Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday, April
15, 2022 is now posted.

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

All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, April 15, 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**

H.R. 7441

**Acute Labor Shortage Solutions Act of 2022**

The bill would give the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation
with the Department of Labor, the ability to temporarily exempt EB-3
workers from the numerical cap if the industry is judged by these
agencies to be facing a severe labor shortage.

Sponsored by Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux (R-Florida) (1

cosponsor- 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

04/07/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Bourdeaux

04/07/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 7457

**Hold CCP Accountable Act of 2022**

The bill, among various other provisions, would revoke and prohibit the
issuance of any type of visas to members of the Chinese Communist Party
who may have been responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak.

Sponsored by Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) (1

cosponsor- 1 Democrat, 0 Republicans)

04/07/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Fitzpatrick

04/07/2022 Referred to the House Committees Foreign Affairs, Financial
Services, Oversight and Reform, Armed Services, Intelligence, Ways and
Means, Rules, Education and Labor, and the Judiciary

H.R. 7462

**Early Migration Alert Program (EMAP) Act**

The bill would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to provide to state, local,
tribal, and territorial governments information related to the transfer
of immigrants into their jurisdictions within 24 hours after their
transfer.

Sponsored by Representative Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) (14

cosponsors- 14 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

04/07/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Guest

04/07/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 7464

**Anti-Caravan Act of 2022**

The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to request
from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica,
Panama, and Nicaragua reimbursements of up to 70 percent of the cost of
any deportation flights of immigrants who attempt to enter the U.S. in a
migrant caravan. The bill would also make all immigrants who participate
in a caravan ineligible for any immigration benefit for 10 years. The
bill would also make it a crime - punishable with no less than ten
years in prison - to organize, finance, or otherwise provide material
support to migrant caravans.

Sponsored by Representative Yvette Herrell (R-New Mexico) (8

cosponsors- 8 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

04/07/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Herrell

04/07/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and the
Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
Representatives will not be in session the week of Monday, April 18.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There are no immigration-related
hearings or markups currently scheduled for the week of Monday, April
18, 2022.

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****U.S. Paroles in Approximately 10,000 Ukrainians at U.S.-Mexico
Border, Considers Additional Parole Program****According to an April 11
report
,
the U.S. paroled in 9,926 Ukrainians at the U.S.-Mexico border between
February 1 and April 6. The vast majority of the individuals have
applied for protections at official ports of entry, which have been
largely closed for all other asylum seekers. While short-term, 60-day
parole is used for certain others who are encountered or apprehended at
the border and are ineligible

for Title 42, Ukrainians at the border have been offered
one
year of protection and are not placed into alternatives to detention or
required to check in with an ICE office to begin their immigration court
proceedings. Ukrainians do not need tourist visas to enter Mexico due to
an arrangement between the two countries.

According to an April 12 CNN report
,
the Biden administration is also planning on creating a special parole
program for Ukrainians who have fled from the Russia invasion and have
pending family-based visa claims in the U.S. The details of the program
are not yet clear. Parole does not offer benefits or protections beyond
temporary protection from deportation and the ability to apply for work
authorization.

On March 24, President Biden announced

that the U.S. would welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees through a variety
of legal pathways in response to the Russian invasion. It is not clear
whether the individuals paroled at the border or who enter through the
planned special parole program will count towards that number.

****Department of State Data: 66,781 Employment Green Cards Went Unused
in 2021****On April 12, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular
Affairs published

its annual Report of the Visa Office
,
which provides statistical information on immigrant and nonimmigrant
visa issuances in 2021. The numbers revealed that - despite having 1.4
million

immigrants waiting for an employment-based green card - the Biden
administration awarded only 195,507 of its 262,288 available
employment-based green cards in 2021, leaving 66,781

employment green cards unused. Additionally, the report revealed that
141,000

family-based green cards went unused out of a total of 226,000
available, leaving around 85,ooo family green card visas unused.

The agency said

Covid-19 restrictions and staffing challenges reduced the capacity of
embassies and consulates to process applications in the last fiscal
year. However, over the years, various administrative complications have
left hundreds of thousands of green cards unissued. In addition,
existing numerical limitations and per-country caps on green cards have
only accentuated a backlog of over 5 million
.

While the expired employment-based green cards are lost, the unused
family-based numbers roll over

into the employment-based category for the following fiscal year, which
ends on September 30.

****Biden Administration Designates Cameroon for Temporary Protected
Status (TPS)****On April 15, the Biden Administration designated

Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The 18-month designation
will allow nationals from Cameroon with nonimmigrant status residing in
the United States as of April 14 to stay and work temporarily in the
country without fear of being returned into conflict and violence.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said

that the renewal of TPS for Cameroon was appropriate due to the
country's ongoing armed conflict between government forces, armed
separatists, and a significant rise in attacks from Boko Haram.
Secretary Mayorkas noted that the designation was also justified due to
the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure that has led to
economic instability, food insecurity, and several hundred thousand
displaced Cameroonians without access to schools, hospitals, and other
critical services.

On February 10, Human Rights Watch released a report

documenting the harms and danger faced by those who had been deported to
Cameroon after fleeing to the United States.

****USCIS Announces Online Filing for DACA Renewal Forms****On April 12,
U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced

that individuals who have previously been granted Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) may now file their DACA renewal form
online. At this time, however, the option
to file online is only available for individuals who who have previously
been granted DACA.

In the announcement, USCIS Director Ur Jaddou highlighted

that the transition to online applications was intended to make the
process "more efficient and effective for the agency, stakeholders,
applicants, petitioners, and requestors." According to the agency,
during fiscal year 2021, USCIS received more than 8.8 million requests
for immigration benefits, including 438,950 DACA requests.

****Legal****

****Federal Court Allows Biden Administration to Resume Implementation
of Immigration Enforcement Guidelines****On April 12, the Sixth Circuit
Court of Appeals allowed

the Biden administration to resume the implementation of immigration
enforcement guideline
s,
issued in September 2021, that recognized the Department of Homeland
Security's discretion to prioritize certain removal cases over others.
The DHS guidelines instructed

immigration officers to prioritize arresting and detaining individuals
facing deportation who were recent border arrivals, who pose a threat to
public safety or national security.

The court stayed an nationwide injunction against the guidelines put in
place by a  district court in Ohio, arguing
that the
states of Ohio, Arizona and Montana - who filed the lawsuit against
the Biden administration in November - were unlikely to show that the
memorandum violated federal immigration law, and their claims of
potential harm to states were speculative. These states argue

that detaining fewer people who are in the U.S. without authorization
would threaten public safety and impose costs on states for law
enforcement and public services.

****State & Local****

****Texas Governor Abbott Blocks Cross-Border Trade at Ports in Response
to Administration Border Policies****On April 6, Governor Greg Abbott
(R-Texas) ordered

Texas state troopers to begin inspecting northbound commercial vehicles
crossing at ports of entry along the border, a job that is the
responsibility of the federal government and Customs and Border
Protection (CBP). The action resulted in significant delays

in travel and trade at international bridges, and led to protests

from truckers, traders, and business owners on both sides of the border.

Abbott began the inspections as part of his response to the Biden
administration's April 1 announcement that it would be suspending the
use of Title 42 - a pandemic-era policy used to rapidly expel arriving
migrants - on May 23. Abbott also announced he would begin using state
troopers to apprehend migrants at the border and bus the migrants to the
U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. While the governor's office later
clarified

the busing program would be "completely voluntary," as of April 15,
three buses of apprehended migrants have already arrived

near the Capitol in Washington. The migrants have been welcomed

by D.C.-based NGOs and put onto other buses and trains towards their
actual destinations.

On April 14, Abbott announced he had negotiated several separate deals

with local Mexican governors to halt the vehicle inspections at
international bridges. The details and legality of the deals are not yet
clear, but according to statements

from Governor Abbott they seem to include additional information-sharing
arrangements and the continuance of security initiatives that were
already ongoing. Previously, on April 14, two Mexican governors had
criticized

Abbott's actions as "overzealous" and implemented only to score
"political points."

****Florida Governor Intends to Transport Undocumented Immigrants Out of
the State****On April 12, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced

that his government intends to transport undocumented immigrants placed
in Florida elsewhere. A spokesperson for Governor DeSantis' office said
that the transport of undocumented immigrants out of Florida was
included in the governor's recent budget recommendations. The budget
proposed by the State Legislature includes $12 million for the Florida
Department of Transportation to carry out the relocations. DeSantis
suggested relocating said immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, Delaware, or
other "progressive" jurisdictions.

The legality of the plan, which was first announced

on December 13, remains unclear. After a similar effort was announced in
Texas, Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) clarified that he would only bus
migrants who volunteered to leave.

****Massachusetts Legislature Appropriates $10 Million for Refugee
Resettlement in the State****On April 1, the Massachusetts legislature
passed

a $1.67 billion supplemental budget, which includes $10 million to the
State's Office of Immigrants and Refugees to support the resettlement of
refugees in the State. That office assists with refugee employment,
financial literacy, case management, and more.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**Congressional Research Service (CRS), "****Legal Sidebar: Expedited
Removal of Aliens: An Introduction**

**," March 25, 2022**This CRS legal sidebar provides a brief
introduction to expedited removal, a process through which the
Department of Honeland Security can summarily remove immigrants who
recently entered the United States if they are inadmissible either
because they (1) lack valid entry documents, or (2) tried to procure
their admission into the United States through fraud or
misrepresentation. By law, access to the asylum system is still
available under expedited removal.

**Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG),
"****ICE Spent Funds on Unused Beds, Missed Detention Standards while
Housing Migrant Families in Hotels**

**," April 12, 2022**This OIG report highlights that U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement failed to adequately justify the need to spend
$17 million to house migrant families at six hotels that went largely
unused between April and June 2021.

**U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs**

**;****Report of the Visa Office 2021**

**; April 12, 2022**This annual report provides statistical information
on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa issuances by consular offices, as
well as information on the use of visa numbers in numerically limited
categories in 2021.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES**Addressing
Increases in Migration at the Southwest Border
This
resource provides policy recommendations that would create more humane
and efficient border processing, refocus on regional approaches that
combat trafficking networks and address the root causes of migration,
and enact practical border security fixes that address key remaining
vulnerabilities.

The Current State of DACA: Challenges Await in Litigation and Rulemaking
This
explainer describes the current state of the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, discussing the ongoing attempts to
scale back or end the program in the courts and the impact if DACA were
to end.

Explainer: Title 42 and What Comes Next at the Border
This
explainer provides more information about the Title 42 border policy,
its impact on the border, and what will happen when the policy is lifted
on May 23.

Remaking USCIS: Supplementing a Fee-Funded Agency
This
blog post describes mounting backlogs and budget shortfalls at U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), describes the impact of
recent legislation designed to better fund USCIS, and concludes that
additional appropriations will be necessary for USCIS to achieve its
mission.

* * *

*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.

 

DONATE

 

**Follow Us**

 

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum

10 G Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

www.immigrationforum.org

 

Unsubscribe from the Legislative Bulletin
or opt-out from all Forum emails.

 

                                               
           
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum, 10 G St NE, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20002, United States