Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
September 29, 2023, is now posted.

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

[link removed]

All the best,

Alexandra 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, September 29, 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:
#Themes-In-Washington-This-week

DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION POLICY THIS WEEK

BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES

**DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION POLICY 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****

**Border Security, Immigration Remain Central to a House GOP Deal on
Funding**As lawmakers are struggling to reach an agreement to fund the
government by the September 30 deadline, border security and immigration
policy remain central to the negotiations, with House leadership pushing
for more severe anti-immigration measures as a lynchpin for a deal. 

The Senate is largely aligned

in support of a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government at
current levels, which would evade a dreaded shutdown and give
policymakers until just before the Thanksgiving holiday to come to a
compromise. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that "government shutdowns
are bad news whichever way you look at them" and would bring
"unnecessary hardships for millions of Americans."

But in the House, some members of the Republican party are trying to
redirect blame for a potential shutdown onto migrants and asylum
seekers, insisting on a poison pill legislative proposal, H.R. 2
,
as part of their efforts to fund the government. 

The bill would severely restrict the right to seek asylum in the United
States, curtail other existing lawful pathways, place unnecessary
pressure on border communities, intensify labor shortages faced by small
businesses and essential industries, establish new criminal penalties,
and make other significant changes to U.S. immigration law.  It
narrowly passed

the House in May.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday that he thought "it would
be very important to have a meeting with the president," saying that the
government could stay open if President Joe Biden takes "some action on
the border to secure it."

But the Biden administration has already implemented strict tactics to
deter unauthorized crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. And meanwhile,
an analysis by the Washington Post this week suggests that McCarthy's
decision to refocus attention on border politics could represent a more
cynical strategy to deflect and distract from party infighting.

"Instead of allowing the conversation to center on House Republican
dissension, he's pushing the media - and, by extension, the public
- to view border security as the sticking point," the analysis

explained. 

House lawmakers are attempting to force the Senate to approve H.R. 2 as
part of the funding process for the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), while also trying to advance a CR with H.R. 2 attached. But any
measures with such draconian restrictions would likely be dead on
arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the White House has
already threatened to veto

H.R. 4367
,
the DHS appropriations bill.  

"There's a difference between fantasy and reality. And I live in
reality. My district is hit with the realities of this border crisis,"
Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said. "So I'm not looking for a messaging bill
that says all the right things and accomplishes nothing.

"In my eyes, a continuing resolution that just has fake things doesn't
get us any closer."

If the federal government were to shut down, that would leave border
agents working without pay
,
delay immigration court proceedings
,
suspend access to E-Verify
,
and otherwise affect the U.S.'s ability to enforce immigration laws. 

 "I find it very ironic that Republicans are threatening a shutdown
when this is going to weaken [border security] by taking away
authorities and funding, including contractors, from the border," Rep.
Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told TIME. 

**Mexico, U.S. Come to Enforcement Agreement as Border Crossings
Increase**On September 22, the Mexican government

announced 15 new actions it would take to respond to migration largely
en route to the United States, including an effort to "depressurize"
border cities like Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana through "the return of
migrants," presumably to their home countries. 

These new steps - focused largely on deterrence and repatriation -
come after the U.S. officially announced that its Border Patrol
documented over 181,000

migrant encounters between ports of entry along the U.S.'s southern
border in August, up about 36%

since the month before. More than 93,000 of those apprehensions

were of someone in a family unit, representing the plurality of
encounters. 

CNN reported on Monday

that a senior official has warned the U.S. public to expect high numbers
of crossings in the near term, even as border cities such as Eagle Pass

and El Paso

struggle to host more newcomers. 

Meanwhile, people are risking increasingly perilous journeys amid more
aggressive immigration restrictions that make it harder to access safer
paths such as asking for asylum at ports of entry. An infant girl died
Saturday

after a Border Patrol agent discovered her and her mother near Nogales,
while on Wednesday, two young migrant men ages 22 and 23 died in
Coahuila, Mexico, while trying to mount an in-motion train
. 

"Americans are rightly concerned about the border and migration
challenges. We must recognize these challenges for what they are: a
humanitarian crisis we must meet with compassion and resources," said
Jennie Murray
,
President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum.

**President Biden Sets Refugee Resettlement Ceiling at 125,000 for
Fiscal Year 2024**On September 29, President Biden signed the
Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2024
,
setting the refugee resettlement ceiling for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 at
125,000. 

The 125,000 refugee resettlement ceiling will be allocated by region.
President Biden designated a cap that ranges between 30,000 and 50,000
refugees from Africa, between 10,000 and 20,000 refugees from the East
Asian region, between 2,000 and 3,000 refugees from the European and
Central Asian region, between 35,000 and 50,000 refugees from the Latin
American and Caribbean region, and between 30,000 and 45,000 refugees
from the Near East and South Asian region.

The 125,000 target is the same ceiling as the one set for Fiscal Years
2022 and 2023. However, the U.S. refugee resettlement numbers in both
years been significantly below the 125,000 cap.  With only a few days
left before the end of FY 2023, the U.S. is currently on track to
resettle a total of 60,000 refugees, not even 50% of the 125,000
ceiling. This number, however, would represent a major improvement in
arrivals compared to Fiscal Years 2020, 2021, and 2022, when the U.S.
only resettled, 11,840, 11,400, and 25,000 refugees, respectively.

**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 includes federal legislative
proposals that have recently been introduced and that are relevant to
immigration policy. 

**S.2905**

****No Asylum for CCP Spies Act 

Thisbill

would prohibit members of communist parties from being granted asylum in
the United States unless they meet several very specific exceptions,
including publicly renouncing their membership, denouncing the party,
proving their membership was involuntary, and being determined to not be
a danger to national security by the Attorney General or the Secretary
of the Department of Homeland Security. It would also allow members of
communist parties to be granted asylum if they have information that is
important to national security. The House companion bill is H.R.5651
.

Sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) (7

Cosponsors - 7 Republicans, 0 Democrats) 

9/21/2023 Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Marco Rubio 

9/21/23 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

**H.R. 5672**
Bipartisan
Keep America Open Act

Sponsored by  Rep. Don Bacon (R- Nebraska) (11

Cosponsors - 5 Republicans, 6 Democrats)

09/22/2023 Introduced in the House by Rep. Don Bacon

**H.R.5684**
To
require the Director for Homeland Security Investigations of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct annual assessments on
threats posed to the United States by transnational criminal
organizations

This bill would require the Director for Homeland Security
Investigations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct
annual assessments on threats posed to the United States by
transnational criminal organizations and for other purposes.

Sponsored by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) (1

Cosponsor - 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

09/22/2023 Introduced in the House by Rep. August Pfluger

**H.R. 5694**
This
bill

would make appropriations for the salaries and expenses of certain U.S.
Customs and Border Protection employees working during a Government
shutdown in fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes.

Sponsored by Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) (23

Cosponsors - 22 Republicans, 1 Democrat)

09/26/2023 Introduced in the House by Rep. Monica De La Cruz

**H.R. 5717**
No
Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act

This bill
would provide that sanctuary jurisdictions that provide benefits to
immigrants who are present in the United States without lawful status
under the immigration laws are ineligible for Federal funds intended to
benefit such aliens.

Sponsored by Rep. Nick LaLota (R- New York) (9

Cosponsors - 9 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

09/26/2023 Introduced in the House by Rep. Nick LaLota

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate is expected to be in
session Monday, Oct. 2 through Friday, Oct. 6, 2023.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected be in session the week of
October 2, 2023.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There are no relevant hearings or
markups announced yet for the week of Oct. 2, 2023.

**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.

**DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG); ****DHS Needs to Improve
Annual Monitoring of Major Acquisition Programs to Ensure They Continue
to Meet Department Needs**

**; Published September 21, 2023**This report underscores weaknesses in
the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) operational analysis for
major systems, warning in part that components of DHS "used inaccurate,
outdated, or incomplete information to assess system performance."
Researchers wrote that "without accurate and transparent reporting, the
Department risks continuing to invest in programs that detract from its
mission and create significant cost overruns."

**DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG); ****DHS Needs to Update Its
Strategy to Better Manage Its Biometric Capability Needs**

**; Published September 22, 2023**According to the report, "the
Department of Homeland Security does not have an up-to-date strategic
plan to manage biometric capabilities across the Department." Its
current strategic framework has not been updated for eight years and
does not "accurately reflect the current state of biometrics" at DHS.

**DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG); ****ICE Should Improve
Controls Over Its Transportation Services Contracts**

**; Published September 25, 2023**This report finds that, with regard to
monitoring and overseeing transportation contracts,  U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to fully comply with guidance,
especially in appointing contracting officer's representatives,
overseeing contractor performance, and reviewing expenses.

**DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG);**** CBP Needs to Improve Its
Video and Audio Coverage at Land Ports of Entry**

**; Published September 25, 2023**This report outlines deficiencies
within U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Centralized Area Video
Surveillance System at land ports of entry (LPOEs), including
"widespread recording gaps, instances of poor qualify video and audio,
areas of inadequate video and audio coverage within LPOEs, and
inadequate privacy protections for detainees being held at LPOEs."

Here, we round up congressional hearings and markups happening in the
field or in Washington.

There are no relevant hearings or markups announced yet for the week of
Oct. 2, 2023.

**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:

 

**The Reasons Behind the Increased Migration from Venezuela, Cuba, and
Nicaragua**
This
paper explores the reasons behind the increased migration from
Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. While irregular migration from these
three countries ruled by autocratic governments is not new, the
situation in these countries has worsened in recent years. Commonalities
include domestic political crises, weakening economies, Covid-19,
natural disasters, and strict U.S.-led economic sanctions. Facing
precarious conditions and the threat of political persecution, a growing
number of people from these nations have opted to seek safety in the
United States.

**Explainer: U.S. District Court Judge Hanen Finds New DACA Rule
Unlawful**
This
explainer details the September 13 decision on DACA holding that the
program is unlawful. It also explores the decision's implications for
current DACA recipients and other Dreamers, discusses potential
solutions, and provides a timeline for the court challenge around DACA.

**CBP One: Fact Sheet and Resources Directory**
This
fact sheet and resources directory gives information and useful links
about CBP One's key features, its significance for asylum seekers, and
its shortcomings.

* * *

*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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