Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
January 7, 2022 is now posted.

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

[link removed]

All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, January 7, 2022**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. 3407

**Guaranteeing Ukrainian Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense (GUARD) Act
of 2021**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to corporate
officers responsible for the planning, construction, or operation of the
Nord Stream 2 pipeline or a successor entity.

Sponsored by Senator James E. Risch (R-Idaho) (9

cosponsors - 9  Republicans, 0 Democrats)

12/15/2021 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Risch

12/15/2021 Referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

S. 3436

**Protecting Europe's Energy Security Implementation Act**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to individuals
engaged in the planning, construction, or operation of the Nord Stream 2
pipeline.

Sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) (1

cosponsor- 1  Republican, 0 Democrats)

12/18/2021 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Cruz

12/18/2021 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under general orders

H.R. 6212

**Taiwan Preclearance Act**

The bill would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a
report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of establishing
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance facilities in
Taiwan. CBP preclearance facilities are located in foreign airports to
inspect travelers prior to boarding U.S.-bound flights. This is a
companion bill of S. 3312
.

Sponsored by Representative Kat Cammack (R-Florida) (18

cosponsors- 14 Republicans, 4 Democrats)

12/09/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Cammack

12/09/2021 Referred to the House Committees on Homeland Security and
Ways and Means

H.R. 6223

**Border Agents Stay Employed (BASE) Act**

The bill would prohibit the use of federal funds to require any officer
or employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to receive a COVID-19
vaccination.

Sponsored by Representative Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) (23

cosponsors- 23 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

12/09/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Gonzalez

12/09/2021 Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security

H.R. 6237

**No Foreign Adversaries Residing in our Communities Act (FARC) Act**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to any member
or leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Sponsored by Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) (14

cosponsors- 14 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

12/09/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Salazar

12/09/2021 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 6250

**Protecting America's Meatpacking Workers Act of 2021**

The bill would require the Comptroller General of the United States to
submit a report to Congress on racial and ethnic disparities in the meat
and poultry processing sector. The report shall contain the
psychological and physical impacts of the industry on noncitizen
workers, among others.

Sponsored by Representative Ro Khanna (D-California) (3

cosponsors- 3 Democrats, 0 Republicans)

12/13/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Khanna

12/13/2021 Referred to the House Committees on Agriculture, Education
and Labor, Oversight and Reform, House Administration, and the Judiciary

H.R. 6264

**Protect Our Law enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement
(POLICE) Act of 2021**

The bill would make assaulting a police officer a deportable offense.

Sponsored by Representative Andrew R. Garbarino (R-New York) (16

cosponsors- 16 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

12/16/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Garbarino

12/16/2021 Referred to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and the
Judiciary

H.R. 6319

**Falun Gong Protection Act**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to individuals
engaged in forced organ harvesting within the People's Republic of
China.

Sponsored by Representative Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) (0

cosponsors)

12/16/2021 Introduced in the House by Representative Perry

12/16/2021 Referred to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and the
Judiciary

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDARThe U.S. Senate will be in session the week of
Monday, January 10, 2022.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Monday,
January 10, through Thursday, January 13, 2022.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There are no immigration-related
hearings scheduled for the week of Monday, January 10, 2022.

THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK

****Legal****

****Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow End of MPP****On
December 29, the Biden administration asked

the Supreme Court to consider its bid to end the Migrant Protection
Protocols (MPP), commonly known as the Remain in Mexico Program. The
Department of Justice filed the petition after the Fifth Circuit
rejected

its appeal to allow an end to the MPP on December 14.

Soon after taking office, the Biden administration stopped

enrollment in MPP and it officially terminated the program in June 2020.
However, on August 13, a federal judge in Texas ruled

that the termination of MPP violated the APA. Hence, in compliance with
court orders, the Biden administration resumed

the implementation of MPP on December 6. The renewed program, which
began 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 can take years. On January 3, MPP resumed

in San Diego, which became the second port of entry along the border
where the program has been reimplemented.

On January 3, the United Nations International Organization for
Migration reported

that more than 200 migrants had been sent back to Mexico under the
reinstated program. Out of those migrants, 36 had their immigration
hearings

in Texas on January 3. All of the migrants returned were single adults,
the majority
from
Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba.

On December 22, West Virginia filed a lawsuit

against the exceptions to the renewed MPP program which include, among
others, older migrants, migrants with medical conditions, and those at
risk of harm in Mexico due to their sexual orientation or gender
identity.  The suit alleges that exceptions "go beyond the statutory
authority of DHS and drastically undermine the reimplementation of the
MPP program."

Even if the Supreme Court takes up the case for its upcoming docket, it
is unlikely to rule on it until at least June 2022. Even then, the case
may be remanded back to a lower court. MPP is likely to remain in place
for the foreseeable future.

****Federal****

****US Shelters Received a Record 122,000 Unaccompanied Migrant Children
in 2021****On December 23, a CBS report

highlighted that in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) shelter system received 122,000 migrant children
who were taken into U.S. custody without their parents, an all-time
high. In FY 2016 and FY 2019, when the previous records were set, HHS
received 59,000 and 69,000 unaccompanied migrant children, respectively.
According to the report
,
the high numbers were fueled by the unprecedented arrival of 147,000
unaccompanied children to the U.S.-Mexico border in FY 2021, which ended
in October.

While arrivals have declined since a peak this summer, officials
processed nearly 14,000 migrant minors traveling without parents in
November, the highest tally for any November in history. "We urge the
government to do some deep soul searching and learn from past mistakes
- especially around the need for more foster homes for immigrant
children," said

Leecia Welch, a lawyer representing migrant children in a federal court
case, emphasizing the need for faster vetting of sponsors and expanded
shelter capacity.

****Biden Administration Will Make Available an Additional 20,000 H-2B
Visas for FY 2022****On December 20, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced

the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule to make
available an additional 20,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker
visas for fiscal year (FY) 2022. These visas will be set aside for U.S.
employers seeking to employ additional workers on or before March 31,
2022. Of the 20,000 visas, 13,500 will be available

to returning H-2B workers, and 6,500 will be reserved for nationals of
Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, regardless of whether they
are H-2B returning workers.

The H-2B program

permits employers to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform
nonagricultural temporary labor or services in the United States.
Employers seeking H-2B workers must certify there are not enough U.S.
workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the
temporary work for which they seek a prospective foreign worker. In
addition, they must certify that employing H-2B workers will not
adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed
U.S. workers.

In the announcement of the policy, Secretary of Homeland Security
Alejandro Mayorkas stated

that "additional H-2B visas will help to fuel our Nation's historic
economic recovery." Secretary Mayorkas also said

that DHS will seek to implement policies that will make the H-2B program
even more responsive to the needs of our economy while protecting the
rights of both U.S. and noncitizen workers.

****ICE Announces Use of Body Worn Cameras in New Pilot Program****On
December 21, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced

a pilot program where ICE law enforcement officers will begin to wear
body-worn cameras for at-large arrests, execution of search warrants,
and questioning of individuals encountered in the field. According to
ICE, body-worn cameras are expected to increase the transparency of ICE
in communities, as footage may be used in assessments of police conduct,
including in instances where force was used. At least for now, the
cameras will not be used

during immigration enforcement raids.

CBP previously launched

a body-worn camera pilot program for thousands of officers along the
U.S.-Mexico border in August 2021, drawing support from advocacy groups.

****Nominations and Personnel****

****President Biden Renews Nomination of Sheriff Ed Gonzalez to Lead
ICE****On January 4, President Biden renewed

the nomination of Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris County, Texas, to head
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sheriff Gonzalez was
nominated

back in April 2021, but his nomination did not make it to the Senate
floor before the end of the congressional session in which he was
nominated. According to Senate rules, the president has to resubmit the
nomination for consideration in the new session, which started on
January 3.

On August 4, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs voted 7-6
,
along party lines, to favorably report Sheriff Ed Gonzalez's nomination
to serve as the next ICE director. However, the Senate floor did not
vote on his nomination. In his July 15 confirmation hearing, Sheriff
Gonzalez pledged

to uphold the highest principles of law enforcement. He stressed that
"the American dream relies upon the rule of law and a functioning legal
immigration system."

Ed Gonzalez-a grandson of immigrants-is a co-chair of the Law
Enforcement Immigration Task Force

** **(LEITF), and his nomination has received praise
 from
fellow law enforcement leaders
, among others
.

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

**Congressional Research Service (CRS):****EB-5 Immigrant Investor
Visa**

**; December 16, 2021**This report from the Congressional Research
Service (CRS) provides an overview of the EB-5 immigrant investor visa
program. The EB-5 visa provides lawful permanent residence to foreign
nationals who invest $1,800,000 or more, or $900,000 or more in a rural
area in the United States and create or preserve at least ten jobs.
Approximately 10,000 visas are allotted annually to immigrant investors
and their family members.

**Congressional Research Service (CRS):****U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services: Authorities and Procedures**

**; December 20, 2021**This legal sidebar from the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) provides a brief overview of USCIS's authorities
and procedures to adjudicate immigration benefits applications,
including the adjudication of immigrant visa petitions, applications to
adjust to LPR status, asylum applications, petitions for naturalization,
and employment authorization applications.

**Congressional Research Service (CRS):** **Migrant Smuggling:
Background and Selected Issues**

**; December 20, 2021**This report from the Congressional Research
Service (CRS) provides an overview of the global patterns, challenges,
and motivating factors of migrant smuggling.

**Congressional Research Service (CRS):****Immigration: Apprehensions
and Expulsions at the Southwest Border**

**; December 22, 2021**This report from the Congressional Research
Service (CRS) provides an overview of the apprehensions and expulsions
at the southwest border during Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. In FY2021, the
Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) recorded 1,659,206 border enforcement encounters with foreign
nationals, the highest number in the agency's history. About two-thirds
(1,063,285; 64%) involved single adults. The remainder included
individuals in family units (451,087; 27%) and unaccompanied children
(144,834; 9%).

**Department of Homeland Security - Office of the Inspector General
(OIG**): **Continued Reliance on Manual Processing Slowed USCIS'
Benefits Delivery during the COVID-19 Pandemic**

**, December 28, 2021**This report from DHS OIG highlights that USCIS'
primary operational challenge is its continued reliance on paper files
to process and deliver immigration benefits. USCIS had limited
capability to electronically process more than 80 types of benefits,
which require some manual workflows and paper files to complete cases.
These challenges further increased processing times and resulted in a
backlog of 3.8 million cases as of May 2021.

**U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):****FY 2021
Accomplishments**

**; December 16, 2021**This report from USCIS highlights the agency's
accomplishments in Fiscal Year 2021. Among the achievements, USCIS
highlights that it welcomed 855,000 new U.S. citizens, completed
approximately 39,000 affirmative asylum cases, created the Family
Reunification Task Force to help reunify families separated by the prior
administration's Zero-Tolerance, reinstituted and expanded the Central
American Minors Refugee and Parole Program (CAM), and set up temporary
field offices and mobile biometrics processing stations in eight
federally approved facilities to process arriving Afghan nationals and
family members who assisted the United States in Afghanistan.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES**Body Cameras and
CBP: Promoting Security, Transparency, and Accountability at Our
Nation's Border
This
report examines the benefits of requiring body-worn cameras for all CBP
agents and officers, as well as the privacy concerns for the public,
agents, and officers related to implementing body cameras. It also
addresses the barriers to the implementation of body-worn cameras at
CBP. It concludes that the benefits of body-worn cameras to CBP and the
public greatly outweigh any of the potential drawbacks.

**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 US 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.

**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.

* * *

*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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