Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
December 3, 2021 is now posted.

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

[link removed]

All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, December 3, 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. 3263

**Upholding the Law at Our Border Act**

The bill would require the Inspector General of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate and submit a report on the
vetting and processing of migrants apprehended along the southwest
border, the total number of undocumented immigrants who were processed
and released into the interior of the United States, the number of
undocumented immigrants who received parole, and the total number of
undocumented immigrants who have been placed in removal proceedings.

Sponsored by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) (6

cosponsors- 6 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

11/18/2021 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Scott

11/18/2021 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 6022

**Build Better Borders Act of 2021**

The bill would increase civil monetary penalties for entering the United
States between ports of Entry to $450,000. It would also allocate the
funds collected from these fines to border wall construction along the
United States' southern border.

Sponsored by Representative Earl "Buddy" Carter (R-GA) (6

cosponsors- 6 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

11/18/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Carter

11/18/2021 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland
Security, and Ways and Means

H.R. 6078

**To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the annual
numerical limitation on visas for certain immigrants, to require the
Secretary of Homeland Security to grant work authorization to certain
immigrants with a pending application for nonimmigrant status under such
Act**

Sponsored by Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) (0

cosponsors)

11/23/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Panetta

11/23/2021 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 6119

**Further Extending Government Funding Act**

The bill would extend government funding from December 4 through
February 18. Concerning the evacuation of Afghan allies, the bill would
allocate $7 billion in emergency assistance to help resettle Afghan
refugees in the United States. Among other immigration provisions, the
bill would provide $1.6 billion in additional funding to support shelter
and other services for unaccompanied minors referred to the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Sponsored by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

12/02/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative DeLauro (0

cosponsors)

12/02/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations

12/02/2021 Passed in the House of Representatives after a 221-212 vote
.

12/02/2021 Passed in the Senate after a 69-28 vote
.

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
Representatives will be in session the week of December 6, 2021.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There are no immigration-related
hearings scheduled for the week of Monday, December 6, 2021.

THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK

****Federal****

****Democrats Pitch Immigration Provisions of Build Back Better Act to
Senate Parliamentarian****On December 1, Senate Democrats and
Republicans presented

before the parliamentarian - the chamber's nonpartisan rules referee
- their respective arguments in favor and against the inclusion of
immigration provisions in the Build Back Better Act. The
parliamentarian, who has previously ruled against

the inclusion of a path to citizenship in reconciliation efforts, must
determine whether providing temporary parole protection for millions of
undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before 2011 is
budget-related and consequently germane to reconciliation.

On December 2, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said
the
parliamentarian was likely to rule on the parole provisions "within a
day or two." Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), however, reportedly said
he expected
to hear a ruling back the following week.

The parole provisions

in the bill would provide work authorization and protection from
deportation to approximately seven million undocumented immigrants for a
five-year period, once renewable. In addition to parole, the version of
the bill that passed the House would also recapture

unused green cards and would provide access to relief to over five
million individuals currently stuck in green card backlogs - many of
whom are already in the U.S. on temporary visas. These green card
provisions have not yet been put before the parliamentarian.

While reconciliation bills
are
not subject to a Senate filibuster, all 50 Senate Democrats must be in
lock-step in order to pass the effort with a simple majority. While
Senate Democrats have been involved in the negotiations as the bill
proceeded through the House, several have voiced concerns about
particular aspects of the legislation and have not yet given their full
endorsement to the House legislation. Among other issues, moderate
Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), has raised the need to
incorporate border security funding in the legislation, noting

that "for us to even be talking about immigration without border
security is ludicrous." Meanwhile, progressive Senator Bernie Sanders
(I-Vermont) has said

he hopes to see the bill "strengthened in a number of ways."

On November 22, 91 House Democrats sent a letter

to their colleagues in the Senate urging them to disregard the
parliamentarian's guidance and include a pathway to citizenship in the
bill before the Senate votes on it.

****Biden Administration Announces Reimplementation of Migrant
Protection Protocols (MPP)****On December 2, the Biden administration
announced

that they had reached an agreement with the Mexican government to
reimplement the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known as
the Remain in Mexico program. The program - projected to restart on
December 6, beginning in the El Paso sector - requires migrants
seeking asylum along the southwest border to wait in Mexico while
their asylum claims are adjudicated, a process that often takes years.

The Biden administration stopped enrollment in MPP in January and
officially terminated the program in June through a
multi-page memorandum
.
However, on August 13 a federal judge in Texas ruled
 that
the termination of MPP violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).
After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay
 the
ruling on August 24, the Biden administration was required to
reimplement the program. On October 31, the administration issued a new,
39-page memo

providing additional rationale for terminating the program, but a
subsequent request to the courts to stay the ruling was denied.

However, the implementation of MPP required Mexico's cooperation.
According to a November 26 Reuters report
,
Mexico requested additional resources for providing shelter and legal
counsel to those who are returned to Mexico under the program as well as
the provision of COVID-19 vaccines. In the December 2 announcement, the
administration did attest to some additional due process protections and
noted that vaccines would be available and that the Mexican government
had agreed to properly shelter and transport asylum seekers under the
program.

MPP was first implemented by the Trump administration in 2019, and it
immediately resulted in significant human rights and due process
concerns. A regularly updated Human Rights First report
 has
documented 1,544 publicly reported cases of murder, rape, kidnapping,
and other violent assaults experienced by those forced to wait in
Mexico under MPP. According to available data, just 7.5%
 of asylum seekers in
MPP were able to hire a lawyer, and less than 2%
of all applicants
ultimately received some form of protection in the U.S., far below the
average success of asylum claims made from within the U.S. In a December
2 statement
,
the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced that it would not
support the reinstated policy.

****CBP Announces New Guidelines for Pregnant, Nursing, and Infant
Individuals in Custody****On November 29, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) announced a new policy

to protect the rights of pregnant and nursing mothers, as well as
infants in custody. The new strategy ensures pregnant mothers in CBP
custody are offered medical assessments through onsite medical care and
ensures that all childbirths in CBP custody are adequately treated. The
new policy also ensures

that nursing mothers have privacy when breastfeeding and grants them
access to diapers, wipes, and infant formula.

These policy reforms are a result of a July 20, 2021 report

from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector
General (OIG) that highlighted an ACLU complaint

that documented an incident at the Chula Vista Border Patrol station
where a woman gave birth standing up while holding on to a garbage can.
While the report found that CBP had complied with applicable policies
during the incident in question, it concluded that the agency is
unequipped to adequately track childbirths occurring in its facilities
and does not take swift action to release newborns from its custody.

On November 1, a group of eleven Democratic senators wrote a letter

to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the aftermath of the OIG's report
demanding CBP issue new policy guidance regarding the treatment of
mothers and infants in detention. In the letter, they argued

that "the CBP policy is inadequate and has exposed pregnant people and
their U.S. citizen newborns to serious dangers related to their health
and safety."

****Biden Administration Proposes Rule to Set Minimum Wages of Temporary
Foreign Agricultural Workers****On December 1, the Department of Labor
(DOL) announced
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify the methodology used to
determine the hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR), which informs the
rate of pay received by temporary foreign agricultural workers through
the H-2A visa program. If approved, the rule would formally reverse a
Trump-era rule that had aimed to freeze wage rates for migrant
farmworkers. Trump's wage freeze
aimed to
lock in the minimum wage employers had to pay to foreign agricultural
workers with H-2A visas at 2019 levels. However, farmworker advocates
sued the Department of Agriculture over the proposed wage freeze and
secured an injunction
to stop the
ruling.

****Number of High-Skilled Immigrant Workers With H1-B Visas Declines
Significantly****On November 30, Bloomberg News reported

that the total number of individuals in the U.S. holding high-skilled
jobs under the H1-B visa program has dropped to the lowest level in at
least a decade.  Even as job openings in H-1B industries reached record
highs, immigrant workers on the visas fell 12.6% in fiscal year 2021.
The number represents the second consecutive annual decline of
immigrants holding H-1B visas. According to immigration lawyers and
experts, the drop

was largely due to a significant slowdown in visa processing during
lockdowns and tightened immigration policies stemming from the pandemic.

The H-1B visa program

allows U.S. employers to hire high-skilled foreign workers for jobs in
"specialty occupations." The program is limited to 85,000 new visas
annually, but that cap is typically exceeded immediately after the
application opens, necessitating a lottery. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019,
for example, employers sent in over 200,000 H-1B petitions

within the first five days of the portal opening. In 2020, the total
number of petitions rose to a record-high 275,000.

****Legal****

****Fifth Circuit Vacates Order that Allowed the Biden Administration to
Implement Immigration Enforcement Priorities****On November 30, the full
Fifth Circuit vacated

a September 15 judgment that allowed the Biden administration to
implement two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memorandums
regarding immigration enforcement priorities. The two memos, known as
the Pekoske Memo

and the Johnson Memo
,
encourage 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 instruct ICE
agents to refrain from detaining or deporting victims of serious crimes
and pregnant or nursing women.

The previous September 15 ruling

argued that both memos fell within prosecutorial discretion, an inherent
power of the Executive Branch, and stated that compromising such
prosecutorial discretion could diminish the separation of powers.
However, a majority of Fifth Circuit judges voted

to vacate the decision and rehear the case against the preliminary
injunction.

****State & Local****

****New York City Council Considers Granting Noncitizens the Right to
Vote in Local Elections****On December 9, the New York City Council will
vote on a bill that would allow more than 800,000 noncitizen New Yorkers

to vote in municipal elections and for local ballot initiatives. The
right of suffrage for noncitizens, however, would be limited to green
card holders and immigrants with a valid employment authorization
documents. Moreover, noncitizens would still be restricted from
participating in federal and state elections. If the legislation

is approved, New York City will become the largest municipality in the
United States to permit noncitizens to vote in local elections.

Currently, eleven municipalities in Maryland and two in Vermont

already grant noncitizens some municipal voting rights. Additionally, in
San Francisco and Chicago, noncitizens can vote in school board
elections. Other municipalities in California, Maine, and Massachusetts
are weighing similar legislation.

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

**Congressional Research Service (CRS):** **U.S. Customs and Border
Protection's Powers and Limitations: A Primer**

**; November 30, 2021**This legal sidebar from the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) provides an overview of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection's (CBP) immigration and customs enforcement powers and the
constitutional limitations to those powers. CBP is the agency in charge
of enforcing federal customs and immigration laws at or near the
international border and at U.S. ports of entry. Congress has
established a comprehensive framework enabling CBP officers to inspect,
search, and detain individuals to ensure their entry and any goods they
import conform to these governing laws.

**Congressional Research Service (CRS):** **Immigration Arrests in the
Interior of the United States: A Primer**

**; November 30, 2021**This legal sidebar from the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) provides an overview of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's (ICE) authority to conduct arrests and other
enforcement actions. ICE is the federal agency responsible for
immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States. ICE has
the authority to arrest and detain non-U.S. nationals identified for
removal due to immigration violations.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM
RESOURCES****Explainer: DHS Immigration Enforcement Guidelines**
This
is an explainer on the new DHS immigration enforcement priorities
issued on September 30. The new guidance provides flexibility
to DHS personnel, who are advised to balance aggravating and
mitigating factors when making enforcement determinations.

**Fact Sheet: Border Funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Legislation**
This
fact sheet focuses on the immigration-related provisions of the
bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was signed into law on November
15. The funding mainly focuses on improving and modernizing ports of
entry.

**Explainer: What's Happening at the U.S.-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.

* * *

*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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