Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
October 7, 2022, is now posted.

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

All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, October 7, 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. 9003

**Empowering States to Deport Illegal Aliens Act**

The bill would authorize states to enforce federal immigration laws,
including detention and deportation of foreign nationals.

Sponsored by Representative Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) (0

cosponsors)

09/28/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Gosar

09/28/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 9023

**Diverting IRS Resources to the Exigent Crisis Through (DIRECT) Funds
for Border Security Act**

The bill would rescind all of the unobligated funds under the Inflation
Reduction Act for new IRS enforcement activities and reappropriate these
funds for CBP to hire additional agents to secure the Southwest border.

Sponsored by Representative Claudia Tenney (R-New York) (13

cosponsors- 13 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

09/28/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Tenney

09/28/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Appropriations and Ways
and Means

H.R. 9052

**Fight for the American Dream Act**

The bill would allow DACA recipients to enlist in the military and
ultimately obtain a pathway to citizenship.

Sponsored by Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) (1

cosponsor- 1 Democrat, 0 Republicans)

09/29/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Gallego

09/29/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Armed Services and the
Judiciary

H.R. 9128

**To amend section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to
clarify congressional intent with respect to agreements under such
section**

Sponsored by Representative Michael Cloud (R-Texas) (4

cosponsors- 4 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

10/04/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Cloud

10/04/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of
Representatives will not be in session the week of October 10, 2022.

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

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Legal****

****Fifth Circuit Rules that DACA is Unlawful but Maintains Protections
for Current DACA Recipients****On October 5, the U.S. Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled

against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program,
siding with U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's earlier ruling

that the policy is unlawful. DACA

- first implemented in a June 2012 memorandum - is a
policy designed to protect qualifying undocumented immigrants who came
to the U.S. as children, temporarily shielding them from deportation and
providing them with work authorization.

The ruling

sends the case back to Judge Hanen to determine the legality of the
Biden administration's new rule fortifying DACA, which was designed to
put the policy on more solid legal footing and is slated to take effect
on October 31. The Fifth Circuit's ruling, however, allows about 600,000
DACA recipients to maintain their protections pending a likely eventual
appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, new DACA applicants and those
with applications pending will continue to be blocked from receiving
protections.

The case, Texas v. U.S.A
., stems from a
lawsuit brought by nine Republican-led states, led by Texas, challenging
the legality of DACA. While the case proceeds before Judge Hanen and
likely ultimately before the Supreme Court, DACA recipients remain at
risk of losing protections.

In response to the ruling, President Biden said

that "the court's stay provides a temporary reprieve for DACA
recipients, but the lives of Dreamers remain in limbo." He also urged
Congress to pass permanent protections for Dreamers, including a pathway
to citizenship. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas
expressed

his disappointment with the ruling and said that the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), along with the Department of Justice, would
work on an appropriate legal response.

The ruling also sparked

reactions from immigration advocates, faith groups, law enforcement
leaders, human rights activists, and business leaders who called on
Congress to provide permanent protections for Dreamers.

****Federal Court Rules in Favor of Optional Practical Training for
Graduating International Students****On October 4, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld

the legality of USCIS's Optional Practical Training (OPT) program,
specifically as it relates to graduating international STEM students.
The case, WashTech v. DHS
,
stems from a lawsuit filed in 2016 by the Washington Alliance of
Technology Workers (WashTech) against the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) for extending

to 36 months the on-the-job practical training (OPT) period that allows
STEM international students with to remain and work in the U.S. after
graduation. In its lawsuit, WashTech alleged that DHS did not have the
authority to grant international students OPT nor to extend it for STEM
graduates. The court, however, ruled that statutory authority from
Congress "amply supports" DHS's power to grant OPT and to extend it for
STEM graduates.

In support of DHS's authority to grant and extend OPT, a group of 60
major U.S. companies and organizations filed an amicus brief

with the court in June 2021. Since 1947, OPT has allowed

international students to gain new professionals skills after graduation
and share their talents in the American labor market. Non-STEM graduates
are permitted 12 months of OPT and, since 2016, STEM graduates are
permitted 36 months due to a labor shortage in U.S. STEM fields.

****Federal****

****Biden Administration Resettled 25,465 Refugees in FY 2022, Falling
Short of 125,000 Ceiling****Refugee resettlement data released

by the State Department on October 5 revealed that the administration
resettled a total of 5,546 refugees in September. This puts the total of
resettled refugees for FY 2022 at 25,465 - roughly 80% short of the
administration's FY 2022 ceiling of 125,000. However, despite missing
the mark by a large margin, there has been some progress as the Biden
administration continues to rebuild a resettlement program devastated

by COVID-19 and Trump-era restrictions. The final resettlement number
for FY 2022 more than doubles that of FY 2021 (11,411). Furthermore, the
second half of this past fiscal year allowed for almost twice as many
resettlements as the first half.

According to an October 3 report
,
the Biden administration has also expanded capacity throughout the
system to increase resettlement in FY 2023. Domestic capacity to
resettle has increased, with 71 new domestic resettlement offices
opening in the past 12 months.  The administration has also increased
personnel at overseas refugee centers by about 600 and conducted 44,000
refugee interviews in FY 2022, up from 9,100 in FY 2021.

Notably, Afghan SIV numbers continued their upward trajectory

in September as the country received 2,577 SIVs in the last month of the
fiscal year. September SIV numbers were nearly as high as peaks reached
during the fall of Afghanistan in the summer and fall of 2021.

****Secretary of State Antony Blinken Meets with Colombian, Peruvian,
and Chilean Presidents to Discuss Bilateral Agendas, Including
Migration****On October 6, Secretary of State Antony Blinken led

the U.S. delegation at the General Assembly of the Organization of
American States (OAS) in Lima, Peru. As a result of the meeting, 21
countries reiterated

their support to advance the four pillars of the Los Angeles Declaration
on Migration and Protection
: 
1) stability and assistance; 2) legal pathways; 3) humane migration
management; and 4) emergency response. Foreign ministers and
representatives from the 21 endorsing countries presented progress on
existing commitments made under the Los Angeles Declaration and
announced new initiatives and programs. While in Lima, Secretary Blinken
also commended the Peruvian government for hosting

more than 1.3 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants and for offering
them a pathway to secure a more regular status.

On October 5, Secretary Blinken met

with Chilean President Gabriel Boric in Santiago, Chile, to discuss -
among various bilateral priorities - joint strategies on migration.
Secretary Blinken expressed

appreciation for Chile's hemispheric leadership on migration, as the
country hosts roughly half a million Venezuelan migrants and 180,000
Haitians. On October 4, Secretary Blinken met

with Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Bogota, Colombia, to talk
about migration policies and the challenges that both countries face. In
particular, Secretary Blinken commended

Colombia's remarkable generosity to more than 2.4 million Venezuelans
displaced by their country's ongoing humanitarian crisis.

****Migrants Fatally Shot in Successive Incidents Near Southwest
Border****On October 4, a Border Patrol agent fatally shot

a Mexican migrant detained at the Ysleta Border Patrol Station in El
Paso, Texas. In the statement that confirmed the death of the migrant,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced

that the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility, along with the
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), would review the incident. The
Mexican Consulate in El Paso said

the man who died was a Mexican citizen who was being processed at the
station when criminal charges against him were discovered. According to
CBP's most recentstatistics
on assaults and
use of force, the agency has recorded 17 use-of-force incidents by
agency personnel using their firearms during the Fiscal Year 2022. There
were 15 such incidents in 2021.

In a separate incident, on September 29, Texas Rangers arrested

Michael Sheppard, former warden at the West Texas Detention Center, and
his twin brother in connection with a shooting that left one immigrant
dead and another injured. The men are accused
of
opening fire on a group of four migrants who were getting water along
the road near El Paso.

****Biden Administration Announces Final Rule to Improve H-2A Visa
Program****On October 6, the U.S. Department of Labor announced

a final rule to amend the H-2A temporary labor certification regulations
to better protect agricultural workers' rights, and to update the H-2A
application and labor certification process. The final rule

will be published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2022.

Among the main provisions
,
the final rule aims to improve safety and health protections for workers
housed in rental or public accommodations. The rule also streamlines
and updates bond requirements for labor contractors and clarifies
joint-employer status for employers and associations. In addition, the
rule clarifies the housing certification process to allow state and
local authorities to conduct housing inspections. The rule also
establishes explicit authority to debar attorneys and agents for their
misconduct, independent of an employer's violations. It also makes
electronic filing mandatory for most applications to improve employers'
processing efficiency.

The H-2A

program allows employers to address temporary agricultural labor needs
by employing foreign workers when there are not sufficient domestic
workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available, and when doing
so will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of other
workers similarly employed in the U.S.

****Detained Migrants at New Mexico Detention Facility Report
Retaliation After Reporting Unsanitary Conditions****On September 29,
migrants held by U.S. authorities at Torrance County Detention Facility
in New Mexico reported retaliation

after signing a public letter denouncing the unsafe conditions and
mistreatment at the government-run jail and announcing a hunger strike.
Unsanitary conditions reported by detainees include broken plumbing,
insect infestations, and rationed bottles of drinking water.

Torrance County Detention Facility has a documented history of inhumane
conditions and staff misconduct. A report

released on September 30 by the Department of Homeland Security's Office
of Inspector General (OIG) corroborates and expands on the migrants'
complaints, identifying multiple standards violations such as inadequate
medical care, deficient security, unsanitary conditions, and severe
staff shortages. Ongoing staffing vacancies have impacted medical care,
including suicide watch, dental care, and chronic care. Additional
concerns

with the facility, which currently holds approximately 70 detainees,
include false and incomplete medical records and empty logbooks meant
for tracking important communications and inmate requests.

****State and Local****

****New Hampshire Governor Orders Deployment of 164 National Guard
Troops to US-Mexico Border****On October 3, New Hampshire Governor Chris
Sununu (R) announced
 the
deployment of two Army National Guard units for one year at the southern
border. The 164 soldiers that form the units will be at surveillance
sites and will be prohibited

from being in contact with undocumented migrants. The troops are also
forbidden from serving on federal mobilization, meaning they are unable
to participate in many CBP border security actions. Their role will be
to notify U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of any border
crossing between ports of entry.

Governor Sununu joins

a series of other Republican governors in deploying National Guard
troops for brief stints at the border. In the past, troops have
been assigned
 to
paint border barriers and have assisted in reconnaissance and
surveillance activities. Similar efforts have received significant
criticism

for providing deployed troops with "zero task or purpose."

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General
(DHS-OIG);****Del Rio Area Struggled with Prolonged Detention,
Consistent Compliance with CBP's TEDS Standards, and Data Integrity**

**; September 29, 2022**This DHS OIG report highlights that four
detention facilities in Del Rio Area held 1,164 detainees in custody
longer than specified in the National Standards on Transport, Escort,
Detention, and Search (TEDS), which generally limit detention in these
facilities to 72 hours. The report also shows that three of those
facilities were overcrowded. It also notes that the facilities failed to
consistently provide showers and interpretation services.

**U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General
(DHS-OIG);** **The DHS Unified Coordination Group for Operation Allies
Welcome Coordinated Afghan Resettlement but Faced Challenges in Funding
and Authority**

**; September 29, 2022**This DHS OIG report highlights that the Unified
Coordination Group (UCG) for Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) faced two
key challenges: 1. The absence of direct funding for most DHS OAW
activities during the beginning of the operation, and 2. The absence of
clear and direct authority for UCG leadership. These challenges affected
the UCG's coordination of the resettlement process. In particular, the
UCG had trouble recruiting staff to support OAW and encountered problems
procuring needed supplies and equipment.

**U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General
(DHS-OIG);** **The Unified Coordination Group Struggled to Track Afghan
Evacuees Independently Departing U.S. Military Bases**

**; September 29, 2022**This DHS OIG report highlights that the Unified
Coordination Group (UCG) for Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) struggled to
track Afghan evacuees who independently departed U.S. military bases
designated as safe havens. Specifically, UCG officials had difficulties
documenting when independent departures occurred. In addition, the
report highlights that the UCG's Independent Departure Task Force did
not attempt to locate all Afghan evacuees who independently departed
safe havens to verify their compliance with parole conditions.

**U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General
(DHS-OIG);****Violations of ICE Detention Standards at Torrance County
Detention Facility**

**; September 28, 2022**This DHS-OIG report identified critical staffing
shortages and violations of ICE detention standards that compromised the
health, safety, and rights of detainees at Torrance County Detention
Facility (Torrance) in Estancia, New Mexico. The report also highlights
that Torrance failed to meet standards for facility conditions, facility
security, medical care, use of force, detainee classification,
communication between staff and detainees, and access to legal services.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES**Explainer: The
Fifth Circuit's DACA Ruling
This
explainer provides an overview of the October 6 Fifth Circuit ruling
against Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), upholding an
earlier decision from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen that the policy
is unlawful.

**Fact Sheet: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)**
This
fact sheet provides an overview of the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA). DACA is a deferred action policy implemented by the
Obama administration in June 2012. It is aimed at protecting qualifying
young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children,
temporarily shielding them from deportation and providing them with work
authorization.

Bilateral Labor Agreements: A Beneficial Tool to Expand Pathways to
Lawful Work
This
paper explores the rationale, benefits, and history
of bilateral labor agreements (BLAs) in the United States, including
the recent labor mobility discussions with the Mexican government. It
also highlights how these agreements can benefit the U.S., as they
provide U.S. policymakers more control over the size of the temporary
migrant workforce, while prioritizing needed skills and experience. It
argues that BLAs are useful in addressing U.S. labor shortages, help
manage the irregular migration flow at the U.S. southern border, and
reaffirm the United States' hemispheric leadership.

* * *

*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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