Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello y'all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
January 12, 2024, is now posted.

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

All the best,

Ally 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, January 12, 2024**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:

DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION THIS WEEK

BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES

A note: the bulletin will take a break next week for an
organization-wide retreat and resume on Friday, January 26.

**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****

**Migrant Encounters Drop at the Border Amid Winter Weather, Mexican
Enforcement **Migrant encounters at the United States-Mexico border
have dropped dramatically in recent days as Mexico ramps up its
immigration enforcement against people headed north - including
families who have waited for permission to enter the U.S. through the
federal government's CBP One app. 

As migrants and asylum seekers in Mexico are being marched onto planes
and flights south or even being repatriated, some are scrambling to
reunite with their loved ones in time for their CBP One appointments,
which often take months to secure.

Manuel Rodriguez spoke with the Associated Press at Casa del Migrante in
Piedras Negras, where he said his family could not attend their
appointment to ask for asylum because it was through their in-laws, who
had already been deported to Venezuela. "It was all under her name and
she lost everything," he said
. 

In return for this chaotic border crackdown, Mexican President Andrés
Manuel López Obrador has said he wants the U.S. to send $20 billion in
support to Latin America and the Caribbean, end sanctions against
Venezuela, pause a blockade on Cuba, and provide a legal pathway for
millions of Latinos living stateside, NBC News reported
. 

Yet it's unclear whether Mexico's increased enforcement will have a
long-term effect on U.S. border crossings, or even whether it's the
primary driver for a sudden decline in irregular migration this month.
According to Andrew Selee
,
president of the Migration Policy Institute, the number of migrants
trudging through the treacherous Darién gap - likely on their way to
the U.S. - had already plummeted in December, and seasonal migration
patterns could also be at play. 

Meanwhile, a relatively new Biden administration initiative to allow
people to apply for humanitarian relief and other pathways to the U.S.
from closer to home is starting to show some success. Already, 3,000
refugees have come to the U.S. through the "Safe Mobility Offices"
located in Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, and around
9,000 applicants have been approved through the program, according to
the Associated Press
. 

**Senate Border-Ukraine Deal Remains Elusive as Parole Authority Becomes
Sticking Point**On January 11, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) - one
of the lead negotiators on a potential compromise to exchange border
security policy changes for aid to Ukraine - said

he "can see the finish line" for a deal after months of bipartisan
talks.

Yet despite optimistic remarks

from the head GOP negotiator earlier this week, no legislative text has
been released, and critical disagreements remain over reforms to the
executive branch's parole authority
,
which has been used under the Biden administration to bring Afghan
allies, war-torn Ukrainians, Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and
Haitians to safety in the U.S. 

Some lawmakers are floating

a cap on the number of noncitizens who can be paroled into the country,
with a caveat that would allow for congressional permission to exceed
that ceiling. At the same time, negotiators are reportedly considering
an expansion of non-custodial fast-tracked deportations, which are
already taking place on a smaller scale through the Biden
administration's Family Expedited Removal Management
(FERM) program. 

Lawmakers are also discussing

whether to include several narrow but positive reforms, including a
pathway to legal status for Afghan evacuees, safeguards for "Documented
Dreamers" who risk losing legal status when they turn 21, and quicker
work authorization eligibility for asylum seekers.

The Senate negotiations - which have relied
on
technical expertise and involvement from Homeland Security Secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas - come even as the House of Representatives begins
an impeachment push

against the beleaguered cabinet official. They also coincide with
looming deadlines to avert a potential government shutdown, as House
Speaker Mike Johnson faces pressure

from the right to back out of a funding deal and instead mount a battle
over the U.S.-Mexico border. 

**Three Months In and U.S. Refugee Arrivals Remain High for Fiscal Year
2024**The U.S. resettled 6,964 refugees in December, a decrease of 500
from the 7,464 who were resettled in November. It should be noted,
however, that due to the holidays there is often a week or so when
refugee arrivals are put on hold in December. 

The first three-month total for refugee arrivals in FY 2024 is 21,790
refugees. If the U.S. were to resettle the same number of refugees for
the next three quarters of the 2024 fiscal year, it would resettle
87,160 people. To reach the 125,000-refugee target for FY 2024, the U.S.
would need to resettle approximately 11,468 people for the next nine
months.

****State and Local****

**New York Begins Evicting Migrant Families from Shelters Despite
Widespread Outcry **On January 9, migrant families relying on the city
of New York for shelter were forced to pack up and leave

the midtown Manhattan hotel where they were staying after reaching their
60-day limit there. 

Forty families at The Row hotel were the first to be evicted, with a
total of 4,400 families under notice that they too will have to leave
their housing in the coming weeks, the New York Times reported
. 

The migrants can reapply for new placements, but advocates have warned
that these disruptions will still likely affect children's educations
as they're potentially sent to different locations far from their
schools. 

"Tonight, I don't know where we'll go," Venezuelan Joana Rivas said
outside a migrant center after being forced from The Row. "I came here
just to see what they would tell me, with the hope that my daughter has
somewhere to stay tonight."

Yet even as the evictions leave migrant families out in the cold, new
polling suggests almost 80%

of New York City residents support the long-standing right to shelter
for their unhoused neighbors. 

"The idea that we could, as New York City, be so immoral as to say there
is a child in front of me right now who needs help and I am going to put
them out on the street in the winter in January, knowing that they have
nowhere to go and nothing to eat," Liza Schwartzwald, director of
economic justice and family empowerment at the New York Immigration
Coalition , told Gothamist
.
"That to me is just a staggering injustice."

**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. 

Please follow this link

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 are expected to be in session from Tuesday, January 16
through Friday, January 19, 2024. 

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

H. Res. 957 - Denouncing the Biden administration's open-borders
policies, condemning the national security and public safety crisis
along the southwest border, and urging President Biden to end his
administration's open-borders policies

**Date:**Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. EST (House Rules)

**Location:**H-313, Capitol, Washington, D.C.

**Relevant Items:**H.Res. 957

**Business Meeting**

**Date:**Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. (Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs)

**Location:**Senate Dirksen Building, SD-562, Washington, D.C.

**Relevant Items:**PN1232 - Jeff Rezmovic - Department of Homeland
Security

**The Biden Administration's Regulatory and Policymaking Efforts to
Undermine U.S. Immigration Law**

**Date:**Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. EST (House Oversight
and Accountability)

**Location:**2154 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

**Witnesses:**TBA

**Voices for the Victims: The Heartbreaking Reality of the Mayorkas
Border Crisis**

**Date:**Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. EST (House Homeland
Security)

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

**Witnesses:**TBA

**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.

**U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO);****Traveler Inspections:
DHS Mechanisms to Help Prevent Discrimination and Address Complaints**

**; Publicly Released January 11, 2024**This report considers U.S.
Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) policies and processes to preempt
and respond to potential instances of discrimination against travelers
arriving in the United States. 

**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: 

**Statement for the Record - The House Committee on the Judiciary
Hearing on "The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Social Services"**

**  **
First,
this statement provides a brief overview of immigrants' access to
federal public benefits - or lack thereof - with a focus on
unauthorized immigrants and noncitizens in legal limbo. Then, it
discusses how state and local governments - alongside good
Samaritans and direct service providers - have carried much of the
responsibility for supporting newcomers in their communities. Next, it
looks at how unauthorized immigrants contribute to the U.S., in return
for the chance to live and work here. Finally, it ends with policy
recommendations that lawmakers can implement to more proactively respond
to both the U.S.'s needs and the needs of migrants today.  

**Parole in Place: A Possibility for Administrative Protection**
This
paper explores parole in place as a potential tool to provide
undocumented people with access to temporary protections in the United
States. 

**Explainer: What Are Safe Mobility Offices?**
Read
this explainer for information about what we know so far on how SMOs are
being implemented in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Colombia, and who may
qualify to participate.  

* * *

*This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact
Alexandra Villarreal, Senior 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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