Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
September 16, 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, September 16, 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. 4813

**Paperwork Reduction for Farmers and H-2A Modernization Act**

The bill would allow equine, aquacultural, forestry conservation,
landscaping, and livestock workers - including dairy, cattle, and
poultry - to be eligible to apply for participation in the H-2A
program. The bill would also require the Department of Labor to create
an online H-2A application process for farmers.

Sponsored by Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) (0

cosponsors)

09/08/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Paul

09/08/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

S. 4822

**Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections
(DISCLOSE) Act of 2022**

Among various other provisions, the bill would forbid political
committees from receiving donations or contributions from foreign
nationals. The bill would also require the Comptroller General to
conduct a study on the incidence of illicit foreign money in all
elections for Federal office held during the preceding 4-year election
cycle.

Sponsored by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) (49

cosponsors- 47 Democrats, 2 Independent)

09/12/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Whitehouse

09/13/2022 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders

H.R. 8823

**Safe Zones Act of 2022**

The bill would allow trained and qualified DHS personnel to conduct
credible fear interviews of asylum seekers. The bill would also
establish Safe Zones to accept and process applications for refugee
admissions to the United States. Safe Zones would include embassies,
consulates, and other diplomatic facilities.

Sponsored by Representative Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) (0

cosponsors)

09/14/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Gonzalez

09/14/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Homeland Security and the
Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**

The U.S. Senate will be in session the week of September 19, 2022.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Monday,
September 19, through Thursday, September 22, 2022.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There are no immigration-related
hearings scheduled for next week.

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****Questions Surround Florida-Backed Flights of Migrants to Martha's
Vineyard****On September 15, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis financed

two charter flights transporting 48 Venezuelan migrants from San
Antonio, Texas, to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. According to a
Miami Herald report , the flights were funded
via Florida taxpayers and had a total cost of $615,000 or $12,300
per
person. The migrants - who had been processed by Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) and were in the midst of immigration court proceedings
- were welcomed

by local organizations and community members who provided immediate-need
support.

Several reports have noted the migrants were coerced into boarding the
flights with promises of open jobs and a lack of clarity about where
they would be arriving. Despite criticism

of the action's legality and practicality, Governor DeSantis expressed

his intention to continue "facilitating" the transportation of
undocumented immigrants placed in Florida to "sanctuary jurisdictions."
Governor DeSantis had first proposed

the initiative on April 12, when he had expressed his desire to relocate
said immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, Delaware, or other "progressive"
jurisdictions.

Governor DeSantis' action mimics the controversial busing program
initiated by Texas Governor Abbott, who has bused over 8,900 migrants to
New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago since April. Arizona's
Governor Ducey has also engaged in similar initiatives, busing over
1,574 migrants since May. On September 15, two of those buses from Texas
dropped

around 100 Venezuelan migrants outside of Vice President Kamala Harris's
residence in Washington, DC.

The busing initiatives have strained resources in destination cities and
motivated Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D-DC) to announce

the establishment of an Office of Migrant Services to provide support
and services to migrants being bused from Texas and Arizona. Mayor
Bowser stated

that her government would allocate an initial $10 million to stand up
the new office and support organizations working to welcome the arriving
asylum seekers. She also noted the city would seek reimbursement from
the federal government.

On September 11, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D-Chicago) criticized

the busing program, calling it "un-American", and expressed her concern
over the "lack of respect and dignity" of busing migrants to unknown
destinations with little food or coordination with receiving
destinations.

****Biden Administration Proposes Maintaining Refugee Ceiling at 125,000
for Fiscal Year 2023****On September 8, the Biden Administration
reported

to Congress its plan to maintain the refugee resettlement ceiling for
fiscal year (FY) 2023 at 125,000. For FY 2022, the Biden administration
had raised the Trump-era refugee cap of 15,000 to 125,000. However, the
U.S. has only admitted 19,919
refugees for
resettlement this fiscal year and is on track to resettle a total of
only 21,730 refugees, not even 20% of the 125,000 ceiling. In its report
to Congress, the Biden administration argued

that the slow resettlement was due to the heavy cuts to operational
capacity made in previous years and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It also highlighted

that the administration had welcomed tens of thousands of Afghans and
Ukrainians under humanitarian parole, which has used resources typically
reserved for the refugee resettlement program.

The proposed 125,000
refugee
resettlement ceiling will be allocated by region. The State Department
designated 40,000 spaces for Africa, 15,000 for the East Asian region,
10,000 for the European and Central Asian region, 15,000 for the Latin
American and Caribbean region, 35,000 for the Near East and South Asian
region, and 10,000 available spaces for reserve.

Before welcoming refugees in FY 2023, the administration still needs to
consult with Congress over the ceiling and ultimately sign a
presidential determination (PD) with the new ceiling. In each of the
past two years, President Trump (in 2020) and President Biden (in 2021)
have delayed signing a PD, resulting in low resettlement numbers in
October and the cancellation
of refugee
flights.

****Ukrainian Arrivals Through Private Sponsorship Parole Program Reach
Over 50,000****According to a September 13 CBS News Report
,
123,962 Americans have now applied to financially sponsor Ukrainians
fleeing the Russian invasion via a private sponsorship program
established in April 2022. This program, named Uniting for Ukraine (U4U)
, was created in April 2022 for the
purpose of providing Ukrainian refugees and their immediate family
members an immediate and efficient pathway to come to the United States.
U4U has quickly become the primary means by which the U.S. government
has welcomed some of the millions of Ukrainians displaced by the Russian
invasion. As of September 9, over 87,000 Ukrainians have been granted
permission to travel to the United States, while over 50,000 of those
have already arrived.

However, U4U only provides a temporary
solution for Ukrainians admitted under the program. Unlike the refugees
admitted via the border or immigrant visas, those who entered via the
program do not have a path to permanent status and receive only two
years of protections and access to work authorization.

A September 12 report

by San Antonio Express News indicated that about 6 million Ukrainians
have returned to their homes in Ukraine. While the numbers are
encouraging, at least 6,645,000 Ukrainians remain displaced, according
to the latest report

by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

****Secretary of State Antony Blinken Visits President of Mexico to
Discuss Bilateral Agenda, Including Migration****On September 12,
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met

with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and other senior
Mexican government officials for the 2022 U.S.-Mexico High-Level
Economic Dialogue (HLED). This dialogue centered around several joint
objectives, one of which was reducing irregular migration to the U.S. by
addressing poverty and inequality in southern Mexico and Central
America. Towards this goal, the leaders discussed expanding accessible
job opportunities in North America and a joint U.S.-Mexico development
project

called "Sowing Opportunities." The project provides technical training
to young people in Central America and Mexico to plant trees, support
the goal of eliminating deforestation, create sustainable jobs in the
agricultural sector, and create opportunities for would-be migrants in
their communities of origin.

The two leaders also discussed

managing the border humanely and expanding legal pathways for migration
to the United States. Secretary Blinken reported

that Mexico and the U.S. are collaborating on addressing the root causes
of migration "in ways that we've not seen before." In addition, U.S.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo highlighted

that the purpose of the HLED was to create "shared prosperity and job
creation for the people of Mexico and the people of the United States."

****U.S. Hits H-2B Visa Limit For First Half of FY 2023****On September
14, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced

that it had already received enough applications to exhaust the 33,000
H-2B visas available for the first half of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. USCIS
noted that while it would no longer accept new H-2B petitions for the
coming period, it would continue processing other applications
associated with H-2B status, including those to extend the amount of
time a current H-2B worker may remain in the United States, petitions of
fish roe processors and technicians, and petitions from workers
performing labor in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and
Guam.

H-2B nonimmigrant visas
are
intended to help American employers fill temporary, non-agricultural
positions when there are no sufficient qualified U.S. workers capable of
performing the work. Only 66,000 H-2B visas are available each fiscal
year - with half awarded in the first half of the fiscal year, and the
remainder in the second half.

****USCIS to Welcome More Than 19,000 New Americans for Citizenship
Day****On September 16, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) announced

its plans to celebrate Citizenship Day and Constitution Day -
commemorated on September 17 - by welcoming 19,000 new citizens in 235
naturalization ceremonies across the country. This year's numbers will
represent a 10% decrease compared to last year's Citizenship Day
celebrations when the agency welcomed 21,000

new Americans.

The citizenship ceremonies will take place between September 17 and 23.
In the announcement, USCIS Director Ur Jaddou said that the agency "has
been working tirelessly in communities to raise awareness about
citizenship consistent with our mission to uphold America's promise as a
nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity, and respect
for all we serve."

****State & Local****

****Massachusetts Law That Allows Undocumented Immigrants to Receive
Driver's Licenses Will Be Submitted to Referendum ****On September 9,
Massachusetts' Secretary of the Commonwealth Office announced

that it had certified the signatures needed to submit to a referendum
the recently approved law that allows undocumented immigrants to receive
driver's licenses in the state.

The law, titled Work and Family Mobility Act
, is set to take
effect on July 1, 2023. The law would require undocumented immigrants
seeking a license to prove their identity and provide evidence of their
residency in the state. Applicants would be required

to provide two separate identification documents, the first consisting
of either a passport or consular identification and the second
consisting of an unexpired driver's license from any U.S. state or
territory, a birth certificate, a foreign national identity card, a
foreign driver's license, or a marriage certificate issued in
Massachusetts. If the law survives the November referendum, it is
expected to benefit over 200,000

undocumented immigrants, and Massachusetts would become the 16th state
in the country to allow undocumented immigrants to access driver's
licenses.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); "****Military
Naturalizations:**

**Federal Agencies Assist with Naturalizations, but Additional
Monitoring and Assessment Are Needed**

**;" September 14, 2022.**This GAO report highlights that servicemember
naturalization applications fell 78% from 2017 to 2018-from about
11,000 to 2,500. The Department of Defense (DOD) and other officials
attribute the decline in part to DOD policy changes, including longer
service requirements to be eligible for naturalization assistance. The
report also highlights that over 100,000 noncitizens joined the armed
forces between 2010 and 2021.

**Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General
(DHS-OIG); "****DHS Technology Systems Do Not Effectively Support
Migrant Tracking at the Southwest Border**

**;" September 9, 2022**This OIG report highlights that the Department
of Homeland Security's IT systems did not effectively allow U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) personnel to track migrants from apprehension to release or
transfer. The report also notes that DHS personnel does not consistently
documents migrant apprehension times, family status of migrants, and
migrant's intended U.S. address. The report also highlights that
approximately 30 percent of migrants did not comply with release terms
to report to ICE within 60 days between March and September 2021.

**Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General
(DHS-OIG); "****U.S. Border Patrol Faces Challenges Administering
Post-Apprehension Outcomes Consistently Across Sectors**

**;" September 13, 2022**This OIG report highlights that while all
Border Patrol sectors on the Southwest border receive the same
post-apprehension guidance from headquarters, applying the guidance
consistently is a challenge. The report notes that sector capabilities,
resources, and apprehension trends play a role in how Border Patrol
implements the guidance, as does the availability of beds in U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. The report also
recognizes that the application of the guidance is inherently
inconsistent due to external factors such as local prosecutorial
guidelines and conditions for removals imposed by foreign governments.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES****Explainer:
Migrant Deaths at the Border**
The
explainer dives into various estimates of the number of migrant deaths,
describes some of the reasons we have seen an increasing number of
deaths in recent years, and discusses both what CBP already does to
prevent deaths at the border and what more we can do to restore safety
and humanity to what has become the world's most lethal land border
crossing.

**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.

**What Makes a Border Secure? Building a Healthier Border Dialogue**
This
paper creates an actionable border security framework based on the best
and most appropriate available metrics and data. It surveys previous and
ongoing attempts to describe and quantify border security, and it
proposes a series of policy recommendations to create a healthier
dialogue around securing our border, including an expanded role for the
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics and the creation and publication of
new border metrics.

* * *

*This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact
Arturo Castellanos-Canales, National Immigration Forum Senior 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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