| Your weekly summary from the Council. |
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Over 863,000 people in the United States have Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allows them to live and work legally while there home country is undergoing turmoil or conflict. But the population of people in “twilight status” is increasingly vulnerable to the whims of the executive branch, as the Department of Homeland Security can revoke or allow expiration of any TPS grant. As of today, there are 13 TPS designations set to expire in 2025. |
The Torrance County Detention Facility, located in the remote deserts of New Mexico, is notorious for its mistreatment of migrants. The facility’s issues are compounded by the fact that Torrance has largely operated in secrecy. However, documents and data uncovered through a FOIA request have provided a glimpse into ICE detention practices into the facility. |
A new analysis by the American Immigration Council reveals that the number of temporary non-agricultural workers certified by the U.S. Department of Labor grew from over 147,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2018 to more than 215,000 in FY 2023—a 46% jump in just five years. Still, the visa program caps the number of workers at 66,000 workers per year, split between the first and second halves of the fiscal year. Congress had to authorize additional visas in the past four fiscal years.
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Although almost all Senate Republicans ultimately voted against the Border Act, most of the provisions in the bill previously garnered bipartisan support. If passed in the future, the Border Act would make significant changes to the U.S. immigration system. |
Some state officials across the country are working to purge voters from the voter rolls this week, claiming they are working to prevent voting by undocumented immigrants.
Voting by noncitizens is incredibly rare. These purges only serve to disenfranchise eligible voters and place our democratic process at great risk.
This Immigration Impact blog breaks down the myth of noncitizen voting, showing how the data indisputably proves that undocumented immigrants don’t vote in any significant numbers in U.S. elections.
Read more: Unpacking Myths About Noncitizen Voting — How Heritage Foundation’s Own Data Proves It’s Not a Problem |
Congress established the H-2 visa program in 1952 to allow U.S. businesses to directly hire seasonal foreign guest workers when American workers were not available. There are two separate visas under this category: the H-2A visa, for temporary agricultural workers; and the H-2B visa, for temporary non-agricultural workers.
Analysis of Department of Labor (DOL) data reveals that demand for H-2B workers has risen 46% since 2018. This growth highlights the escalating reliance on H-2B workers, particularly in hospitality and tourism, landscaping, construction, forestry, and seafood processing industries.
This new special report explores the role of H-2B workers in the United States, the process for obtaining a visa, and suggestions on how to modernize the program.
Read more: The Expanding Role of H-2B Workers in the United States |
“The last time we made any changes to our immigration enforcement and asylum system was in 1996, at the height of the Macarena craze. We are using these 20th century relics to run our immigration and asylum system and we haven’t changed that structure. There are more points on which politicians and the public agree on immigration than there points that we disagree, and we have to keep focused on those... until we can have that adult conversation, I’m worried we won’t see progress in Washington.”
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