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**Legislative Bulletin**Hello y'all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday, March
22, 2024, is now posted.

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

All the best,

Ally

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, March 22, 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.

**Legal**

****Texas's S.B. 4 Currently Paused After SCOTUS, Fifth Circuit Trade
Rulings****

On March 19, stakeholders endured hours of confusion as Texas's
Senate Bill (S.B.) 4 was permitted to take effect
by the U.S. Supreme Court, only to be halted again hours later by the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The controversial
 law
currently remains on pause as court challenges to it continue.

S.B. 4 creates new state criminal penalties for irregular border
crossings and allows Texas officials to carry out what
are effectively deportations. Challengers to the law note that it
violates longstanding legal precedents establishing that the federal
government - not the states - have exclusive authority to set
immigration enforcement policies. Critics have also raised concerns
about the prospect of racial profiling and the law's impact on due
process.

A divided Supreme Court gave Texas the go-ahead to enforce S.B. 4 on
Tuesday, with the controlling opinion by Justices Amy Coney Barrett and
Brett Kavanaugh holding - on narrow procedural grounds - that the
Supreme Court could not lift the Fifth Circuit's temporary stay of a
lower court injunction blocking the law. The ruling paved the way for
S.B 4 to go into effect. However, the opinion also permitted the Fifth
Circuit to restart its proceedings. Later that evening, the Fifth
Circuit, by a 2-1 margin, re-paused
 S.B.
4's implementation and scheduled a hearing for March 20.

University of Texas at Austin law professor Steve Vladeck called
 this
series of events "indefensibly chaotic," a theme Justice Sonia
Sotomayor also stressed in her dissenting Supreme Court opinion. And
already, confusion and fear about the law are festering across Texas. 

"Some people say we can be deported. Others say we'll be arrested if
we leave this shelter," said
 Maria
Alejandra Seijas García, a Venezuelan in El Paso. "It just seems unfair
to me. Shouldn't we be protected if we are in an asylum process?"

On the other side of the border, Mexico has said it will not allow Texas
to use S.B. 4 to effectively deport migrants from around the world back
to its sovereign territory. "We will not just sit around with our arms
crossed," said
 Mexican
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

**Supreme Court Opens Door to Circuit Court Review for Hardship
Determinations**

On March 19, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that the Third Circuit had
erred in 

**Wilkinson v. Garland**, a case involving a parent who applied for
cancellation of removal and eventually appealed his immigration
judge's negative determination to the circuit court.

Situ Kamu Wilkinson - who was detained for overstaying his tourist
visa - asked for cancellation of removal because his 7-year-old son
has a serious medical issue and needs his support. But the immigration
judge in Wilkinson's case felt it didn't meet the "exceptional and
extremely unusual" hardship standard required by the statute, and the
Third Circuit later said it didn't have jurisdiction to review that
decision.

In an opinion penned by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the high court
 disagreed,
saying that the immigration judge's hardship determination was a mixed
question of law and fact, which in turn made it reviewable. 

**Federal**

**House Approves Minibus to Fund Government Through September; Senate
Races to Act **

On March 22, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced
 a
$1.2 trillion appropriations bill to keep the government open through
September, even as a possible partial shutdown looms large. 

The legislation would cut funding for local governments and
organizations that help newcomers when they first arrive, while upping
contributions to Border Patrol to in part hire more agents. It also
provides support to tackle the work authorization and affirmative asylum
backlogs.

In an especially controversial move, the bill would significantly
increase the number of available U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) detention beds. At the same time, it would helpfully
include
 12,000 new
Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan allies. 

The Senate must now approve of the measure in order to avert a partial
government shutdown that would involve the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.

**U.S. Considers Using Guantanamo for Migrants as Situation in Haiti
Deteriorates**

As gangs have overtaken around 80% of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince,
U.S. officials are debating
 how
to respond to a potential increase in humanitarian migration from the
country in turmoil, where many could possibly flee by sea to try to
reach safety in Florida. 

The Biden administration is reportedly considering
 whether
to process Haitian migrants and asylum seekers at Guantanamo Bay in
Cuba, at a separate facility from where suspected terrorists are held. 

At the same time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has responded
aggressively by sending more than 250 officers and soldiers
to Florida's southern coast
.
He has also threatened that Haitians who make it to the Florida Keys
 may
be sent to Martha's Vineyard, in a stunt similar to the one his
government pulled in 2022
 that
earned widespread outcry.

"We cannot have illegal aliens coming to Florida," DeSantis said
 in
a statement, using dehumanizing rhetoric to describe people escaping
Haiti. 

Republican Congress members are also pushing
 President
Biden to use the Navy for maritime interdictions, a move that would
further militarize immigration enforcement.

**USCIS Reaches 2024 H-2B Cap and Opens Application Period for
Supplemental Visas**

On March 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported
 that
the agency had received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach
the congressionally mandated 33,000 H-2B visa regular cap for the second
half of fiscal year (FY) 2024. 

However, the agency will begin accepting H-2B petitions to cover the
64,716 supplemental H-2B visas for all FY 2024 announced on November
2023. These supplemental visas are available only to U.S. businesses
that would suffer irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the
H-2B workers requested in their petition. 

Among the 64,716 supplemental visas, 44,716 are reserved for returning
workers regardless of their country of origin. The remaining 20,000 are
reserved for workers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. 

The H-2B visa is a nonimmigrant work visa that allows U.S. employers to
bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary
nonagricultural jobs such as landscaping, meatpacking, poultry, fish
cutting, forestry, housekeeping, freight, construction, and nonfarm
animal caretaking, among others.

**Temporary Protected Status Expanded for Noncitizens from Burma**

On March 22, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced
 he
was expanding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) eligibility for
noncitizens from Burma, allowing around 2,300 current beneficiaries to
possibly keep their deportation protections and letting another 7,300
individuals potentially qualify. 

Mayorkas justified this continued support for Burmese people in the U.S.
by citing the military coup that overthrew their nation's government
in 2021 and "challenges in the provision of food, access to health care,
and economic stability."

New applicants must have resided in the U.S. since at least March 21.
Burmese students on F-1 visas may also be eligible for special relief. 

**State and Local**

**Chicago Slowly Starts Migrant Evictions **On March 17,
Chicago started
 evicting
migrants from its shelter system in a haphazard rollout amid freezing
weather. 

With a complicated tangle of rules that includes extensions for families
and other vulnerable individuals as well as the possibility to reapply
for another place to sleep, few if any newcomers were ultimately left
unhoused in the first days of the policy change. But the chaos that
ensued did send people out on the frigid streets short-term or even got
them in trouble at work as they waited to be reassigned a new bed. 

"It cost me so much to find that job," said Franklin Romero, who lost
his position remodeling a home after he was kicked out of his shelter
and had to spend the day at an intake center instead. "I don't even
know what to do."

This despite migrants saying
 at
least one of the shelters where they were staying still had empty cots
and rooms, seemingly preempting the need to free up space. 

**Florida Implements More Laws Targeting Undocumented Immigrants**

On March 15, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed new restrictive bills
into law that go after undocumented immigrants' ability to survive in
the state. 

"We are throwing the book at you, and you are going to regret coming to
the state of Florida," DeSantis said, according to the Florida Phoenix
. 

The new laws create mandatory 10-day jail sentences for repeatedly
getting caught driving without a license (or with one that's no longer
valid), trump up criminal penalties affecting some immigrants, and
invalidate community-issued ID cards for state and local government
purposes.

**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 not
to be in session from Monday, March 25 through Friday, March 29, 2024.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**

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

No relevant hearings or markups have been announced for the week of
March 25, 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.

DHS Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG); Results of July 2023
Unannounced Inspections of CBP Holding Facilities in the Rio Grande
Valley Area
;
Published March 15, 2024

This report summarizes observations during unannounced inspections of
three U.S. Border Patrol facilities and three Office of Field Operations
ports of entry in the Rio Grande Valley. In two of the Border Patrol
processing centers, migrants were held longer than the general 72-hour
limit. One of those facilities was also over maximum capacity.

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); Port Infrastructure: U.S.
Ports have Adopted Some Automation Technologies and Report Varied
Effects ; Published March
19, 2024 

This report considers the use of and activity around automation
technology at U.S. ports, including stakeholders' mixed opinions on
their suitability and efficacy.

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); Border Security: Border
Patrol's Missing Migrant Program
; Published March 20, 2024

This report explores the Missing Migrant Program, and in particular, it
spotlights issues and limitations with data collection around migrant
deaths and remains.

Congressional Research Service (CRS); DHS Border Barrier Funding
Developments: FY2021-FY2024
; Published March 20, 2024

This report explores how the Biden administration has broached policies
and practices around the construction of border barriers, given existing
appropriations and the legacy of the prior administration.

**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:

**Border Security and Asylum Reform in the Emergency National Security
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024: Bill Explainer**

This explainer breaks down the major immigration and border policy
changes in the bipartisan compromise that was defeated in the Senate.

A Better Way Forward: 2024 Immigration Principles

These principles reflect our deeply rooted values as a nation. We
believe these are vital principles for any leader working for an
orderly, secure and humane immigration system - especially amid an
election year. 

Six Actionable Recommendations to Improve Safety and Wellbeing for
Asylum-Seeking Families in the Context of the Biden Administration's
Fast-Tracked Deportations

This position paper details realistic policy changes that the Biden
administration could make to help ensure asylum seekers enrolled in the
Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) program have access to a
process that is as fair, efficient, and humane as possible in the
context of fast-tracked proceedings.

* * *

*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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