 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

**Witnesses: **

**Rear Admiral Wayne R. Arguin Jr.,** Assistant Commandant for
Prevention Policy, U.S. Coast Guard

**Eric Goldstein,**Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity,
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

**Neal Latta,**Assistant Administrator for Enrollment Services and
Vetting Programs, Transportation Security Administration

**DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION THIS WEEK**Immigration policy is a dynamic
field subject to constant change. Here, we summarize some of the most
important recent developments in immigration policy on the federal,
legal, state, and local levels. 

Content warning: This section sometimes includes events and information
that can prove disturbing. 

****Federal ****

**The Biden Administration Prepares for Planned End of Title 42 on May
11 **On May 2, news broke that the Biden administration is sending
1,500 more troops
<[link removed]>
to the United States-Mexico border - in addition to the 2,500 National
Guard members already deployed there - to serve in support roles
<[link removed]>
amid the planned end of the Title 42 public health order. 

The additional deployment will last 90 days, during which military
personnel will assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with
ground-based detection and monitoring, warehouse support, data entry,
and other activities. However, the troops will not partake in direct law
enforcement, officials said.
<[link removed]> 

This move comes as the Biden administration braces for an anticipated
increase in migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.'s southern border
on and after May 11, when the pandemic-era Title 42 policy that has
allowed officials to quickly expel migrants without the chance to seek
asylum is finally expected to expire. 

Last week, DHS and the Department of State unveiled a sweeping plan
<[link removed]>
to address this likely uptick in humanitarian migration. The
announcement included a series of carrots and sticks meant to broaden
access and eligibility for more orderly lawful immigration pathways
while simultaneously cracking down on those who try to cross into the
U.S. without authorization - even if they're doing so to ask for
asylum. 

On the enforcement side, the White House announced
<[link removed]>on
Tuesday that "Mexico will continue to accept back migrants on
humanitarian grounds," which in practice means that the Mexican
government will receive non-Mexicans
<[link removed]>
deported from the U.S. The agreement opens the door for the U.S. to
continue removing nationalities such as Cubans, Venezuelans,
Nicaraguans, and Haitians, who - for diplomatic and other reasons -
are more difficult to return to their countries of origin. 

In a "Meet the Press" interview
<[link removed]>
on Sunday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also asked Congress for
support and spotlighted the need for additional resources at the
southern border.

"Remember, the resources will enable us to move more quickly, more
efficiently within a broken immigration system," Mayorkas said. "So I
just want to be clear that we are working within significant
constraints. We need people. We need technology. We need facilities. We
need transportation resources. All of the elements of addressing the
needs of a large population of people arriving irregularly at our
southern border."

**House GOP Introduces Border Bill, With A Vote Likely Next Week**On May
2, House Republicans officially introduced their expansive border
security and immigration package, the Secure the Border Act of 2023,
which takes an enforcement-only approach to the U.S.'s
migration-related challenges. 

The package is a combination of the Border Security and Enforcement Act
of 2023
<[link removed]>
out of the House Judiciary Committee and the Border Reinforcement Act of
2023
<[link removed]>out
of the House Homeland Security Committee. In addition, it includes the
Regional Immigration and Diplomacy Enforcement (RIDE) Act, a bill
<[link removed]>
that would authorize the Secretary of State to negotiate regional
immigration agreements under specific conditions.

Taken together, the package's far-reaching provisions would
significantly limit access and eligibility for asylum, curtail other
existing humanitarian pathways, require all U.S. employers to verify
potential workers' immigration status, criminalize visa overstays,
restart border wall construction, and roll back safeguards for migrant
children, among other noteworthy reforms. 

The Secure the Border Act of 2023, led by Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart
(R-Florida) and Tom McClintock (R-California), is expected to receive a
vote on the House floor as early as next week. In the Senate, some
lawmakers
<[link removed]>
are heralding the House bill as "something we can build on" while they
recommit to efforts for bipartisan reform. Others, however, recognize
that the proposed legislation is inhumane as it stands now. 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) described a long-awaited immigration package
as "a high-wire act," while also emphasizing that it was "the only path
forward."

Meanwhile, in the short term, Sens. Krysten Sinema (I-Arizona) and Thom
Tillis (R-North Carolina) are pitching a legislated two-year extension
<[link removed]>
of migrant expulsions from the U.S., in a bill that goes beyond
<[link removed]>
even the severe restrictions imposed by Title 42.

**Report: Biden Administration Extends Parole Protections for
Afghans **Starting in June, the Biden administration will allow
<[link removed]>
Afghans brought to the U.S. after the Taliban's takeover to request
renewal of their parole status - which has let them live and work
here legally, but only temporarily. 

That decision comes amid inaction in Congress to provide tens of
thousands of Afghan evacuees with a more permanent solution and a
pathway to U.S. citizenship. It also closely follows similar relief that
was extended to Ukrainians
<[link removed]>
whose legal status was set to expire earlier this year.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - the federal agency
in charge of immigration benefits - will reportedly establish five or
more support centers
<[link removed]>
across the country to link up Afghans with social services and
attorneys, who can help them renew their parole and apply for other
forms of immigration relief, including asylum. The first support center
will be in Phoenix, Arizona, per DHS
<[link removed]>.

**H-1B Visa Lottery Primed for Reform After Reports of Multiple
Entries**

** **Possible reform could be on the way for the H-1B visa lottery,
after revelations
<[link removed]>
that a small number of companies colluded to enter the same applicants
multiple times in order to increase their prospective hires' chances
of winning a visa.

According to USCIS, registrations for the H-1B visa, which allows
high-skilled professionals from abroad to work in the U.S., reached a
record high for fiscal year 2024, and these multiple entries are partly
responsible. 

In response, the government is considering raising the registration fee
and writing regulations to further preempt the system's misuse. 

The H-1B program has maintained a limit of 85,000 visas per year since
2004
<[link removed]>,
despite the U.S. economy doubling in size since then. And USCIS data
show that over 75% of registrations would have been rejected due to the
low annual limit, even if those with duplicate registrations were
excluded from the lottery.

According to Stuart Anderson
<[link removed]>
of the National Foundation for American Policy, H-1B limits and the
declining percentage of eligible lottery applications being approved
pose a serious issue for U.S. competitiveness.

**The U.S. Resettled Over 6,000 Refugees in both March and April of FY
2023**The United States resettled
<[link removed]> 6,394 refugees in
April, a 4% increase over the 6,122 refugees resettled in March - a
promising sign for the U.S. refugee program. 

Seven months into fiscal year 2023, the U.S. has resettled 24,823
refugees out of President Joe Biden's annual determination
<[link removed]>of
125,000

**.** At the current rate, the U.S. is on target to resettle
approximately 42,554 refugees this fiscal year. Or, if officials were to
resettle 6,394 refugees for the next five months, the U.S. would instead
welcome 56,793 refugees in fiscal year 2023 - a major improvement over
the past five years, but still far short of the cap set by the Biden
administration.

To achieve the goal of 125,000 refugees in fiscal year 2023, the U.S.
would now need to resettle 20,035 refugees every month for the next five
months. Such a high monthly goal has not been achieved in the past 20
years of U.S. refugee resettlement, let alone consecutively over an
extended period of time.

**Report: Migrants Granted Humanitarian Parole Likely Filling Critical
U.S. Labor Shortages **A new FWD.us-George Mason University study
<[link removed]> finds that increasing
immigration can mitigate inflation by addressing U.S. labor shortages
and an aging population. 

The report attributes the rise in inflation in part to a tightening
labor market caused by the relocation of remote-workers to areas with
labor shortages, coupled with unwontedly low immigration rates due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.

And, according to the study, recent immigration actions may provide a
limited preview of how increased immigration could help fight
inflation. 

Since the start of the Biden administration, hundreds of thousands of
people
<[link removed]>
have been granted humanitarian parole to find safety and work legally in
the U.S. The new report suggests that this timely increase in
immigration coming out of the pandemic has likely helped to address
labor shortages. 

The researchers write that an estimated 450,000 individuals who were
permitted to enter the country via parole in 2021 and 2022 probably
ended up working in industries with labor shortages, such as
construction and hospitality, that are typically supported by a large
number of immigrants. They also suggest that the administration's new
humanitarian parole programs for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and
Venezuela may help ease worker shortages - and likely reduce
inflation as well. 

****State and Local ****

**Lawmakers Pass Concerning Florida Legislation, Making the State Less
Immigrant-Friendly**On May 2, Florida lawmakers sent a sweeping
immigration bill
<[link removed]>
to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis's desk for his signature, despite months
of local pushback warning against the proposal's expected negative
consequences for both immigrants and their larger communities. 

With limited exceptions, the legislation
<[link removed]>
is largely based on priorities enumerated by DeSantis earlier this year.
It would mandate businesses with at least 25 employees to check their
workers' immigration status through the E-Verify system, bar immigrants
without legal status from using driver's licenses issued by other
states, and require certain hospitals to ask patients about their
immigration status. Plus, it would disallow undocumented professionals
from being admitted to practice law in Florida, throwing a wrench
<[link removed]>
in young Floridians' dreams of representing their own communities. 

Originally, the bill also included a broad provision that would have
imposed trumped-up criminal penalties on people who transported
undocumented immigrants within Florida. But faith leaders reacted by
decrying what they saw as an infringement on their religious liberties
<[link removed]>,
given that churches often transport people to doctor's appointments or
worship as part of their ministry, with little regard for someone's
immigration status. After such outspoken criticism, state lawmakers
decided to limit the new smuggling penalties to transportation across
state lines, into Florida
<[link removed]>. 

**Democratic Mayors Spar With Texas, Biden Administration Over Migrant
Challenges**Ahead of the anticipated end of the Title 42 public health
order, local and state leaders are arguing over who should shoulder the
responsibility for migrants and asylum seekers once they arrive in the
U.S., as tensions build after more thana year
<[link removed]>
of Republican governors sending newcomers to left-leaning cities and
states en masse.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has strongly admonished President Joe
Biden - who is otherwise his ally
<[link removed]>
- for not doing enough to expedite asylum seekers' work
authorizations, so they can get to work and not depend so much on the
city's services. 

"The issue is not the asylum seekers, the issue is the fact that the
national government is not doing its job," Adams said. He has also
accused Gov. Greg Abbott
<[link removed]>
(R-Texas) - one of the politicians sending busloads of migrants to
more liberal places in the country's interior - of specifically
targeting cities led by Black mayors.

Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reached out
<[link removed]> to
Abbott about his plans to continue bussing migrants to her city, in
hopes of appealing to his "better nature" and getting him to "stop this
inhumane and dangerous action."

"Some of the individuals you placed on buses were women in active labor,
and some were victims of sexual assault. None of these urgent needs were
addressed in Texas. Instead, these individuals and families were packed
onto buses and shipped across the country like freight without regard to
their personal circumstances," Lightfoot wrote in the letter. 

"I know by your actions that you either do not see or do not care about
the trauma these migrants have already faced and continue to suffer
under the humanitarian crisis you have created," she continued. "But I
beseech you anyway: treat these individuals with the respect and dignity
that they deserve."

Abbott, in turn, responded with his own letter promising to continue
sending more busloads of migrants to cities like Chicago, New York,
Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

"If you truly want to 'work together to find a real solution' to
this border crisis gripping our nation, you must call on the Biden
Administration to do its job by securing our border, repelling the
illegal immigrants flooding into our communities, classifying the
Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and
intercepting the deadly fentanyl that is endangering our country,"
Abbott wrote
<[link removed]>. 

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**Reports by bodies such as the U.S. Government
Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service, and the
Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General provide
invaluable information on immigration policy and practice. Here, we give
brief summaries of new immigration-related reports, with links to the
resources themselves in case you want to learn more. 

**Congressional Research Service (CRS);****Immigration: The U.S.
Entry-Exit System** <[link removed]>

**; May 2, 2023**This report examines the U.S.'s entry-exit system,
which helps identify inadmissible noncitizens, visa overstays,
criminals, and terrorists while trying to efficiently process travelers
entering and exiting the country.

**Office of Inspector General (OIG);****Intensifying Conditions at the
Southwest Border Are Negatively Impacting CBP and ICE Employees' Health
and Morale**
<[link removed]>

**; May 3, 2023**This report explores how greater workloads are
affecting law enforcement personnel at U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
"who feel overworked and unable to perform their primary law enforcement
duties."

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES**The Forum is
constantly publishing new policy-focused resources that engage with some
of the most topical issues around immigration today. Here are a few that
are particularly relevant this week: 

**Bill Summary: The Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023**
<[link removed]>This
bill summary details H.R.2640, including key provisions from House
Republicans' border package. 

**Bill Summary: Regional Immigration and Diplomacy Enforcement (RIDE)
Act**
<[link removed]>This
bill summary explains the provisions in the Regional Immigration and
Diplomacy Enforcement (RIDE) Act, or H.R. 1690, which was introduced by
Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-Texas). 

**Florida's Immigration Enforcement Legislation: Five Key Concerns**
<[link removed]>This
resource provides key information about the legislative package
Republican lawmakers in Florida introduced on March 7, 2023.

* * * *This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact
Alexandra Villarreal, Policy and Advocacy Associate at the National
Immigration Forum, with comments and suggestions of additional items to
be included. Alexandra can be reached at
[email protected]. Thank you.

 

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