Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Thursday,
September 2, 2021 is now posted.

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

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All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Thursday, September 2, 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 Bernie Sanders

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

08/24/2021 Resolution agreed to in the House of Representatives by a 220
- 212 vote
.

**H.R. 5060**

**To direct the Inspector General of the Department of Defense to
conduct an investigation into the withdrawal of the United States armed
forces from Afghanistan**

Sponsored by Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-Florida) (13

Cosponsors- 13 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

08/20/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Gimenez

08/20/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services

**H.R. 5062**

**Americans not Aliens Act**

The bill would prohibit employment authorization for immigrants with
final orders of removal.

Sponsored by Representative Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) (6

Cosponsors- 6 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

08/20/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Gosar

08/20/2021 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

**H.R. 5068**

**Prioritize Evacuation of U.S. Citizens in Afghanistan Act**

The bill would instruct President Biden to prioritize and expedite the
evacuation and relocation of U.S. citizens and their families in
Afghanistan.

Sponsored by Representative W. Gregory Steube (R-Florida) (5

Cosponsors- 4 Republicans, 1 Democrat)

08/20/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Steube

08/20/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Armed Services

**H.R. 5071**

**To direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress daily reports
on the evacuation of citizens and permanent residents of the United
States from Afghanistan**

The bill would direct the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the
Department of State, to submit daily reports to Congress on the
evacuation of citizens and permanent residents of the United States from
Afghanistan.

Sponsored by Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) (35

Cosponsors- 35 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

08/23/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Gallagher

08/23/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services

**H.R. 5072**

**Housing for Afghan Allies Act of 2021**

The bill would provide financial assistance to Afghan nationals in the
United States under Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) and P-2 refugees to
pay rent, utilities, and home energy costs.

Sponsored by Representative Ami Bera (D-California) (0

Cosponsors)

08/23/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Bera

08/23/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services

**H.R. 5096**

**Afghan and Iraqi Allies Resettlement Improvement Act**

The bill would assist Special Immigration Visa (SIV) holders with their
transition to life in the United States. It would direct the Department
of Health and Human Services to survey SIV holders as part of their
Annual Survey of Refugees. The bill would also direct the Department of
State to identify and implement additional ways to deliver information
to SIV applicants about life in the United States to assist with their
adjustment process. Finally, the bill would direct the Department of
Defense and the Department of State to jointly establish and operate a
program to offer employment to SIV holders in the U.S. as translators,
interpreters, and cultural awareness instructors.

Sponsored by Representative Doris Matsui (D-California) (26

Cosponsors- 26 Democrats, 0 Republicans)

08/24/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Matsui

08/24/2021 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committees on Foreign Affairs

**H.R. 5102**

**Flights for Freedom Act**

The bill would prohibit the United States from soliciting or accepting
funds from American citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United
States as a condition of their repatriation from Afghanistan during the
period of evacuation related to the withdrawal of Armed Forces from
Afghanistan.

Sponsored by Representative Claudia Tenney (R-New York) (2

Cosponsors- 2 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

08/24/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Tenney

08/24/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

H.R. 5117

**Ensuring Evacuation from Afghanistan Act of 2021**

The bill would prohibit the provision of federal funds to the Government
of Afghanistan until all U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents,
coalition partners, and Afghan allies who would like to evacuate from
Afghanistan have been evacuated from the country.

Sponsored by Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) (0

Cosponsors)

08/27/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Miller-Meeks

08/27/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

H.R. 5127

**Afghanistan Withdrawal Oversight and Liability (AWOL) Act**

The bill would direct the Biden administration to present a series of
reports to Congress on the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The reports
would be required to detail efforts to evacuate citizens and lawful
permanent residents of the United States, the total number of Special
Immigrant Visa-eligible and refugee-eligible individuals who remain in
Afghanistan, and any  agreements made between the United States and the
Taliban.

Sponsored by Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) (17

Cosponsors- 17 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

08/31/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Gallagher

08/31/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Armed Services

H.R. 5134

**Showing American Values by Evacuating (SAVE) Afghan Partners Act of
2021**

The bill would increase the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) cap for Afghan
interpreters and other partners at risk by 10,000. The bill would also
extend the eligibility for SIVs to Afghans who were employed under U.S.
grants and cooperative agreements.

Sponsored by Representative Jason Crow (D-Colorado) (1

Cosponsor- 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

08/31/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Crow

08/31/2021 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
Representatives will not be in session the week of September 6, 2021.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There 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****

****House of Representatives Passes Budget Resolution as Democrats Move
Forward with Immigration Reforms in Budget Reconciliation Process****On
August 24, in a party-line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives
passed

a $3.5 trillion budget resolution

for fiscal year (FY) 2022. The 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 the blueprint
for an omnibus spending bill - provides targeted spending and revenue
levels for various policy changes, including multiple immigration
provisions. The budget resolution previously passed

the Senate on August 11.

The $3.5 trillion resolution allocates

$107 billion to the Judiciary Committee, which 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.

The budget resolution only passed the House after negotiations

between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a group of nine moderate
Democrats, led by Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey).
Gottheimer argued that the House should first consider a $1.2 trillion
bipartisan infrastructure bill. The nine moderates ultimately agreed

to move forward with the budget reconciliation process after reaching a
compromise that included a deadline to turn to infrastructure by
September 27.

Next, House and Senate committees will begin hammering out

the details and text of the omnibus spending bill according to
allocations provided in the budget resolution. House Democrats have
agreed to a non-binding deadline of September 15 for committees to draft
and mark up legislative text. Following passage in the House, relevant
immigration provisions must still pass muster with the Senate
Parliamentarian

and survive Senate alterations as well as a rapid "vote-a-rama
"
amendment process.

****America Concludes Withdrawal from Afghanistan as Afghan Allies Seek
Refuge in the US****On August 31, President Biden announced

the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the conclusion
of "the largest airlift in U.S. history," a 17-day evacuation of
approximately 120,000 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport in
Kabul. In addition to U.S. citizens and citizens of other allied
nations, among those evacuated were tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans
who assisted the U.S. military effort or who were otherwise under
threat.

However, it remains unclear exactly how many Afghan allies were
evacuated, or which kinds of protection they might qualify for. On
September 1, a State Department official stated that the majority of
Afghans eligible for either Special Immigrant Visa (SIV)

status or for Priority 2 (P2) refugee status

were not evacuated and were left behind. Both programs were designed to
protect Afghans who were under threat on account of their work for the
U.S. military or U.S.-based organizations in Afghanistan, and advocates
estimate

that as many as 263,000 SIV- and P2-eligilbe Afghans have not yet found
a way out of the country. In the capital of Kabul, the Taliban is
reportedly going door-to-door,

targeting those with close ties to the U.S.

On August 23, the administration announced
it would
be using its humanitarian parole

authority to process many of the evacuated Afghans who do not already
have visas. Parole is faster than either SIV or refugee processing, and
a broader population of Afghans at risk may be eligible for parole
protections (including Afghan women and girls, human rights activists,
journalists, and others). The administration is reportedly preparing to
parole in as many as

50,000 Afghans. Parole shields individuals from deportation for two
years and allows them access to work authorization, but advocates have
raised concerns that parolees are not eligible

for many of the federal benefits that are provided to SIVs and parolees.
Parolees are also not provided with a direct path to permanent status,
and many will have to either continue their SIV applications from inside
the U.S. or apply for asylum protections.

At least nine Republican and five Democrat governors offered their
support

to resettle Afghan refugees in their states. In a letter
addressed
to President Biden, Governor Spencer Cox (R-Utah), stated, "We
understand the pain caused by forced migration and appreciate the
contributions of refugees in our communities."

****Legal****

****Supreme Court Denies Biden Administration's Appeal, Requires "Good
Faith" Re-implementation of Remain in Mexico Program****On August 24,
the U.S. Supreme Court denied
the
Biden Administration's emergency appeal for a stay to avoid reinstating
the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known as the Remain in
Mexico program. The decision required the Biden Administration to resume
the enforcement and implementation of the MPP "in good faith." MPP was a
Trump-era policy that required certain asylum seekers to return to
Mexico and wait while their claims were adjudicated in the U.S.

The Supreme Court's decision

came after a Texas district judge ruled on August 13 that the Biden
administration's termination of MPP violated the Administrative
Procedures Act (APA). The district judge argued that DHS failed to
consult with states that may have been affected by the decision and that
the recission memorandum failed to articulate a satisfactory explanation
for ending the program. The Fifth Circuit refused to stay the ruling
upon appeal from the Department of Justice (DOJ). On August 20, the DOJ
filed

an emergency motion for a stay before the Supreme Court. In a one-page
decision, the Court denied the motion, stating that the Biden
administration had failed to show that the rescission of MPP was not
arbitrary and capricious.

On August 24, the Biden Administration announced

that while it disagreed with the decision and would continue to fight it
in court, DHS had begun to engage with the government of Mexico in
diplomatic discussions to revive MPP. On the morning of August 25, a
leaked DHS memo
made
clear that reinstatement of MPP "hinges on Mexico's concurrence, as well
as on the establishment of appropriate infrastructure, processes,
systems, and capabilities."

The result of the discussions with Mexico remain unclear. However, one
immediate impact

of the Court's ruling is that the U.S. has paused the process of
paroling in asylum seekers who had been returned to Mexico under MPP
during the Trump administration. The application portal to apply for
that process was closed on August 24, shortly after the Supreme Court's
ruling.

Advocates have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of migrants
who have been or will be returned to northern Mexico under MPP. An
August 24 Human Right First report

found 6,356 instances of publicly-reported violent attacks against
migrants who were expelled to Mexico by U.S. officials since Biden took
office in January. An August 25 New York Times report

noted the dire and unsafe conditions in a large migrant encampment near
the Mexican border city of Reynosa.

****Fifth Circuit Temporarily Stays Texas Court's Block on ICE
Immigration Enforcement Priorities****On August 19, U.S. District Judge
Andrew Tipton issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocked

the enforcement and implementation of two Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) memorandums. The two memos, known as the Pekoske Memo

and the Johnson Memo
,
encouraged ICE to prioritize enforcement efforts concerning unauthorized
immigrants who are either recent border-crossers or who may pose
national security and public safety threats. The memos also instructed
ICE agents to refrain from detaining or deporting victims of serious
crimes and pregnant or nursing women.

On August 25, the Fifth Circuit temporarily stayed the injunction until
further notice, leaving the enforcement priorities in effect.

Tipton had argued that the memos violated the Administrative Procedures
Act (APA), as they were implemented without a public notice and comment
period. The Biden administration and legal scholars have questioned the
ruling, noting

that

that previous administrations have also set priorities for immigration
enforcement, and that prosecutorial discretion is an inherent and
necessary power for ICE to function effectively.

****Federal Judge Blocks Texas Gov. Abbott's Directive on Stopping
Vehicles Suspected of Transporting Migrants****On August 26, a federal
judge in El Paso, Texas, blocked
 Governor
Greg Abbott's (R-Texas) Executive Order
 that
directed Texas state troopers to stop vehicles suspected of transporting
undocumented migrants. In granting a preliminary injunction against the
directive, the District Judge argued that the order violates the
supremacy clause of the Constitution by authorizing state officials to
interfere with federal immigration enforcement activities. Governor
Abbott had argued that the purpose of the order was to prevent the
spread of COVID-19. However, the judge noted that "the order seems to do
little to protect public health despite its purported motivations."

The preliminary injunction

will remain in place until the case is resolved on the merits. However,
Governor Abbott and Texas may appeal the stay before the 5th Circuit
Court of Appeals.

Governor Abbott issued the controversial Executive Order on July 28,
amid growing concerns over an increase in COVID-19 cases in Texas.
Critics and advocates raised concerns that the directive would lead to
racial profiling and would interfere with the lawful transport of some
migrants by Texas non-profit organizations
,
including those who partner with federal and local authorities. Many of
these non-profits are working with the federal government to provide
COVID-19 testing and vaccinations and helping to quarantine those who
test positive.

****State & Local****

****Texas House Approves Additional Funding for Border Security****On
August 31, the Texas House of Representatives, by a vote of 85-36,
passed a bill that would allocate an additional $1.88 billion towards
securing the Texas-Mexico border. The bill, House Bill 9
,
allocates Governor Greg Abbott's (R-Texas) office $1.02 billion to spend
on improving border security, of which $750 million is slated for the
construction of additional physical barriers on the border. The
additional funding is on top of the $1.05 billion that was already
appropriated

by the Texas State House earlier this year. The new funds will also be
used to increase state law enforcement presence along the border and for
converting existing state detention centers into migrant holding
facilities.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**Congressional Research Service (CRS): ****Temporary Protected Status
and Deferred Enforced Departure**
;

** July 20, 2021**This report presents an overview of the elements,
background, and countries currently designated for Temporary Protected
Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). TPS is a provision
that allows the Department of Homeland Security to designate countries
experiencing civil unrest, violence, or natural disasters to prevent the
removal of nationals of such nations from the United States. As of March
11, 2021, approximately 320,000 foreign nationals from ten countries who
are living in the United States are protected by TPS. DED is a
temporary, discretionary, administrative stay of removal granted to
immigrants from designated countries. Unlike TPS, a DED designation
emanates from the President's constitutional powers to conduct foreign
relations and has no statutory basis. Certain Liberians, Venezuelans,
and residents of Hong Kong present in the United States currently
maintain relief under DED.

**Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General
(OIG):****USCIS Needs to Improve Its Electronic Employment Eligibility
Verification Process**
;

**August 23, 2021**This report analyzes the accuracy and deficiencies of
the E-Verify system, which allows the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) to verify the employment eligibility of newly hired
individuals. DHS OIG identified deficiencies in E-Verify's processes for
confirming identity during employment verification. It also found that
E-Verify's photo-matching process is not fully automated, but rather,
relies on employers to confirm individuals' identities by manually
reviewing photos. The agency noted that E-Verify returned an "Employment
Authorized" result for almost 3,000 non-U.S. citizens who did not meet
USCIS' verification requirements. Finally, OIG discovered that E-Verify
deemed nearly 4,000 non-U.S. citizens as "Employment Authorized" based
on an employer-sponsored visa without verifying that the individual was
hired by the sponsoring employer.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES****Fact Sheet:
Pathways to Protection for Afghans at Risk**
This
resource provides a comparison between three pathways to protection for
Afghans: SIV status, the P2 refugee program, and Humanitarian Parole. It
also summarizes the eligibility requirements for each pathway and notes
the different application timelines and vetting procedures. The fact
sheet also describes what we know about the numbers resettled so far
under each pathway and what benefits they receive.

**Explainer: Humanitarian Parole and the Afghan Evacuation**
This
resource explains what parole is, describes the eligibility requirements
and vetting procedures currently in place for Afghan parolees, and
discusses what benefits parolees receive when they arrive in the U.S.
The explainer also discusses the options available for those at risk who
have been left behind in Afghanistan, as humanitarian parole can also be
accessed by those who are able to escape on their own to third
countries.

Fact Sheet: Registry
This resource
provides more information about registry, a provision of immigration law
that allows individuals to apply for a green card provided they entered
the United States before a particular date.

* * *

*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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