Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday, July
15, 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, July 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. 7900

**National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023**

The bill would appropriate funding for the national defense priorities
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. Various immigration-related amendments were
added to the bill, including one that provides a pathway for Documented
Dreamers to remain in the United States, and another that increases
resources for Afghan SIV and refugee processing.

Sponsored by Representative Adam Smith (D-Washington) (0

cosponsors)

05/27/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Smith

05/27/2022 Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services

07/01/2022 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Armed Services

07/14/2022 Passed the House after a 329 - 101 vote

H.R. 8355

**To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform the asylum
claim process**

Sponsored by Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) (11

cosponsors- 11 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

07/13/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Crenshaw

07/13/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

S. 4518

**Solving the Border Crisis Act**

The bill would codify and extend Title 42 until at least 60 days after
the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, resume border barrier
construction, preserve the exclusive authority of immigration judges
over asylum claims, and codify the Migrant Protection Protocols.

Sponsored by Senator James Risch (R-Idaho) (1

cosponsor- 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

07/13/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Risch

07/13/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

S. 4526

**A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit the
grounds of deportability for certain relatives of members of the Armed
Forces and veterans**

Sponsored by Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) (0

cosponsors)

07/13/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Booker

07/13/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

S. 4527

**A bill to amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to
prohibit immigration officers and agents of the Department of Homeland
Security from wearing clothing or other items bearing the word
"police"**

Sponsored by Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) (0

cosponsors)

07/13/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Booker

07/13/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

S. 4529

**Children's Safe Welcome Act**

The bill would codify minimum child welfare protections such as health
and safety standards, state licensing requirements, and the best
interests of the child standards. The bill would also prohibit family
separations, with narrow exceptions to protect the safety of the child.
This is a companion bill of H.R. 8349
.

Sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) (13

cosponsors- 12 Democrats, 1 Independent)

07/13/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Merkley

07/13/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**

The U.S. Senate will be in session the week of Monday, July 18, 2022.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Monday, July
18, through Thursday, July 21, 2022.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**

Hearing: Second Class Workers: Assessing H2 Visa Programs Impact on
Workers

**Date:** Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at 10:15 am E.T. (House Committee on
Education and Labor)

**Location:** 2175 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

**Witnesses:** TBD

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****President Biden Hosts Mexico's President López Obrador to Discuss
Migration, Other Issues****On July 12, President Joe Biden met

at the White House with his Mexican counterpart President Andrés Manuel
López Obrador to discuss a number of bilateral issues, including
migration.

After the meeting
,
both countries reached six migration-related non-binding agreements: 1)
The United States and Mexico promised to launch a bilateral working
group on labor migration pathways and worker protections; 2) Both
countries agreed to start a working group to strengthen their response
to cross-border child migration; 3) The U.S. will invest $3.4 billion in
26 construction and modernization projects at land ports of entry on the
northern and southern border; 4) Mexico promised to invest $1.5 billion
in border infrastructure between 2022 and 2024; 5) Both countries
pledged to improve economic and social conditions throughout the
Americas to tackle the root causes of migration; and 6) The U.S.
promised to continue its efforts to arrest and prosecute human smugglers
through Operation Joint Task Force Alpha, while Mexico promised to do
the same through its Attorney General's Office.

The next in-person meeting between President Biden and López Obrador is
expected

to happen at the 10th North American Leaders Summit, which will take
place in Mexico at the end of the year. Canada's Prime Minister, Justin
Trudeau, is also expected to attend the summit.

****CBP Report Finds that Border Patrol Agents Acted Unprofessionally,
Unsafely, and Used Unnecessary Force Against Haitian Migrants****On July
8, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) published the conclusive 511-page report

of its investigation on CBP agents' treatment of Haitian migrants near
Del Rio, Texas, in September 2021. The investigation was prompted by
images
 and
video of CBP agents on horseback, appearing to use their reins as whips
and charging Haitian migrants as they attempted to cross the border. The
images sparked outrage 
from
advocates and lawmakers. The White House also condemned
 the
actions, suspended

the use of CBP horse patrols, and initiated an investigation into the
incidents.

The CBP-OPR report

concluded that CBP agents on horseback acted unprofessionally, unsafely,
and used unnecessary force toward Haitian migrants. The investigation,
however, found no evidence that agents struck any person with horse
reins and no evidence that the migrants' rights to seek protection had
been abridged. The investigative report noted

that CBP leadership is taking a series of corrective actions to remedy
the organizational and management issues that arose after the incident.
These include changes to practices, training, and operational methods to
address management failures that contributed to the incident, stricter
limits on the use of the horse patrol, and strengthening leadership and
agency accountability.

Advocacy organizations have criticized the report

for failing to include voices of the Haitian migrants who were present
during the events in question and subject to the mistreatment by CBP
agents.

****New ICE Directive Preserves Parental and Guardianship Rights
Impacted by Immigration Enforcement****On July 14, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) published a directive
aimed at
preserving the parental rights of noncitizens impacted by immigration
enforcement activities. Among other provisions
,
the directive ensures that when a noncitizen parent or legal guardian is
arrested or detained for a civil immigration proceeding, the noncitizen
can maintain visitation with their child or incapacitated adult for whom
they serve as guardian. The new directive

also requires ICE to have procedures in place to identify individuals
who are parents or legal guardians and requires ICE to develop new
trainings on safeguarding the parental or guardianship rights of
noncitizens they encounter while executing their duties.

****Biden Administration Extends TPS for Venezuela, But Does Not
Redesignate Status for New Arrivals****On July 11, the Biden
Administration extended

the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuela. The 18-month
extension - effective from September 10, 2022 - will permit around
343,000 current Venezuelan TPS holders to retain their status through
March 10, 2024. However, the extension was not accompanied by a
redesignation meaning the over 150,000

Venezuelans who arrived in the United States after March 8, 2021 will
not be eligible for TPS.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said

that the renewal of TPS for Venezuela was appropriate to "provide
humanitarian support to Venezuelans at home and abroad." Secretary
Mayorkas added that the U.S. would continue to work with its
international partners "to address the challenges of regional migration
while ensuring our borders remain secure."

TPS is granted by DHS to eligible foreign-born individuals who are
unable to return home safely due to violence or other circumstances in
their home country.

****Legal****

****Dreamers with Blocked DACA Applications File Lawsuit Against Biden
Administration****On July 7, a U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of New York held

oral arguments in

**Batalla Vidal v. Mayorkas,** a case concerning Dreamers with blocked
applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
program. The case stems from a July 16, 2021 ruling
 from
District Court Judge Andrew 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. As a result of this decision, the Biden administration
has refused to grant protections to
those with pending first-time DACA applications at the time of the
ruling, as well as those who have refiled for DACA after their initial
DACA protections have lapsed.

In

**Batalla Vidal v. Mayorkas**, a group of these Dreamers argue that the
Biden administration has gone beyond the requirements of the Texas court
ruling to interpret their applications as "new" applications.  The
plaintiffs

- many of whom paid $495 in application fees to USCIS and have not
received a refund - argue that Judge Hanen did not specify what should
happen to applications already received or to reapplications after
protections have lapsed, and, therefore, their applications should be
excluded from the ruling.

According to a June 7 Bloomberg Law report
,
USCIS had around 80,000 pending applications at the moment when Judge
Hanen ruled that DACA was unlawful.

This case is separate from Texas et al. v. USA
,
a case concerning the legality of DACA that is currently under the
consideration of the Fifth Circuit after hearing oral arguments on July
6.

****Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow Implementation of
Immigration Enforcement Guidelines****On July 8, the Biden
administration requested the Supreme Court to stay
 a
district court order that blocked the implementation of the Biden
administration's immigration enforcement priorities. The request was
filed one day after the Fifth Circuit denied

the Biden administration's petition to stay the order. The guidelines in
dispute attempted to re-prioritize enforcement efforts to focus

on immigrants who are deemed national security threats, those who
recently crossed the border unlawfully, and those who have been
convicted of aggravated felonies or other violent crimes. The Biden
administration argued that limited resources require prioritizing
certain enforcement actions, and that the use of discretion and
prioritization is both common and necessary across
law enforcement agencies.

The case stems from an April 6 lawsuit
 that
Texas and Louisiana filed against the federal
government's enforcement guidelines. On June 10, a federal judge in
Texas sided
 with
the states, arguing that while the federal government has case-by-case
discretion, DHS policy binds officials in a "generalized, prospective
manner." The Biden administration appealed the ruling and requested a
stay while the appeal was underway, but the Fifth Circuit refused
.
The Fifth Circuit's rejection of the stay request conflicts

with a July 6 ruling in the Sixth Circuit, which rejected

a similar injunction by an Ohio judge in a suit that also concerned the
administration's enforcement guidelines.

****State & Local****

****North Carolina's Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Require Local
Authorities to Cooperate With ICE****On July 11, Governor Roy Cooper
vetoed bill S.B. 101 -also
known as "Require Cooperation with ICE 2.0" - that would have required
jails to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if local
authorities have charged individuals with a felony and cannot determine
their immigration status. In vetoing the bill, Governor Cooper commented

that the bill is "unconstitutional and weakens law enforcement in North
Carolina by mandating sheriffs do the job of federal agents." He also
stressed that the "law already allows the state to incarcerate and
prosecute dangerous criminals regardless of immigration status."

Governor Cooper vetoed a similar bill in 2019
,
commenting on the unconstitutionality and political motivations of the
bill. The bill was introduced after some sheriffs
in North Carolina counties ended
 cooperation
agreements with ICE and became 'sanctuary' jurisdictions.

Sanctuary jurisdictions are those that 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**

**Congressional Research Service (CRS); "****Nonimmigrant and Immigrant
Visa Categories: Data Brief**

**;" July 11, 2022**This CRS brief provides information on the total
number of visas issued in the United States in 2021.

**Congressional Research Service (CRS); "****Federal Agency Rule Expands
Asylum Officers' Authority**

**;" July 13, 2022**This CRS report provides an overview of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ)
interim final rule issued in March 2022 that provides additional
authority to asylum officers in humanitarian relief claims at the
border. Specifically, the rule allows asylum officers within DHS's U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to determine whether
foreign nationals encountered at the border who show a credible fear of
persecution or torture are entitled to asylum and related protections.

**Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility
(CBP-OPR); "****Del Rio Horse Patrol Unit Investigation Report**

**;" July 8, 2022**This CBP-OPR report concluded that CBP agents on
horseback acted unprofessionally, unsafely, and used unnecessary force
toward Haitian migrants on September, 2021, in Del Rio, Texas. The
report does not find evidence that agents struck any person with horse
reins. The investigative report notes that CBP leadership is taking a
series of corrective actions to remedy the organizational and management
issues identified in the report. These include changes to practices,
training, and operational methods to address management failures that
contributed to the incident, stricter limits on the use of the horse
patrol, and strengthening leadership and agency accountability.

**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.

**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.

**Explainer: The Migrant Protection Protocols**
This
explainer describes the history and elements of the Migrant Protection
Protocols (MPP), commonly known as the Remain-in-Mexico program. Under
MPP, certain migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border were
returned to Mexico after making an asylum claim in the U.S. and expected
to wait near the border for the duration of their immigration
proceedings.

* * *

*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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