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
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
Border Crossings Plummet Amid Deportations, Alarming Reports on Migrant Deaths
Irregular migrant crossings at the United States-Mexico border in June dropped to a new low for the Biden administration — 84,000, according to preliminary data reported by CBS News — as officials continue to implement aggressive restrictions against access to and eligibility for asylum.
New immigration court cases also declined sharply in June, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, though the overall court backlog remains large.
The United States has ramped up immigration enforcement even further in recent weeks, removing or returning more than 24,000 people to over 20 countries since early June. Among those deported were 116 migrants in the first large charter flight to China in half a decade, as the Chinese government and the U.S. resume migration-related cooperation, and as Ecuador cuts off a major Western Hemisphere smuggling route for Chinese nationals by reinstating visa requirements.
At the same time, the Biden administration has struck a deal with Panama to fund removal flights and crack down on migration through the Darién Gap, where many thousands of migrants have traversed to reach Central America — and eventually, the U.S. Panama has separately started erecting barbed wire barriers along the Darién’s foot passages, although Panamanian officials say one passage will remain open for migrants who can show identification.
Advocates and experts have warned these enforcement-focused policies from the U.S. and elsewhere will force migrants to take more dangerous, life-threatening routes, a reality that is already becoming apparent. On July 9, 54 migrants were rescued from the Rio Grande between El Paso and Sunland Park, New Mexico, along the same stretch of river where three bodies were found on June 25. Meanwhile, migrant corpses are being discovered in the surrounding area almost every day given extreme heat.
Amid this high death toll at the border, "increasingly, those dying are women," reports the nonprofit newsroom the 19th.
"We know, based on 20-plus years, that the harder you make it, the greater the risks that they will take in the desert, whether it is in Texas or Arizona," said Brad Jones, a volunteer with Humane Borders. "It means that risk-taking exponentially increases the likelihood you will die."
DHS Secretary Mayorkas Expands Temporary Protected Status for Yemen
On July 8, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen, allowing 2,300 Yemenis to keep their deportation protections and work authorizations while another 1,700 may now potentially qualify.
The 18-month extension and redesignation will cover Yemenis from September 4, 2024, through March 3, 2026 — but only if they have continuously resided in the U.S. since at least July 2.
"Yemen has been in a state of protracted conflict for the past decade, severely limiting civilians’ access to water, food, and medical care, pushing the country to the brink of economic collapse, and preventing Yemeni nationals living abroad from safely returning home," said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
"The steps the Department of Homeland Security has taken today will allow certain Yemenis currently residing in the United States to remain and work here until conditions in their home country improve."
The announcement also included accompanying protections for Yemeni students in the U.S.
June 2024 Refugee Arrivals the Lowest This Fiscal Year
The U.S. resettled 5,754 refugees in June, a decrease of 1,723 from the 7,477 refugees brought stateside in May.
This is the lowest number of refugee arrivals for any month in the 2024 fiscal year. The nine-month total of refugee arrivals for FY 2024 is 68,291, and if the U.S. were to resettle 5,754 refugees for the remaining three months of FY 2024, it would welcome 85,553 for the entire fiscal year.
Overall, FY 2024 started out well, but the arrivals for the past four months have fluctuated greatly, making it less likely the U.S. will resettle over 100,000 refugees this fiscal year. The target of 125,000 is likely out of reach.
That said, the last time the U.S. resettled more than 80,000 refugees was in FY 2016 (84,994).
Legal
Flores Settlement Agreement Partially Terminated
On June 28, a federal judge approved the Biden administration’s request to partially terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement (FSA).
Relying on the court system, attorneys have used the FSA for nearly 30 years to enforce standards of care for migrant children in federal custody. Thousands of children are held in government-funded shelters and border facilities at any given time, and kids that came to the U.S. alone are cared for until officials locate a trusted sponsor for them.
The judge agreed that new regulatory safeguards for unaccompanied migrant children in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services will meet FSA standards. But even with these new policies in place, lawyers are concerned by the lack of a regulatory framework in Texas and Florida, which revoked state licenses for migrant children’s facilities, and where a large share of the department’s holding capacity is.
The FSA will still apply to migrant children in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Preliminary Injunction Blocks Oklahoma Immigration Restrictions
On June 28, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of Okahoma’s House Bill 4156, one of several copycat laws that mirror Texas’s Senate Bill 4 trying to make immigration enforcement a state responsibility.
Oklahoma’s HB 4156 makes it a crime to be in the state without lawful immigration status. A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for as long as a year, a fine of $500, or both. A second offense is a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to two years, a fine of $1000, or both. Upon release, the law dictates that noncitizens must leave the state within 72 hours, even if they are scheduled for a hearing before a federal immigration judge there.
The legislation was scheduled to go into force on July 1, but the court’s preliminary injunction has blocked it from taking effect for now.
Judge Rejects Texas’s Harassment of El Paso’s Annunciation House
On July 2, El Paso Judge Francisco Dominguez denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to shut down the Annunciation House, a local organization that has provided temporary shelter for migrants over decades.
Dominguez said that Paxton’s forceful request for documents with sensitive information — without evidence of any legal violations — made it clear that the state government was attempting to harass Annunciation House’s employees and guests. He also pointed out that Paxton’s actions seemed politically motivated, rather than an attempt to enforce laws.
Without the Annunciation House and similar religious organizations’ help with migration services, more migrants would be living on the streets, the organization’s champions said.
The Annunciation House’s founder, Ruben Garcia, expressed concerns about Paxton’s actions and rhetoric, which he feared could inspire racialized violence against El Paso’s communities.
"We are prepared to continue to do the work of Annunciation House," Garcia told El Paso Matters. "We don’t plan to stop. There’s nothing defiant about that … to meet the needs of very vulnerable people."
State and Local
Nebraska Man Shoots 7 Guatemalan Immigrants, Including 4 Children
On June 28, seven Guatemalan immigrants, including four children ages 3-10, were injured from a shooting in a Nebraska home. Officials say the shooter was their neighbor, who was described as "reclusive and confrontational."
The shooting occurred on Friday evening, when 15 people were gathered in the victims’ home, specifically in the yard area. The perpetrator killed himself following the shooting, and the victims sought medical treatment.
Authorities said the shooting could be racially motivated. In the past, there had been complaints from the family concerning the perpetrator’s behavior, including that he told them to "speak English" and to return to where they came from.
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
Neither the U.S. Senate nor the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to be in session the week of Monday, July 15, 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 Monday, July 15, 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.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman; Annual Report 2024; June 28, 2024
This report provides a summary of the most pervasive and serious problems encountered by individuals and employers applying for immigration benefits with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Congressional Research Service (CRS); Comparing DHS Component Funding, FY2025: In Brief; Published June 28, 2024
This report explores actual and potential funding amounts for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), comparing the enacted fiscal year 2024 appropriations package, the FY 2025 requested annual appropriations, and the funding levels in the House-passed H.R. 8752.
DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG); USCIS Faces Challenges Meeting Statutory Timelines and Reducing Its Backlog of Affirmative Asylum Claims; Published July 3, 2024
This report explores the challenges — including lack of funding and personnel to accommodate a growing caseload — that have affected U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) ability to timely adjudicate asylum-related claims.
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:
The Myths and Truths of Noncitizen Voting in the United States
Noncitizens have been barred from voting in federal elections since 1924. This blog post explains the history of restrictions on noncitizen voting in the United States.
Explainer: The Biden Administration’s "Securing the Border" Interim Final Rule and Implementation of Border Policies
This explainer describes the "Securing the Border" interim final rule and its most significant changes to the U.S. asylum system, while providing context on how the policies are being implemented on the ground.
The Future of U.S. Immigration: Trump and Biden on Key Immigration Policy Areas
This document provides a top-level chart with an overview of eight positions Trump and Biden have taken during their tenure as President and their general election campaigns. Then read on for greater detail on each.
* * *
*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.
