Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
January 28, 2022, 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 - Friday, January 28, 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. 3513

**Deterring Authoritarian Hostilities Act of 2022**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to Russian
officials engaged in any act that infringes on the integrity of the
territory of Ukraine.

Sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) (0

cosponsors)

01/13/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Rubio

01/13/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

S. 3526

**Sanctions Targeting Aggressors of Neighboring Democracies (STAND) with
Taiwan Act of 2022**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to any member
of the Chinese Communist Party.

Sponsored by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Arkansas) (0

cosponsors)

01/19/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Sullivan

01/13/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs

S. 3532

**A bill to require the imposition of sanctions with respect to
Ansarallah and its officials, agents, or affiliates for acts of
international terrorism**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to any member
of the Ansarallah or Houthi movement. The Houthi movement is a Zaydi
Shiite movement that has been fighting Yemen's Sunni-majority
government since 2004.

Sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) (8

cosponsors- 8  Republicans, 0 Democrats)

01/20/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Cruz

01/20/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

H.R. 6378

**Local Control Act**

The bill would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify the
governor of a state when an undocumented immigrant is to be transported
to, housed in, or resettled in such state. The bill would also authorize
governors to refuse the resettlement of undocumented immigrants in their
respective states.

Sponsored by Representative Mo Brooks (R-Alabama) (1

cosponsor- 1  Republican, 0 Democrats)

01/12/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Brooks

01/12/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 6418

**Rescue Endangered SIVs and Citizens and Urgently Evacuate to Safety
(RESCUES) Act of 2022**

The bill would require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a
strategy to fund nongovernmental entities for the purposes of evacuating
eligible SIVs and U.S. citizens from Afghanistan.

Sponsored by Representative Young Kim (R-California) (7

cosponsors- 7  Republicans, 0 Democrats)

01/18/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Kim

01/18/2022 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

H.R. 6422

**Putin Accountability Act**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to any person
engaged in providing specialized financial messaging services to the
Central Bank of the Russian Federation

Sponsored by Representative Jim Banks (R-Indiana) (38

cosponsors- 38  Republicans, 0 Democrats)

01/19/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Banks

01/19/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs, the
Judiciary, and Financial Services

H.R. 6430

**Iceland Commercial and Economic Leadership for Arctic and National
Development (ICELAND) Act**

The bill would include Iceland in the list of foreign states whose
nationals are eligible for admission into the United States as E1 and E2
nonimmigrants, on the condition that nationals of the United States are
treated similarly by the Government of Iceland.

Sponsored by Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) (3

cosponsors - 2 Democrats, 1 Republican)

01/19/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Pingree

01/19/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 6470

**Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022**

The bill would prohibit the issuance of any type of visas to Russian
officials engaged in or knowingly supporting a significant escalation in
hostilities against Ukraine. This is a companion bill of S. 3488
.

Sponsored by Representative Gregory Meeks (D-New York) (13

cosponsors - 13 Democrats, 0 Republicans)

01/21/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Meeks

01/21/2022 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary, Financial
Services, Armed Services, and Intelligence

H.R. 6479

**Put Trafficking Victims First Act of 2021**

The bill would require the Attorney General to establish a human
trafficking working group, which shall include survivors, experts on sex
and labor trafficking, representatives from organizations collecting
data on human trafficking, and law enforcement officers. The bill also
encourages states to adopt procedures to allow human trafficking victims
to clear records, expunge convictions, and vacate adjudications related
to prostitution and nonviolent offenses that arose as a direct result of
being trafficked.

Sponsored by Representative Karen Bass (D-California) (1

cosponsor - 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

01/25/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Bass

01/25/2022 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary and
Education and Labor

H.R. 6495

**To prohibit the Administrator of the Transportation Security
Administration from accepting warrants for the arrest of aliens as valid
proof of identification at aviation security checkpoints**

Sponsored by Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York) (13

cosponsors - 13 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

01/25/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Malliotakis

01/25/2022 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary and
Education and Labor

H.R. 6501

**Corporal Fernando Ruiz Baltazar Posthumous Citizenship Act**

The bill would extend posthumous citizenship to noncitizen service
members in the Philippines who enlisted, reenlisted, extended
enlistment, or were inducted in the Philippines and died during the
period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending December 31, 1946.

Sponsored by Representative Grace Napolitano (D-California) (1

cosponsor - 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

01/25/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Napolitano

01/25/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDARThe U.S. Senate will be in session the week of
Monday, January 31, 2022.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Tuesday,
February 1, through Friday, February 4, 2022.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There are no immigration-related
hearings scheduled for the week of January 31, 2022.

THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK

****Federal****

****House Version of Competitiveness Legislation Includes Immigration
Provisions to Attract STEM Talent and Protect Persecuted Groups****On
January 25, House democrats unveiled

the text of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing,
Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength (America COMPETES) Act
of 2022. The bill - which aims to outcompete

China in innovation, research, and development - contains multiple
immigration provisions
,
including those designed to help attract and retain global talent in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and those
designed to protect refugees persecuted in China.

Concerning high-skilled immigration, the proposed text includes Rep. Zoe
Lofgren's (D-California) Let Immigrants Kickstart Employment (LIKE) Act
,
which seeks to establish a new class of nonimmigrant visas (W) for
international entrepreneurs and essential employees affiliated with
start-up entities. The proposed text would also exempt from annual green
card limits

individuals with PhDs in STEM fields. Under the proposal, noncitizens
could gain permanent residence without being placed in a green card
backlog - or be subject to per-country limits - if they have earned
a doctoral degree in a STEM-related program.

The legislation also includes provisions designed to protect refugees
from Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) who have
been persecuted in China. The bill would provide Temporary Protected
Status (TPS) to Hong Kongers who are currently in the U.S., and it would
allow direct access to the refugee admissions program to Uyghurs who
have fled China.

The announcement of the America COMPETES Act of 2022 came just days
after the White House unveiled a new plan

to help attract and retain global talent in STEM fields. In a statement
,
the White House recognized the bipartisan work behind the America
COMPETES Act of 2022 as an "important step forward in advancing
legislation that will make our supply chains stronger and reinvigorate
the innovation engine of our economy."

The bill is the House counterpart to the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation
and Competitiveness Act (USICA), which did not include similar
immigration-related provisions.

****December Data Shows Slight Rise in Encounters Along the Southern
Border****On January 24, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
released

official data on the number of migrants the agency had apprehended or
encountered at the border in the month of December. The data showed a
marginal increase in overall monthly arrivals as the numbers rose
approximately 2% to 178,840 in December from 173,620 in November. The
overall numbers continue to be inflated by a high number of repeat
crossers, with recidivism rates reported at 23%. Taking this repeat
crosser rate into account, CBP reported that the total number of
"unique" crossers encountered was 135,040.

The slight increase in overall apprehensions was fueled by an increase
in migration from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti, four countries
from which migration has risen a collective 87% since October 2021.
Finally, approximately 44% of all arriving migrants - and 59% all
single adults - were expelled immediately under a public health order
called Title 42.

December border data also provided the final numbers for the entire
calendar year - Biden's first in office. From January to December
2021, there were over 2 million encounters

at the border. However, consistently high recidivism rates mean these
high arrest numbers do not necessarily indicate an unheralded number of
unique crossers. Of the 2 million encounters, about 1.1 million
individuals - including most single adults - were immediately
returned under Title 42 with no access to the asylum system. Also, of
the 2 million, 779,525 were either family units or unaccompanied
children. Unlike single adults, most families and almost all
unaccompanied children have been able to stay in the country and pursue
asylum claims in immigration court.

****MPP Reimplementation Expands to Rio Grande Valley, Texas****On
January 21, the Biden administration expanded

the implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) -
commonly known as the Remain in Mexico Program - to the Rio Grande
Valley. Under the latest expansion, migrants enrolled in the program
will be processed in Brownsville, Texas, and returned to Matamoros, in
the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, while they await their U.S. immigration
court hearings.

Soon after taking office, the Biden administration stopped

enrollment in MPP, and it officially terminated the program in June
2021. However, on August 13, a federal judge in Texas ruled

that the termination of MPP violated the Administrative Procedures Act.
In compliance with court orders, the Biden administration resumed

the implementation of MPP on December 6. After an appeals court sided
with the initial ruling and against the Biden administration, in late
December the administration has asked

the Supreme Court to consider its attempt to end MPP.

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.

****Biden Administration Plans to Accelerate Resettlement of Afghan
Refugees****On January 26, an Axios report

revealed that the Biden administration plans to introduce an expedited
resettlement process for Afghan refugees and allies who were at risk
following the U.S. withdrawal from the country and the subsequent fall
of Kabul to the Taliban. The proposed plan would create a 30-day process
in a military base in Qatar where Afghans could be screened, vetted, and
approved for refugee status.

The U.S. has already evacuated, screened, and resettled approximately
70,000 Afghans into the U.S., almost all of them under humanitarian
parole

rather than the refugee admissions process. Humanitarian parole was used
in the context of the evacuation because it is a more rapid and flexible
process, but it does not guarantee the same access to benefits or a path
to permanent status upon resettlement. With an expedited refugee process
in place in Qatar, future evacuees could face a more standardized
screening process and have access to more stability upon arriving in the
U.S.

According to the Axios report, the administration is also considering

90- and 120- day expedited refugee processes to be used to update and
modernize the broader refugee admissions program. Currently, it takes
prospective refugees well over two years to go through the entire
screening and interview process.

There has been bipartisan support

for resettling Afghans who helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan, as well as
women leaders, activists, human rights defenders, judges,
parliamentarians, journalists, and other Afghans who are under threat of
the Taliban.

****Citizenship and Employment Authorization Applications Stuck in USCIS
Backlog****Multiple outlets reported that U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) - the federal agency that processes green
cards, visas, and employment authorization documents for immigrants -
continues to struggle with a massive backlog and processing delays.
According to a January 25 azcentral report
, USCIS has more than 8
million pending applications. The report highlights that the number of
pending employment authorization applications surged from 676,000 in
March 2020 to 1.4 million as of October 2021. According to a January 24
Wall Street Journal report
,
citizenship application-processing times have surged during the
pandemic, from an average of nine months in 2019 to a year now.
Furthermore, there are

281,259 pending Temporary Protected Status applications, 412,796 pending
applications for asylum, and 770,386 pending green card applications.

The reports were published three weeks after the Department of Homeland
Security Office of the Inspector General (DHS OIG) highlighted

that the primary operational challenge for the agency is its continued
reliance on paper files to process and deliver immigration benefits. The
OIG report noted that USCIS had limited capability to electronically
process more than 80 types of benefits, which require some manual
workflows and paper files to complete cases.

****Biden Administration Makes Available 20,000 Additional H-2B Visas
for FY 2022****On January 27, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced

the availability of 20,000 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural
worker visas for the first half of 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 "provide
employers with the resources and support needed to sustain their
businesses while expanding lawful pathways to the United States."

****Legal****

****Texas Files Lawsuit Against Biden Administration's Central
American Minors Program****On January 28, Texas filed a lawsuit

against the Biden administration for its implementation of the Central
American Minors (CAM) Refugee and Parole Program. The CAM program
, first created by the Obama administration
in 2014, allows parents and family members in the U.S. to apply to have
their children in El Salvador, Honduras, or Guatemala join them in the
U.S. if the children are facing threats of violence in their home
countries. Texas argues that the CAM program violates the law and has
forced many states to take more immigrants.

The CAM program was terminated by the Trump administration in 2017, but
reimplemented by the Biden administration on March 10, 2021. Initially,
the Biden administration was only using the program to process those who
had pending cases before 2017. However, on June 15, the Biden
administration expanded

the eligibility of the CAM program to allow legal guardians, U visa
petitioners, and those in the U.S. with pending asylum applications, to
bring their children to the United States.

Texas' lawsuit, which was joined by Arkansas, Alaska, Florida,
Indiana, Missouri, Montana, and Oklahoma, is the ninth

that the state has filed against the Biden administration.

****Local****

****Florida and New Hampshire Legislatures Introduce
Anti-Sanctuary-Cities Bills****On January 24, the Florida State Senate's
Judiciary Committee voted

in favor of a bill, SB 1808
, that
would ban so-called "sanctuary cities" in the state. The bill, which has
yet to face a vote on the Senate floor, would require counties to
cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce
immigration laws. The bill would also ban state and local governments
from contracting transportation companies that bring undocumented
immigrants into the state.

On January 5, New Hampshire's legislature introduced bill H.B. 1266

that would also ban sanctuary jurisdictions in the state. The bill would
make it illegal for state or local governments to refuse to adopt or
help enforce federal immigration laws.

Sanctuary jurisdictions are those which limit state and local
officials' involvement in federal immigration enforcement functions.
Some immigration advocates and law enforcement officials have argued
that requiring local law enforcement to conduct federal immigration
enforcement functions can undermine public trust in local law
enforcement and make communities less safe.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**There were no immigration-related government
reports the week of January 24, 2022.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES****Bill Analysis:
Let Immigrants Kickstart Employment (LIKE) Act**
The
bill seeks to establish a new class of nonimmigrant visas for
international entrepreneurs and essential employees affiliated with
start-up entities. The proposed W visa would be available for
individuals who possess an ownership interest in a start-up entity or
play a central role in its management or operations.

**One Year In: The Biden Administration's Treatment of Vulnerable
Migrants**
The
report focuses on three separate pathways to protection: Asylum at the
border, refugee resettlement, and Afghan evacuation. The report also
makes a series of recommendations for how the administration should
approach year two.

**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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