Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
January 22, 2021 is now posted.

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

All the best,

Danilo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, January 22, 2021**BILLS INTRODUCED AND
CONSIDERED

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS

THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES

**BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED****H.R. 355**

**The Chinese Communist Party Visa Disclosure Act**

The bill would require F, J, or M student visa-holders and their
families to disclose to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
whether they have received funds from the Government of the People's
Republic of China (PRC), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or any
entity owned or controlled by either the PRC or the CCP.

Sponsored by Representative Greg Steube (R-Florida)

01/19/2021 Introduced in the House by Representatives by Representative
Steube

01/19/2021 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate will be in session the
week of Monday, January 25, 2021.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Monday,
January 25, 2021 to Thursday, January 28, 2021.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**Hearings to Examine the Expected
Nomination of Alejandro N. Mayorkas, to be Secretary of Homeland
Security

**Date: **Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. (Senate Homeland
Security and Government Affairs Committee)

**Location: **342 Dirksen Senate Office Building

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****President Biden Announces Comprehensive Immigration Platform on
First Day in Office****On January 20, soon after he was sworn in,
President Joe Biden announced

an expansive immigration bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which
he immediately sent to Congress. According to an administration fact
sheet, a public briefing , and several

news reports
,
the bill would provide an 8-year path to citizenship for most of the
undocumented population, a border management approach that includes a
focus on addressing root causes of migration from Central
America, some legal immigration reforms, a series of humanitarian
provisions, and additional protections for immigrants at the worksite.
The bill is set to be introduced

in the Senate by Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and in the House

by Representative Linda Sanchez (D-California).

While most of the undocumented population would have to spend at least
five years on a temporary status before being able to apply for green
cards and eventually citizenship under the proposal, the bill reportedly
would immediately provide access to green cards for Dreamers, Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) recipients, and farmworkers, provided they meet
certain criteria. The legal immigration reforms in the bill include the
elimination of both employment-based and family-based green card
backlogs and a series of provisions designed to value family unity. The
bill does not include significant reforms to the structure of the
immigration visa system, although it would increase the number of
annually available work and diversity immigrant visas.

The text of the bill has not yet been made public, and it is not yet
clear when either Senator Menendez or Representative Sanchez will
introduce it in the Senate and House. In order to pass the Senate and
avoid a potential filibuster, proponents of the bill would need to find
a bipartisan group of senators in favor of the reforms. On January 21,
Menendez said his "door is always open"
to further negotiate the substance of the sweeping proposal.

****Biden Administration Takes Immigration-Related Executive
Actions****Upon taking office on January 20, President Biden signed

various proclamations, executive orders, and memoranda related to
immigration to reverse and review Trump administration policies.

Among the executive actions taken on January 20 was a memorandum

"preserving and fortifying" Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA), a proclamation

revoking the Trump administration's travel bans particularly impacting
individuals from African and majority-Muslim countries, a proclamation

pausing border wall construction and ordering agencies to come up with a
plan to reallocate associated funds, and an executive order

"resetting" interior immigration enforcement policies.

Biden has also reversed

the Trump administration's order to exclude undocumented immigrants
from the census apportionment count, and reinstated

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) that protects approximately 3,600
Liberians from deportation while they continue to adjust to permanent
status under legislation passed in December 2019
.
On January 22, a State Department official announced

the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan will resume processing several thousand
Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications for Afghans who have assisted
U.S. military efforts.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also issued a statement

suspending new enrollments in the Migrant Protection Protocols
 (MPP),
also known as the "Remain in Mexico" program, which required migrants to
wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are processed. The statement
did not provide a solution to the roughly 25,000 individuals currently
in Mexico under MPP. The Biden administration has also called for a
moratorium

on deportations for 100 days, starting by January 22. The moratorium
will not apply to those who arrived in the U.S. on or after November 1,
2020, as well as certain individuals who have opted out or who have been
determined to be a national security threat.

On January 22, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit

in response to the planned moratorium. The complaint, which is the first
major lawsuit filed against the Biden administration, argues

that "prior Executive pledges" prevent the White House from making
significant changes to immigration policy. The suit references a series
of legally-questionable deals

signed by former DHS second-in-command Ken Cuccinelli with at least five
states and localities, including Texas, that would require DHS to
provide six months of notice before implementing immigration policy
changes. Under well-established legal precedent, the federal government
possesses
"broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration."

The White House is expected to issue several more immigration-related
executive actions within the first 10 days of the new administration,
including

a series of executive orders scheduled for January 29 on refugees,
family reunification, and border processing.

****President Trump Approves Protections for Venezuelans****On his last
full day in office, President Trump authorized
 work permits and
deportation protections for Venezuelans living in the U.S. without
legal permission through a designation known as Deferred Enforced
Departure (DED). The move, one that has long been advocated for by
both Republicans and Democrats, would apply to Venezuelan
nationals present in the U.S. for at least 18 months as of January
20, 2021, estimated
 to
be up to 200,000 people.

According to the January 19 memo
,
the action is in response to the corruption of Venezuelan President
Nicolás Maduro's administration and the resulting economic
crisis and shortage of basic goods that have "forced about five
million Venezuelans to flee the country, often under dangerous
conditions."

Newly-elected House Representative María Elvira Salazar
(R-Florida) responded
 to
the Venezuelan DED policy by stating, "we have a fundamental
obligation to provide safe-haven for those fleeing tyranny and
oppression. This act of solidarity provides our Venezuelan exile
community with much-needed assurance during these unprecedented times."

****New Migrant Caravan Halted En Route to U.S. as Biden Administration
Prepares for Additional Arrivals****On January 15, a group of about
7,000 migrants
from Honduras were halted

at the Guatemalan border while attempting to eventually reach the U.S.
and seek asylum. Most of the migrants were fleeing violence, persecution
and poverty in their home country, conditions that have worsened
considerably during the coronavirus pandemic and after two hurricanes
devastated parts of Honduras in November.

While several recent migrant caravans
 have
also been stopped by Guatemalan or Mexican border officials before
reaching the United States, the new Biden administration is still
reportedly preparing for an increase in migrants arriving at the border.
The administration is working with local organizations to build up
processing infrastructure at ports of entry, and they are preparing to
stand up soft-sided facilities that can temporarily house migrants in a
manner that accounts for social distancing and Covid-19 concerns.

The administration has pledged to take a "more humane" approach to the
border and has criticized restrictive asylum policies implemented under
the Trump administration that have resulted in many asylum seekers being
either rapidly expelled or forced to wait in Mexico. However, President
Biden is reportedly concerned

that his more welcoming approach will result in an increase in arrivals,
and the administration has warned that it will take months before it
reverses all of the Trump administration's asylum and border
processing policies.

****Legal****

****California Judge Blocks Revamped Third Country Transit Ban****On
January 18, a federal court in California issued a temporary restraining
order

(TRO) blocking a
Trump administration rule that aimed to severely restrict asylum claims
at the U.S. border. The judge ruled

that asylum seekers "are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the
absence of the requested relief."

The rule, set to take effect January 19, served as a second attempt by
the Trump administration to bar asylum claims from people who transited
through a third country on their way to the U.S. DHS and the Department
of Justice (DOJ) initially issued the third-country asylum rule

in July 2019, but it was struck down

in July 2020 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which
barred the rule from taking effect.

The Trump administration issued a revised version

of the rule in December 2020, attempting to address the federal appeals
court's ruling through minor revisions to the text.

****Nominations and Personnel Changes****

****Senate Panel Vets DHS Nominee Mayorkas With Confirmation Delay
Likely ****On January 19, President Joe Biden's nominee to head the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, appeared
 before
the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) to
begin the confirmation process, answering questions on immigration
policy and his past experiences serving in DHS. Mayorkas, who served as
the Deputy Secretary of DHS from 2013 to 2016 and has previously been
confirmed by the Senate three times, expressed support for President
Biden's immigration agenda while affirming his commitment to the
enforcement of federal law and the protection of national security
interests.

Senate Democrats had urged

that the committee fast-track the confirmation process and bring a vote
to the Senate floor as soon as possible, but the objection

of Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) will delay a floor vote for at least
a week
.

Mayorkas, a Cuban American immigrant, would be the first immigrant and
first Latino to lead DHS. He was responsible for devising and
implementing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) while serving
as Deputy DHS Secretary in 2012.

****Former Ambassador Roberta Jacobson Expected to Lead Southern Border
Policy****President Joe Biden is expected to select
 career
diplomat and Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Roberta Jacobson,
to oversee southern U.S. border policy on the National Security
Council (NSC). In this newly
created role, Jacobson will assist the administration's
efforts to reform the U.S. asylum system and address national security
challenges related to Mexico and Central America. She'll
also be tasked
 with improving
relations with Mexico and other Central American countries.

Jacobson spent over 30 years at the State Department, holding several
senior diplomatic posts, including serving as the top State Department
envoy for Latin America. Following her resignation as the ambassador to
Mexico in 2018, she became an outspoken critic 
of
the Trump administration's restrictive immigration policies.

****Acting Cabinet Leads Named While President Biden's Picks Go
Through Confirmation Process****While the vast majority of President
Biden's Cabinet nominees continue to go through the confirmation
process in the Senate, on January 20, the new administration named

a number of acting agency and department heads. Concerning agencies that
deal with matters related to immigration, the acting DHS secretary will
be current TSA administrator David Pekokse; the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) will be temporarily led by former HHS Secretary
Norris Cochran; the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be headed by career
DOJ attorney Monty Wilkinson; and the acting Secretary of State will be
Dan Smith, the former Director of the Foreign Service Institute. James
McHenry will remain the director of the Executive Office of Immigration
Review (EOIR), which oversees immigration court proceedings, while Biden
considers his successor.

Within DHS, it was reported
that
Troy Miller was named as acting commissioner of Customs and Border
Protection (CBP). Miller was the director of CBP's field office in New
York prior to becoming acting commissioner. As of January 22, the acting
head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is Tracy
Renaud
,
who has previously served as acting deputy director of USCIS on multiple
occasions.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS
OIG):****ICE Guidance Needs Improvement to Deter Illegal Employment**

**; January 15, 2021**This report describes an audit conducted by the
DHS Office of Inspector General to determine whether the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Worksite Enforcement program effectively
deters unauthorized immigration. The audit found that ICE officials did
not consistently enforce penalties against employers found guilty of
hiring individuals without work authorization. The audit concluded that
the Worksite Enforcement program does not effectively prevent employers
from violating employment immigration laws. The report contained four
recommendations for ICE to update its practices to more effectively
prevent the hiring of unauthorized workers.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES****The Biden
Administration's January 20 Executive Actions on Immigration**
This
explainer summarizes several of the Biden administration's day one
executive actions impacting immigrants. The explainer provides summaries
of nine separate immigration-related memoranda, proclamations, and
executive orders.

**Immigration Priorities for a Biden Administration**
This
document lists the National Immigration Forum's immigration reform
priorities for the first 100 days of the Biden presidency. The
priorities all have strong bipartisan support and are based in the
understanding that America needs an immigration system that advances the
interests of all Americans.

**Fact Sheet: Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)**
This
fact sheet provides general information about Deferred Enforcement
Departure (DED), a temporary immigration benefit that allows certain
individuals from designated countries and regions facing political or
civic conflict and/or natural disasters to stay in the United States.

* * *

*This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact
Danilo Zak, National Immigration Forum Policy and Advocacy Associate,
with comments and suggestions of additional items to be included. Danilo
can be reached at [email protected] .
Thank you.

 

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