Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday, March
1, 2024, is now posted.

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

[link removed]

All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, March 1, 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 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****

****President Biden and Former President Trump Visit the U.**

**S**

**.**

**-Mexico Border****On February 29, President Joe Biden and former
President Donald Trump traveled

to the southern border in separate trips to discuss immigration - one
of the main political priorities among Americans, according to recent
polls
.
Biden visited Brownsville, Texas, and Trump went to Eagle Pass, Texas.

President Biden met

with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement officers, and local leaders.
He also called on Congress to pass the bipartisan deal on immigration
and border policy changes that the Senate rejected three weeks ago. That
deal

included significant changes to border security in the United States,
such as a new expulsion authority at the U.S.-Mexico border and
provisions to heighten the standard for people to qualify for asylum.

Former President Trump met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other
state officials. In his remarks, Trump argued that the U.S. is "being
overrun by the Biden migrant crime" and used as an example the murder

of the University of Georgia nursing student last week, where the main
suspect is an immigrant.

The tragic incident sparked reactions

from elected officials, thought leaders, and advocacy groups nationwide.
While expressing deep condolences for the murder of the student and
calling for the perpetrator to be brought to justice, Jennie Murray,
President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, called

on elected officials and candidates to avoid using "this heartbreaking
case for political ends or to generate fear." In the statement, the
National Immigration Forum highlighted that "research
 has demonstrated
 repeatedly over the
years  that
immigrants are less prone to criminal behavior than people born in the
U.S."

Notably, the trip to the U.S.-Mexico border occurred only two weeks
after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a 42% decrease

in border encounters in January compared to December.

****Ukrainian Parolees in the US Can Apply for Re-Parole****On February
27, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced

that Ukrainian citizens who were paroled into the United States after
February 11, 2022, can apply for re-parole. The parole program will
allow Ukrainians forcibly displaced by Russia's invasion to continue
living and working legally stateside.

Many of the Ukrainian parolees who are eligible for re-parole came to
the U.S. through the program called Uniting for Ukraine
.
Since the program's inception in April 2022, around 170,000 Ukrainians

have been granted parole for up to two years.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are
currently 6.5 million refugees

from Ukraine who have sought refuge globally, while some 3.7 million
people remain forcibly displaced inside the country. In addition, around
40% of the Ukrainian population needs humanitarian and protection
support.

****Percentage of**F

**oreign-Born Workers in the US Labor Force Continues Growing****Recent
statistics published by
the U.S. Department of Labor show that 19% of workers in the United
States are foreign-born. That number represents almost a 2% increase
from 17.3%

when President Biden took office.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that increase will
allow the U.S. economy to grow by about $7 trillion

over the next decade. In addition, according to the Federal Reserve
Chair, Jerome Powell, the increase of migrants in the workforce has
helped to reduce inflation

in recent months.

According to a February 27 report

from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the strict immigration
policies enacted between 2017 and 2022 tightened the labor market. The
report found that the rebound of immigration in the United States for
the last two years helped alleviate a shortage of workers
.

****Biden Administration Hosts Trilateral Migration Ministerial Meeting
with Guatemala and Mexico****On February 28, U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met
with their Guatemalan and Mexican counterparts in Washington, D.C. for a
trilateral meeting on migration
.

Following the meeting, the three delegations issued a joint statement

addressing various focal points for trilateral cooperation, including
strategies to tackle root causes of irregular migration, regional
development, border enforcement, and labor mobility pathways. The three
countries also agreed to share information on migration flows and to
combat human trafficking.

In advance of this meeting, the Mexican government published

data regarding the economic impact of Mexican nationals in the U.S.
According to the Mexican government, 37.3 million Mexican nationals live
in the U.S., including 26.7 million second- and third-generation
Mexicans, 10.6 million born in Mexico, and around 5.3 million
unauthorized migrants. Mexicans contribute $324 billion in taxes every
year, and most live in California (36%) and Texas (22%). Notably, seven
out of ten farmworkers in the U.S. are Mexican nationals. In addition,
Mexican nationals in the U.S. pay, on average, $1.38 for every dollar
the U.S. government spends on social benefits. Finally, the report
highlighted that Mexican nationals in the U.S. send 18.5% of their
earnings as remittances to Mexico ($63.3 billion) while spending 81.5%
of their earnings in the U.S. ($265 billion).

****Congress Reaches Bipartisan Deal to Avoid Government Shutdown; No
Immigration Provisions Included****On February 29, the U.S. House of
Representatives and the Senate passed

a bipartisan bill to avoid a government shutdown. The bill - which
does not include immigration provisions - will fund

the government until March 22 to give lawmakers more time to pass
full-year appropriations bills. In the House, the bill passed with a 320
to 99 vote, with 97 Republicans voting against. In the Senate, the bill
passed with a 77 to 13 vote. Now, the bill is cleared for President Joe
Biden's signature.

****Legal****

****Federal Court Blocks Texas's SB 4****On February 29, The US
District Court for the Western District of Texas granted a motion for
preliminary injunction

to block Texas's SB 4, a bill that would allow state officials to
apprehend and effectively remove migrants and asylum seekers who cross
without authorization.

The court highlighted

that states may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as
authorized by the federal government. In addition, the court found that
SB 4 conflicts with key provisions of federal immigration law, to the
detriment of the United States' foreign relations and treaty
obligations. Moreover, the court argued that surges in immigration do
not constitute an "invasion" within the meaning of the Constitution.

The court's decision will temporarily block

the law from going into effect as the case is litigated. Without an
injunction, the law would have gone into effect on March 5, 2024.

Texas appealed the ruling before the Fifth Circuit on February 29.

****State and Local****

****NYC Mayor Adams Calls for Change to Sanctuary City Laws****On
February 27, Mayor Eric Adams expressed

his desire to change the sanctuary city laws in New York City. Sanctuary
jurisdictions are those which limit state and local officials'
involvement in federal immigration enforcement functions, with myriad
exceptions for more serious, violent crimes. Some immigration advocates
and law enforcement officials have argued

that requiring local law enforcement to conduct federal immigration
enforcement functions can undermine public trust in local law
enforcement and make communities less safe.

Any changes to the city's sanctuary laws would require

the City Council's cooperation, and according to a City Council
spokesman, there are "no plans to revisit these laws."

**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. 3808

**A bill to prohibit deployment of Federal air marshals to the southern
and northern borders of the United States**

Sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) (0

cosponsors)

02/27/2024 Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Ted Cruz

02/27/2024 Referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation

S. 3811

**The Empowering Immigration Courts Act**

This bill

would give immigration judges authority to sanction anyone in
immigration court for behavior constituting contempt of their authority,
as defined by federal law.

Sponsored by Sen. John N. Kennedy (R-Louisiana) (2

cosponsors - 2 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

02/27/2024 Introduced in the Senate by Sen. John N. Kennedy

02/27/2024 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 7415

**The "Detain Illegals until Repatriated or Expelled" (DIRE) Act**

This bill would appropriate federal funds to reimburse states for
detaining noncitizens without permission to be in the U.S. or those who
cannot verify their immigration status.

Sponsored by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) (0

cosponsors)

02/20/2024 Introduced in the House by Rep. Tony Gonzales

02/20/2024 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 7456

**The First Responders Emergency Assistance Act**

This bill

would provide grants to first responders in areas with increased
migration pressure, especially those at the southwest border.

Sponsored by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) (0

cosponsors)

02/26/2024 Introduced in the House by Rep. Ruben Gallego

02/26/2024 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 7475

**To require the GAO to conduct a study detailing the total cost of
unused construction materials that were obtained for the construction of
a border wall along the United States-Mexico border**

Sponsored by Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) (0

cosponsors)

02/28/2024 Introduced in the House by Rep. Beth Van Duyne

02/28/2024 Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**

The U.S. Senate is expected to be in session from Tuesday, March 5,
through Friday, March 8, 2024.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to be in session
from Tuesday, March 5, through Friday, March 8, 2024.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**

**There are no immigration-related hearings scheduled for the week of
March 4, 2024.**

**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.

**There were no immigration-related government reports the week of
February 26, 2024.**

**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:

Environmental Migration: Finding Solutions for the 21st Century
This
paper explores environmental migration as a potential method of
adaptation. First, it analyzes environmental migration as a phenomenon,
focused on some of the nuances that make weather- and climate-related
forces complicated yet influential factors in the decision to move.
Then, it considers existing international mechanisms and U.S. laws that
could potentially relate to environmental migration. It briefly
discusses how immigrant and diasporic communities are especially
vulnerable to environmental harms, even after they have already
migrated. Finally, it concludes with policy recommendations on how the
U.S. (and other countries) could effectively respond to environmental
migration in the 21st century.

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.

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 population growth is 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 that 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
Arturo Castellanos-Canales, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the National
Immigration Forum, with comments and suggestions of additional items to
be included. Arturo can be reached at [email protected].
Thank you.

 

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