Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday, June
3, 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, June 3, 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. 4294**

**Border's Unused Idle and Lying Dormant Inventory Transfer Act (BUILD
IT Act)**

The bill would require the federal government to transfer to any state,
upon request, any unused material associated with the construction of
barriers along the Southwest border.

Sponsored by Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) (5

cosponsors- 5 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

05/24/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Ernst

05/24/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs

S. 4311

**Lifting Immigrant Families through Benefits Access Restoration Act of
2022 (LIFT the BAR Act)**

The bill would restore access to public programs for lawfully present
immigrants by removing a five-year waiting period and other restrictions
preventing immigrants from accessing benefits.

Sponsored by Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) (9

cosponsors- 8 Democrats, 1 Republican)

05/25/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Hirono

05/25/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance

S. 4324

**Reverse Entry for Migrant Offenders and Violence Expulsion (REMOVE)
Act**

The bill would clarify that any immigrant convicted of kidnapping or
sexual abuse should be subject to deportation. It would also deny the
issuance of any type of visa to any person convicted for those crimes.

Sponsored by Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) (4

cosponsors- 4 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

05/26/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Thune

05/26/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

S. 4339

**A bill to support remediation of illicit cross-border tunnels**

Sponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) (5

cosponsors- 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans)

05/26/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Cornyn

05/26/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs

H.R. 7821

**DHS Transnational Criminal Investigative Units Supplemental Pay Act**

The bill would authorize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to
pay stipends to members of Transnational Criminal Investigative Units
who have been properly vetted. This is a companion bill of S. 4326
.

Sponsored by Representative Andrew Garbarino (R-New York) (8

cosponsors- 8 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

05/18/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Garbarino

05/18/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 7854

**Venezuelan Adjustment Act**

The bill would authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to
adjust the status of Venezuelans residing in the U.S. to that of aliens
lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

Sponsored by Representative Darren Soto (D-Florida) (1

cosponsor- 1 Democrat, 0 Republicans)

05/19/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Soto

05/19/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 7867

**Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act**

The bill would exempt Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) beneficiaries
from numerical visa limitations.

Sponsored by Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-California) (5

cosponsors- 5 Democrats, 0 Republicans)

05/19/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Gomez

05/19/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate will be in session the
week of Monday, June 6, 2022.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Tuesday, June
7, through Friday, June 10, 2022.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS****HASC Subcommittee Markups: National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023**

**Dates:** Wednesday, June 8 and Thursday, June 9, 2022 (House Armed
Services Committee's Subcommittees)

**Location:** 2118 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

**Witnesses:**TBD

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

******Biden Administration Begins Implementation of New Asylum
Rule******On May 31, the Biden administration began

implementation of a new rule
intended
to improve and expedite the processing of asylum claims at the border.
The rule allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) asylum officers to adjudicate asylum applications of certain
recent border-crossers, alleviating the immigration court case backlog
and lessening the wait time for migrants to have their cases heard. The
administration intends to slowly roll out the processing change across
the border, and it is currently only being used

for migrants taken to two Texas-based processing facilities.

Under the rule, asylum seekers at the border who pass initial "credible
fear interviews" are placed in non-adversarial, expedited asylum
adjudication processes conducted by asylum officers. The rule also
establishes a rapid timeline for each stage of the new process, which
has led some advocates to raise concerns

that asylum seekers will be unable to retain meaningful access to legal
representation.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated

that the new asylum rule will guarantee that "individuals who qualify
for asylum will receive protection more swiftly, and those who are not
eligible will be promptly removed rather than remaining in the U.S. for
years while their cases are pending."

The asylum rule has faced opposition

from the courts and from some congressional lawmakers. On May 26,
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) invoked the Congressional Review Act
to introduce a resolution of disapproval against the rule, which failed
to pass after a largely party line, 48-46 vote

(Senator Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to support the resolution,
and several senators were not present for the vote). Additionally, the
new asylum rule faces an ongoing court challenge

from the Attorneys General of Texas and Arizona.

******Biden Administration to Host Summit of the Americas, Discuss
Hemispheric Migration Strategies******From June 6 through 9, the United
States will host
 the
Ninth Summit of the Americas
. The summit, which will
be attended by presidents and prime ministers from most of the 35
nations of the Americas, aims, among other things, to cooperatively
tackle

the root causes of irregular migration.

On June 1, in a press briefing about U.S. priorities for the summit, a
spokesperson for the State Department said

that the heads of state would sign a declaration to address the
unprecedented increased migration in the region. He further stated that
"migration is a symptom of a much broader challenge brought on by the
economic and security challenges that the hemisphere has been facing for
the last couple of years."

According to a June 1 Axios report
,
the Biden administration intends to announce a significant
responsibility sharing agreement at the summit, including commitments
from Spain and Canada to resettle more refugees from the western
hemisphere.

******Ukraine Parole Program Receives Over 45,000 Applications in First
39 Days******According to a June 3 CBS News report
,
a recently launched private sponsorship parole program for Ukrainians
fleeing the Russian invasion has already received over 45,000
applications. As of June 1, over 27,000 Ukrainians have been authorized
for travel and 6,500 have arrived in the U.S. under the program.

The program, which launched on April 25 and is known as Uniting for
Ukraine (U4U)
,
is an effort to bypass the slow-moving refugee resettlement system and
instead offers two years of humanitarian parole to eligible Ukrainians.
Parolees are protected against deportation and eligible to apply for
work authorization but, unlike refugees, they are not offered a clear
path to permanent status in the U.S. The program relies on private
sponsorship and requires sponsors to be based in the U.S. and to be able
to financially support the parolees for the duration of their parole.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is adjudicating
Uniting for Ukraine applications at a rate much faster than for other
programs, which often take months or years to complete. According

to a DHS official, the process is moving quickly because unlike other
applications it is "end-to-end electronic" and requires no paper
records. USCIS has reportedly

trained 300 employees to adjudicate U4U applications.

******USCIS Reaches Supplemental H-2B Cap for Returning Workers******On
May 31, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced

it had received enough petitions to fill the 23,500 supplemental H-2B
temporary nonagricultural worker visas for returning workers that had
been added to the existing ceiling for the second half of Fiscal Year
(FY) 2022. In March, USCIS announced

it would raise the H-2B ceiling by 35,000 to help meet workforce needs,
allocating 23,500 for returning H-2B workers, and 11,500 for nationals
of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In the announcement,
USCIS encouraged employers still in need of labor to refile for workers
from the Northern Triangle, as that supplemental allocation has not yet
been reached.

The H-2B
visa program is used by a wide range of U.S. employers who have
temporary work needs, including those in the landscaping, forestry,
tourism, hospitality, food processing, and construction industries. In
order to be approved by the Department of Labor, prospective H-2B
employers must prove that no U.S. workers are available to take the job,
and they must offer wages comparable to what U.S. workers might be paid.

******President Biden Commences National Immigrant Heritage Month with
Proclamation******On May 31, President Biden issued a proclamation

officially declaring June 2022 as National Immigrant Heritage Month. In
the proclamation, Biden stated "the United States is a Nation of
immigrants - shaped by the courageous people from around the world who
leave their homes, lives, and loved ones to seek refuge and opportunity
on our shores." Biden also committed to "use every tool at our disposal
to ensure that immigrants feel safe, valued and protected" and to
"breaking down barriers to United States citizenship for all eligible
candidates." The proclamation also highlighted the essential
contributions of immigrants, noting they "fuel our economy and work in
every profession, including health care, public service, law, education,
engineering, construction, caregiving, manufacturing, service,
agriculture, and countless other industries."

******Report Shows that U.S. Consulates Are Denying 61% of
Employer-Sponsored Immigrant Visas******On June 1, a Cato Institute
report

revealed that U.S. consulates denied 61% of employment-sponsored
immigrant visas in 2021. According to the report, the high rates of
State Department denials contrasts with far lower denial rates (4%) for
employment-based green card applicants from within the U.S. In addition,
the report states that the high State Department denial rate pushes some
immigrants to apply for different temporary numerically capped visas and
others to attempt to cross the border without authorization.

****Legal****

******Fifth Circuit Schedules Oral Arguments on DACA Case for July
6******On May 27, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled

oral arguments for July 6 on Texas v. USA
,
a case concerning the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides protections for certain young
undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.

The case stems from a July 16, 2021, ruling

from District Court Judge Andre Hanen in which he held that DACA was
unlawful, granted a permanent injunction vacating the original 2012 DACA
memorandum, and prevented USCIS from approving new DACA applications.
Hanen made two arguments in his ruling, reasoning first that DACA failed
to follow formal notice and comment rulemaking processes under the
Administrative Procedures Act, and second that DACA is inconsistent with
statutory immigration law set forth under the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA).

However, noting the reliance interest of current DACA recipients, Hanen
temporarily stayed the injunction for those who had DACA at the time of
the ruling, allowing them to continue to receive and renew protections.

In addition to appealing the decision to the Fifth Circuit, DHS has also
proceeded with rulemaking to formalize DACA an effort to satisfy the
APA-related procedural objections raised by Hanen. The proposed rule

to preserve DACA was published in the Federal Register in September
2021. Public comments on the proposed rule closed in November 2021, with
DHS receiving 15,931 comments and submissions during the period. Under
the APA, the federal government is required to review every comment and
submission before issuing a final rule. It is anticipated that a final
rule may be published in the spring or summer of 2022.

****State & Local****

******Massachusetts Governor Baker Vetoes Bill that Allows Undocumented
Immigrants to Receive Driver's Licenses ******On May 27, Massachusetts
Governor Charlie Baker vetoed
a bill
that would allow undocumented residents to receive driver's licenses.
The bill would require undocumented immigrants seeking a license to
demonstrate their identity and provide evidence of their residency in
the state. Baker's veto is unlikely to prevent the bill from becoming
law, as it cleared both chambers of the Massachusetts legislature with
wide enough margins to clear the two-thirds vote threshold required to
override a gubernatorial veto.

If the bill becomes law, it is expected to benefit over 200,000
 undocumented
immigrants in the state. Massachusetts would join 16 other states and
the District of Columbia which already have similar laws allowing

undocumented immigrants to access driver's licenses.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

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

**," June 1, 2022**This CRS legal sidebar provides a brief overview of
USCIS's authorities and procedures to adjudicate immigration benefits.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES**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 current
administration's attempts to preserve the program.

**Explainer: Uniting for Ukraine**
This
explainer highlights the elements of the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U)
program which provide Ukrainian citizens who fleeing Russia's aggression
opportunities to come to the U.S. as parolees.

 **42 Border Solutions That Aren't Title 42**
This
resource provides 42 sustainable, effective border solutions that are
not Tile 42. The 42 solutions are broken up into three categories -
border processes, root causes, and border security.

* * *

*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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