[[link removed]] Your weekly summary from the Council.
LATEST ANALYSIS
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Data Snapshot: The Number of Black Immigrants in the US Continues to Rise [[link removed]]
The “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024” was released on February 4. For months, a bipartisan group of senators negotiated the compromise bill, which proposes significant changes to asylum and border policy to release billions in foreign military aid.
A version of the supplemental including the immigration deal failed in a procedural vote in the Senate on Wednesday. However, it is still possible that this bill – or other immigration proposals – could be added to the supplemental as amendments in the next few days
Data Snapshot: The Number of Black Immigrants in the US Continues to Rise [[link removed]]
As we celebrate Black History Month, the Council shines a light on new data. Black immigrants not only contribute to America’s rich political and cultural history—think rapper Wyclef Jean, U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, or basketball’s Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, to name but a very few—they also play an important and growing role in our economy, making outsize contributions in industries facing critical worker shortages, such as healthcare and transportation.
USCIS Finalizes Increase in Fees for Immigration-Related Applications [[link removed]]
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finalized [[link removed]] its long-awaited fee rule on January 30, which impacts the filing costs for almost all the agency’s applications. The new fees will take effect April 1, 2024.
FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Senate’s border bill attempts to tackle some of the many problems facing our immigration system and the situation at the southern border. Unfortunately, the bill’s solutions are incomplete in some respects and would be unnecessarily harmful in others.
This special report from the American Immigration Council provides alternative recommendations toward creating a viable path toward a better system.
Read more: Beyond A Border Solution [[link removed]]
ACROSS THE NATION
Last Sunday night, as soon as the bill text was released, the Council staff jumped into action to analyze the 370-page document and create a digestible, 6-page summary in time for Congressional offices, media, and the public to read ahead of the vote.
If passed in its current form, the Senate’s border bill would be the most sweeping immigration bill of the twenty-first century.
It would overhaul the process for seeking asylum in the United States—and impose an “emergency authority” that would leave asylum fully out of reach for those crossing between ports of entry for much of the next three years.
In this new fact sheet from the Council, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the bill by examining what the bill would do, what it wouldn’t do, and better alternatives.
Listen: An Analysis of the Senate Border Bill [[link removed]]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"No president has the authority to simply shut the border to migrants."
– Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, [[link removed]] Policy Director at the American Immigration Council for PolitiFact [[link removed]]
FURTHER READING
The Hill: How the federal government created the immigration crisis that now bedevils it [[link removed]]
New York Times: Impeachment Case Against Mayorkas Ignores Government’s Immigration Powers [[link removed]]
Huffington Post: A Brief History Of Republicans Walking Away From Bipartisan Immigration Deals [[link removed]]
Slate: So Many People Agree That Joe Biden Should “Shut Down” the Border to Stop Migration. There’s Just One Problem With That! [[link removed]]
Newsweek: Abraham Turned Himself in at the Border. I Took His Case Pro-Bono [[link removed]]
New York Times: Letters to the Editor: Desperate Migrants Seeking New Life [[link removed]]
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