Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Thursday,
August 19, 2021 is now posted. We will publish our next bulletin on
Thursday, September 2, 2021.

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

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All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Thursday, August 19, 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**S. Con. Res. 14

**A concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the
United States Government for fiscal year 2022 and setting forth the
appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2023 through 2031.**

The concurrent resolution provides the framework for the passage of a
$3.5 trillion budget package for fiscal year 2022. Concerning
immigration, the budget resolution allocates $107 billion to the
Judiciary Committee, including instructions for "lawful permanent status
for qualified immigrants" and "investments in smart and effective border
security measures."

Sponsored by Senator Sanders (D-Vermont) (10

cosponsors-10 Democrats, 0 Republicans)

08/09/2021 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Sanders

08/11/2021 Resolution agreed in Senate with amendments by a 50 - 49
vote
.

08/11/2021 The following five immigration-related amendments were filed:

S. Amdt. 3650

**,**sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), to prevent
undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a crime or have
pending criminal charges from being granted lawful permanent residence
in the United States. The amendment failed to pass after a 50-49 vote
.

S. Amdt. 3742
,
sponsored by Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), to provide sufficient
resources to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and
deport a higher number of undocumented immigrants who have been
convicted of a criminal offense in the United States. The amendment
passed with a 53-46 vote
.

S. Amdt. 3781
,
sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), to prevent or limit the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from departing from the use of
Title 42 to expel unauthorized migrants. The amendment failed to pass
after a 50-49 vote
.

S. Amdt. 3795
,
sponsored by Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), to strengthen the
enforcement of immigration laws to address the "humanitarian crisis" at
the southern border. The amendment also suggests increasing funding for
border security measures, improving asylum processing, and reducing
immigration court backlogs. The amendment passed with a 76-23 vote
.

S. Amdt. 3797
,
sponsored by Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), to allocate resources to
test and treat migrants at the border and quarantine those who test
positive for COVID-19. The amendment also suggests a prohibition on the
transportation of migrants who do not have a negative COVID-19 test. The
amendment passed with a 88-11 vote
.

S. 2610

**Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022**

The bill would instruct the Director of National Intelligence to submit
a report on intelligence matters relating to the Visas Mantis program to
the appropriate committees of Congress. The Visas Mantis program is a
security review procedure designed to identify visa applicants who may
pose a threat to US national security by illegally transferring
sensitive technology.

Sponsored by Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) (0

Cosponsors)

08/04/2021 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Warner

08/04/2021 Referred to the Senate Committee on Intelligence

H.R. 4793

**Protecting Personal Data from Foreign Adversaries Act**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of visas to individuals who operate
mobile applications and software that steal the personal data of US
citizens and share such information with the Chinese Communist Party.

Sponsored by Representative Jack Bergman (R-Michigan) (0

Cosponsors)

07/29/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Bergman

07/29/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on the Judiciary

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDARThe U.S. Senate will not be in session either
the week of August 23 or the week of August 30, 2021.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session the week of August
23. On the week of August 30, the House of Representatives will be in
session for committee work from Tuesday, August 31, through Thursday,
September 2.

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPSThere are no immigration-related hearings
or markups currently scheduled in the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of
Representatives.

THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK

****Federal****

****Senate Democrats Pass Budget Resolution, Move Forward with
Reconciliation Process, Immigration Reforms****On August 11, in a
party-line vote, the US Senate passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution

for fiscal year 2022. The budget resolution is the first stage of
the budget reconciliation process
,
which allows Democrats and the Biden administration to avoid a Senate
filibuster and pass legislation with a simple majority. The resolution
- which will serve as a blueprint for the final spending bill -
provides targeted spending and revenue levels for a variety of policy
changes, including multiple immigration provisions. In the coming weeks,
the details and extent of the provisions included in the outline will be
hammered out by Senate committees in the form of an omnibus spending
bill

As passed by the Senate, the budget resolution allocates
 $107
billion to the Judiciary Committee, which leading Senate Democrats are
hoping to use to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers,
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, undocumented farmworkers, and
other essential workers. Democrats are also planning to allocate
approximately $10 billion
 for
smart and effective border security measures focused on infrastructure
at legal entry points. According to a July 23 Axios report
,
the funds could be put toward facilities for handling asylum claims,
additional staff for higher cross-border traffic areas, expanding
immigration courts to address backlogs, alternatives to detention
programs, and repairs of ports of entry.

During deliberation on the budget resolution, Senate Republicans were
able to file a large number of amendments through a "vote-a-rama
"
process. The budget resolution faced five non-binding
immigration-related amendments, out of which three passed. The
successful amendments included one aimed at providing resources to
detain and deport a higher number of undocumented immigrants who have
been convicted of a crime, one which proposed additional resources for
strengthened COVID-19 protocols at the border and one which suggested
increased funding for border security measures, asylum processing, and
addressing the immigration court backlog.

Next, the budget outline will be considered by the House of
Representatives, which will return from their recess

on August 23. The path ahead, however, remains uncertain after nine
moderate House Democrats sent a letter

to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warning that they would not vote for a
budget resolution unless the House first passes a Senate-approved
infrastructure bill. In response, Pelosi sought to reach a compromise
requesting

the House Rules Committee to explore the possibility of advancing both
the budget resolution and the bipartisan infrastructure package
together.

****Kabul Falls to Taliban as US Attempts Delayed Evacuation of Afghan
Allies****On August 16, following the rapid fall of Afghanistan to
Taliban

forces and amid criticism

for delayed and chaotic attempts to evacuate Afghans who had assisted
the U.S. military effort, President Biden reiterated

his commitment to evacuate all eligible Afghans and their families so
they can continue with their Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process safely
outside of the country. He highlighted that his government had already
relocated 2,000 SIV applicants to the United States and third countries
through Operation Allies Refuge. As of August 19, the U.S. has secured
operational control of the entire Kabul airport and is working to
evacuate

thousands of U.S. citizens, green card holders, and SIV-eligible
individuals each day. Among other logistical hurdles
,
the U.S. has been unable to guarantee safe travel to the airport, which
is surrounded by Taliban checkpoints. Currently getting into the airport
had become a significant barrier.

Also, on August 16, a bipartisan group of senators including 43
Democrats and three Republicans sent a letter

to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and DHS Secretary Alejandro
Mayorkas urging them to protect and evacuate women leaders, activists,
human rights defenders, judges, parliamentarians, journalists, and
members of the Female Tactical Platoon of the Afghan Special Security
Forces. The bipartisan letter reiterated the importance of streamlining
the paperwork process to facilitate referrals to allow for humane and
efficient relocations to the United States and called for the government
to enable charter flights to evacuate at-risk individuals from Kabul.

On August 15, the State Department had requested
the
Department of Defense (DOD) to provide temporary housing, sustainment,
and support inside of the United States to up to 22,000 Afghan SIV
applicants and their families. The State Department also requested DOD
to provide protection, air transportation, and processing of up to
30,000 at-risk individuals from Kabul, including embassy personnel, U.S.
citizens, and Afghan SIV applicants.

Advocates

and lawmakers

in both parties have expressed concern and frustration with the slow
progress of the evacuation of Afghan allies prior to the fall of Kabul.
Now, many have urged continued evacuation and highlighted that the U.S.
remains ready and willing to welcome Afghan allies and refugees. On
August 16, former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura
Bush stated

that the U.S. has the "responsibility and the resources to secure safe
passage for them now, without bureaucratic delay." Over fourteen
governors
,
including nine Republicans, have said they will welcome Afghan refugees.

****Border Crossings Rise Again in July, Although Numbers Inflated by
High Recidivism Rates****On August 12, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) released

official data on the number of migrants the agency had apprehended or
encountered in the month of July. CBP reported

212,672 total apprehensions at the border, a 13% increase over June's
total of 188,829. A continued spike in arrival numbers in July is a
departure from seasonal trends, which typically portend a peak in late
spring and declining numbers through the hot summer months.

The data showed the highest number of total monthly encounters in 21
years, although overall encounters continue to be significantly inflated
due to a high number of repeat crossers. CBP reported

that the recidivism rate was 27%, more than three times higher than in
2019 and approximately double what it has been for much of the past
decade. CBP noted

that due to these high recidivism rates, the number of unique border
crossers in July was 154,288, and that this fiscal year to date, the
number of unique encounters remains in line with numbers seen through
the same period in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019.

The CBP report further shows that the increase in overall encounters in
July has largely been driven by an increase in arriving families and
unaccompanied children. In July, CBP encountered 83,267 migrants in
family units, more than any previous month this year (although still
below the peak set in 2019). Unaccompanied children also rose sharply to
a record high of 18,962, slightly higher than the previous record set in
March. The influx of migrant children comes as questions continue to be
posed about conditions in the emergency facilities being used to care
for them. On August 9, attorneys representing detained migrant children
filed a lengthy brief in the ongoing Flores Settlement Agreement

describing "unsafe, unsanitary" conditions in two Texas facilities
- Fort Bliss and Pecos - and urging the government to release
minors in those facilities to family members and sponsors in the U.S.

The continued increase in border arrivals comes as concerns remain

at the border regarding the spread of COVID-19. In its July media
advisory, CBP stated

that it is providing personal protective equipment to all migrants who
are not immediately expelled. The agency further stated that all
migrants are tested for COVID-19 upon release or transfer from CBP
custody, and case positivity rates among migrants are at or lower
than those in local border
communities. Migrants who test positive upon leaving CBP custody are
placed in quarantine protocols.

Approximately 45% of arriving migrants - and the vast majority of all
single adults - continue to be expelled immediately under a public
health order called Title 42. The administration has been flying some
individuals expelled under Title 42 to southern Mexico in order to
discourage repeat crossing, a practice that was criticized

on August 11 by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees
(UNHCR).

****DHS Announces Significant Changes to the Asylum Process****On August
18, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of
Justice (DOJ) announced a plan

to expedite the adjudication of asylum cases at the border by
significantly expanding the role of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) asylum officers. The plan would delegate to these
asylum officers the responsibility of adjudicating the applications for
protection of recent border crossers who have passed initial credibility
screenings. Currently, those who pass these initial screenings -
called Credible Fear Interviews - are placed in a years-long
immigration court backlog that has ballooned to over 1.3 million cases
, and they are
required to make their case in an adversarial setting before an
immigration judge.

The plan would only apply to migrants placed in expedited removal, which
is a fast-tracked deportation procedure that has in the past raised
concerns around access to due process and the ability of individuals to
adequately prepare evidence and testimony before a Credible Fear
Interview. The plan is set to be published on August 20 as a proposed
rule, and advocates and others will have 60 days to provide feedback.

USCIS asylum officers are already responsible for adjudicating credible
fear screenings and asylum applications made affirmatively from the
interior of the US. While more expeditious than the slow-moving
immigration courts, the USCIS asylum office faces its own backlog

of over 300,000 cases. To accommodate the expanded role of the office,
the Biden administration plans

to double the existing asylum officer corps by hiring an additional
1,000 officers.

The proposed rule is the latest in a series of recently announced or
implemented changes to border processing of arriving migrants. On August
17, DHS announced

a new pilot program for arriving asylum seekers that will be organized
by nonprofits and local governments and will provide case management and
other support services. The program will serve in lieu of detention, and
it marks a return to community-based Alternatives to Detention (ATD)
programs which were largely ended by the Trump administration.

****ICE to Avoid Arrest and Deportation of Undocumented Victims of Crime
Under New Policy ****On August 10, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) issued a directive

that calls for a "victim-centered approach" towards victims of crime,
including by encouraging personnel to refrain from arresting
beneficiaries of victim-based immigration benefits and those with a
pending application for such benefits. Through this policy, ICE will
also assist victims of crime in seeking justice and support them
in expediting the adjudication of victim-based immigration
applications and petitions through coordination with U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS). The benefits in question include U
visas and T visas and Violence Against Women Act self-petitions.

Under the new directive, ICE must also look for evidence that indicates
if an undocumented immigrant is a victim of a crime such as human
trafficking or domestic violence. According to the directive, the
new policy  is
meant to "encourage victim cooperation with law enforcement, engender
trust in ICE agents and officers, and bolster faith in the entire
criminal justice and civil immigration systems."

****Legal****

****Federal Judge Orders Biden Administration to Reinstate the Remain in
Mexico Program****On August 13, a federal judge ordered

the Biden Administration to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols

(MPP), also referred to as the "Remain in Mexico" program.  The policy,
first introduced by the Trump Administration in 2019, requires migrants
seeking asylum along the southern border to stay in Mexico while their
claims are adjudicated, a process that often takes months or years
.
The Biden Administration ended formal use of MPP in February

**.** However, the Trump Administration had already stopped relying on
it

after implementing Title 42 during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal judge for the Northern District of Texas ruled

that the Biden administration's termination of MPP violated the
Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The judge ordered that MPP be
reinstated until it has been "lawfully rescinded," and further stated
that the federal government possesses adequate resources to detain all
migrants subject to detention. The judge also asserted that termination
of the program had contributed to the recent increase in encounters at
the United States-Mexico border. The order was stayed for seven days to
provide the government with the opportunity to appeal.

On August 16, the Department of Justice filed an emergency motion for a
stay, which was denied
the next day.
The Biden Administration will now seek relief from the Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals. Without an emergency stay, the Biden administration
would be compelled to fully reinstate MPP, and enforce the program "in
good faith
"
by August 20.

Even without a stay from the Fifth Circuit, reimplementation of the
order may be complicated, given the fact that MPP requires the
cooperation of Mexico. Critics have also noted

that it is unlikely that the formal termination of MPP contributed to
the current increase in border-crossers, as the program had not been
used "for months" prior to its discontinuation. A regularly
updated Human Rights First report
 has
documented over 1,500 of publicly reported murder, rape, kidnapping, and
other violent assaults experienced by those forced to wait in MPP. The
program faced several legal challenges during the Trump Administration
and was found unlawful

by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2020.

****Court Orders Biden Administration to Issue 9,095 Reserved 2020
Diversity Visas****On August 17, the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia ordered

the Biden Administration to issue the 9,095 diversity visas that had
been reserved from Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. This ruling comes after an
extended process that started in 2020 when former President Donald Trump
temporarily banned noncitizens from moving to the US on new immigrant
visas. The ban forced the State Department to suspend the adjudication
of visas for recipients subject to the immigration ban. The suspension
caused approximately 40,000 of the 55,000 available diversity visas for
FY 2020 to remain unissued by the September 30, 2020 deadline. On that
date, Judge Amit P. Mehta, ordered the U.S. State Department to reserve
9,095 diversity visas for future processing pending the final resolution
of the case. Nearly a year later, the August 17 court order ensures that
these visas will finally be issued.

In his ruling
,
Judge Mehta declined to give a timeline for the State Department to
release the visas. Instead, the department and attorneys for the
diversity visa winners must negotiate a "reasonable time frame" for the
State Department to issue the visas.

The Diversity Visa Immigrant Program

is designed to allow additional immigration opportunities to people from
countries with relatively low rates of immigration to the U.S. Accessing
a diversity visa is a multi-step process, which consists first of
entering a computerized lottery which selects 55,000 individuals each
year, and then a lengthy application, interview, and visa issuance stage
before lottery winners can finally receive their green cards.

****State & Local****

****Texas Governor's Immigration Enforcement Strategy Faces Legal and
Bureaucratic Obstacles****On August 11, three weeks after Texas state
troopers began arresting and jailing suspected unauthorized
border-crossers on charges of criminal trespassing under orders from
Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas), the first nine migrants arrested under
the plan

pled guilty and were transferred to ICE custody. It remains unclear
whether ICE will place them in fast-tracked deportation proceedings or
release them and allow them to pursue claims of humanitarian protection
in immigration court. Hundreds of additional border-crossers have been
arrested and continue to wait in Texas jails for their own cases to
proceed, a process that could take months.

Advocates have raised concerns
 over
the legality of the program and reiterated that immigration enforcement
is the sole responsibility of the federal government. They also noted
that the bureaucratic limbo confirms some of their fears about what can
go wrong when Texas wades into federal immigration practices.

A separate controversial immigration order from Governor Abbott - this
one designed to prevent state-licensed shelters from housing
unaccompanied migrant children - has resulted in additional problems
and legal challenges. As a result of the order, more than forty
Texas-based shelters

housing migrant children in federal care will start operating without
state licenses as soon as the start of September. Operating shelters
without licenses could put the Biden administration at risk of violating
legal requirements designed to protect minors in U.S. custody. In
response, the administration has threatened to sue Texas, calling
Abbott's order a "direct attack" on the Health and Human Services
Department (HHS) shelter system. However, despite its threat

to pursue legal action, the administration has not filed any lawsuit
yet. An HHS spokesperson said that the agency is "currently examining
all the legal options available at its disposal to ensure that our
shelters continue to provide services to the unaccompanied minors in our
care."

****Personnel & Nominations****

****Ken Salazar Confirmed as US Ambassador to Mexico****On August 11,
the U.S. Senate confirmed

former Senator Ken Salazar to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
Salazar is President Joe Biden's first

ambassador nominee to be confirmed.

As ambassador, Salazar will play an important role in managing
diplomatic ties with Mexico. He will begin his role at a time when the
Biden administration is looking to control the high volume of migrants
at the US-Mexico border.

Ken Salazar represented Colorado in the Senate from 2005 to 2009. He
also served

as Interior Secretary on President Obama's cabinet from 2009 to 2013.
Prior to his time in the Senate, he served as Colorado's Attorney
General.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**There were no immigration-related government
reports published during the weeks of August 9 and August 16, 2021.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES****Summary:
Immigration Provisions in the Budget Resolution**
This
resource offers a summary and analysis of the immigration provisions of
the $3.5 trillion budget resolution that the U.S. Senate passed on
August 11, as well as a description of five immigration-related
amendments that were voted on during deliberation on the Senate floor.

**Explainer: What's Happening at the US-Mexico Border**
This
regularly updated explainer breaks down what is happening at the
U.S.-Mexico border, analyzing CBP data on recent apprehensions,
describing the impact and use of Title 42 expulsions as well as the
treatment of arriving UACs, and providing additional context on reports
of increased migration to the U.S. and releases of migrant families into
the interior. The explainer also includes a Facebook live discussion
covering recent developments at the border.

**Fact Sheet: Overview of the Special Immigrant Visa Programs**
This
resource provides an overview of the Special Immigrant Visa program,
which provides a pathway to status for Afghans who have assisted U.S.
efforts in Afghanistan and who face threats based on their association
with the U.S. military. The fact sheet describes the SIV application
process and eligibility requirements.

* * *

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

 

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