Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello y'all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
February 2, 2024, is now posted.

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

All the best,

Ally 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, February 2, 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

**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****

**Senate Tees Up Vote on Border-Ukraine Compromise**On February 1,
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) promised

an initial vote no later than Wednesday next week on a priority national
security supplemental that trades border and immigration policy changes
for Ukraine aid, despite the fact that legislative text for the deal has
yet to be released publicly.

Schumer said text of the compromise could be posted as soon as today,
and should be out no later than Sunday. 

This sudden rush after months of negotiations comes amid reports that
the deal is "on life support
,"
and as an influential former national security adviser

under former president Donald Trump says he thinks the House GOP would
be more open to a Ukraine-only bill focused on military aid. That marks
a 180-degree turn for Republicans, who initially demanded any Ukraine
funding be linked to border policy changes. 

**Mayorkas Impeachment Advances After Committee Deliberation **Early on
January 31, Republican members of the House Homeland Security Committee
voted 18-15

along party lines to advance two impeachment articles against Homeland
Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, despite widespread agreement

among Democrats, constitutional scholars, past secretaries, and national
security experts

that Mayorkas's actions don't amount to impeachable offenses. 

The House GOP's impeachment push now heads to the full floor, where a
vote could take place as early as next week
.
Yet with Democrats seemingly unified against the effort and some
Republicans skeptical

or also opposed, it's unclear whether House leadership has the votes to
send the articles to the Senate. 

And, even if the House does impeach Mayorkas, some senators

are already raising the possibility that their upper chamber may dismiss
a trial, which could kill the House GOP's crusade against Mayorkas with
a simple majority of votes.

**Border Crossings Plummet Even as CBP Releases High December
Numbers **In January, irregular crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border
trailed off dramatically after December saw a record high

of 249,785 migrant encounters

by Border Patrol.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) documented a total of 302,034
migrant encounters at the U.S.'s southern border in December,
including people who entered at a legal port of entry. In the last month
of 2023, the agency was able to process nearly 46,000 people through
pre-scheduled appointments, rounding out a total of roughly 413,300
migrants and asylum seekers who successfully used the federal
government's CBP One phone app to book a time to report at a port of
entry. 

Even so, irregular border crossings remained high in December, with an
average of over 8,000 per day. But that number has dropped precipitously
in the new year, with CBP reporting "an over 50% decrease" during the
first two weeks of January. 

CBP is describing

these declines as "consistent with historical trends and enhanced
enforcement," in part because Mexico

has trumped up its deterrence efforts against migrants heading north.
But the increase in December and subsequent dip in January may also be
attributable to rumors that the border would shutter or the CBP One app
would stop working in the new year, as well as poor conditions in the
Darién Gap and a lack of regional migration over the Christmas holiday,
the Washington Office on Latin America explained
.

While the border has become far quieter
and
more manageable in recent days (despite some areas starting to report

modest upticks again), a convoy of protesters are making noise with
three concerning assemblies on Saturday, on a mission to "take our
border back." The leaders have called on "all active and retired law
enforcement and military, Veterans, Mama Bears, elected officials,
business owners, ranchers, truckers, bikers, media and LAW ABIDING,
freedom-loving Americans" to bolster their campaign, and although they
have consistently stressed that the convenings should be peaceful, some
of their audience seems intent on violence - at least in their
rhetoric. 

"There is a point where we are going to have to get our hands dirty,"
one supporter wrote, according to Wired
.
"I've dealt with MANY bullies in my life, and I've never been able to
reason with them. The one universal language bullies understand is when
you push them back."

The events are partially in support of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), whose
ongoing conflict with the Biden administration took a new turn last week
after the Supreme Court gave federal border agents the legal go-ahead to
cut razor wire installed by the state. 

​​"All Governor Abbott has to do is call for the citizens and we are
armed and ready," said a commenter on a video about the convoys,
according to NBC News. 

**Biden Administration Launches Pilot Program to Renew H-1B Visas
Stateside; USCIS Announces Other H-1B Developments**On January 29, the
Department of Statelaunched

the first phase of a new pilot program that allows certain H-1B visa
holders to renew their visas without having to leave the United States.
The program - limited to visa holders from India and Canada - will
process a maximum of 20,000 applications through April 1, 2024.

The initiative isexpected

to reduce consular backlogs, save money for H-1B employers, and provide
more stability to H-1B workers who will not have to leave the U.S. to
renew their visas. At this stage, the stateside renewal program excludes
dependent visa holders like spouses and children, a source of
frustration for many potential beneficiaries. If successful, the program
is expected to expand its eligibility to include L-1 and O-1 visa
holders. 

At the same time, on February 2, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) posted afinal rule

amending its regulations relating to the H-1B registration selection
process. The new ruleaims

to reduce the potential for gaming the system. For that purpose, each
beneficiary will have the same chance of being selected, regardless of
how many registrations are submitted on their behalf. In addition, the
new rule codifies USCIS' ability to deny or revoke H-1B petitions.

Also, on January 30, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS)announced

that the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open
on March 6 and will run through March 22, 2024. As it does every year,
the H-1B visa cap includes a ceiling of 65,000 regular visas and an
additional 20,000 visas for people who meet an advanced degree
exemption. Notably, the number of H-1B applications for the previous
fiscal year reached arecord high

of 780,884 registrations for 2024, an increase of 61% over the 483,927
registrations for FY 2023.

Finally, on January 30, USCISpublished

a final rule to adjust its fees. The agency argued that new fees -
updated for the first time since 2016 - are critical for USCIS, whose
budget is overwhelmingly fee-funded. Approximately 96% of the agency's
funding is from filing fees, while only about 4% is from congressional
appropriations. 

**Biden Administration Expands TPS for Syrians **On January 26,
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended and redesignated

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria, allowing around 6,200
Syrians to potentially retain their deportation protections and
expanding eligibility for around 2,000 more people. 

Mayorkas attributed his decision to the ongoing armed conflict and
extraordinary and temporary conditions in Syria, as the country's
residents endure civil war, civilian casualties, human rights
violations, food insecurity, and other unlivable circumstances.

TPS for Syrians will now run through September 30, 2025
.
Current beneficiaries must still re-register in a timely fashion.

Syrian students on an F-1 visa may also be eligible for work
authorization and other special accommodations.

****State and Local****

**University of Texas Ends Immigrant, Mixed-Status Family Student
Support Program Amid DEI Ban **In January, students at the University
of Texas at Austin (UT) were blindsided when the Monarch program - an
initiative
to support undocumented students, temporary status students, students
from mixed-status families, and allied American citizens - was
suddenly terminated in the wake of S.B. 17, Texas's new diversity,
equity, and inclusion ban at public colleges and universities. 

The state law bars the existence of offices with programming involving
race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation, but it
doesn't reference

"immigration" or "legal status" at all. 

"You can be a white undocumented student, you can be an Asian American
undocumented student, you can be a Latino undocumented student," said

Antonio Ingram, assistant counsel at the Legal Defense Fund.
"Undocumented status is not a racial category; it's not a category
that's gender identity, orientation."

According to the American Immigration Council
,
46% of undocumented students in the U.S. are Hispanic, 27% identify as
Asian American and Pacific Islander, around 14% are Black, and one in
ten are white.

In the absence of the Monarch program, Rooted

- another group that includes UT students, alumni, and others - is
already trying to step up to fill gaps left for scholars in need of
community and assistance. 

**Massachusetts Pursues Innovative Migrant Resettlement
Pilot **Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey's (D) administration is
currently negotiating with the state's eight resettlement agencies to
help migrant families within the shelter system to find permanent
housing and jobs. The agencies would provide year-long case management
services
,
including helping migrants access the state's HomeBASE program to help
cover housing costs.

Under the proposed deal, Massachusetts's resettlement agencies
- such as the International Institute of New England and Ascentria
Care Alliance - would be able to help dozens offamilies each

to leave shelters and find permanent housing in the community, with the
goal of accommodating a total of 400 migrant families currently in the
shelter system. 

The new program is innovative in that it seemingly allows resettlement
agencies to provide much-needed assistance to migrant families who may
not qualify for federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) services.

Under current federal policy, ORR funds
are set aside
for refugees, asylees, some humanitarian parolees
,
and other vulnerable populations. However, they fail to cover many of
the migrants arriving in Massachusetts and other parts of the country
awaiting asylum adjudications or otherwise in legal limbo and hoping to
resettle in the U.S. 

If successful
,
the pilot program aims to save the state money in the long run by
investing in migrant resettlement, which could prove a more permanent
solution than keeping migrants in the state's oversaturated temporary
shelter system. 

**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 is expected to be in
session from Monday, February 5 through Friday, February 9, 2024. 

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to be in session from
Monday, February 5 through Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

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

**Biden's Border Crisis: The Consequences of Failing to Secure Federal
Border Lands**

**Date:**Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. MST (House Natural
Resources) 

**Location:**Community Room at Cochise College, 901 Colombo Ave., Sierra
Vista, Arizona

**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);****U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement: Improvements Needed to Workforce and Expansion
Plans for Unit of Native American Law Enforcement Personnel**

**; Published January 30, 2024**This report analyzes U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Shadow Wolves program on the Tohono
O'odham Nation reservation in Arizona, including a shift in operational
focus from interdiction to investigation in the last decade.

**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: 

**Explainer: Asylum Backlogs**
This
explainer details how an ever-shifting policy landscape and extensive
backlogs impact theasylum process
in
the United States. It describes what asylum is, how people apply, why
such cumbersome backlogs exist, and what can be done in terms of
solutions.   

**Schedule A: The Solution to Expedite the Hiring of Essential Immigrant
Workers by Skipping the Burdensome Labor Certification Process**
Updating
Schedule A is a simple yet valuable alternative for the Biden
administration to create a less bureaucratic environment for many
employers who are struggling to hire workers. This explainer describes
the labor certification process and gives the reasons behind calls to
update the Schedule A list to include more occupations. 

**Still More Room to Grow: Immigrants Can Reverse the U.S. Population
Decline and its Economic Consequences**
In
2024, the United States continues
to
face significant demographic challenges
.
Propelled by falling birth rates, the U.S. population is rapidly aging
and steadily declining. In turn, the country is experiencing economic
and social pressures caused by labor shortages. This article provides a
follow-up to "Room to Grow
,"
a 2021 white paper where the National Immigration Forum proposed a
methodology that showed how the country needed a 37%

increase in net immigration levels over those projected for fiscal year
2020 (approximately 370,000 additional immigrants a year) to prevent the
U.S. from falling into demographic deficit and socioeconomic decline.

* * *

*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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