Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
October 14, 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, October 14, 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. 9141

**Visitor Visa Wait Time Reduction Act**

The bill would require the State Department to outline specific steps to
reduce appointment wait times for visitor visas at diplomatic posts
where the wait time exceeds 100 days. The bill would also temporarily
reassign staff from other State Department offices to diplomatic posts
where the wait time for a nonimmigrant visa appointment exceeds 300
days.

Sponsored by Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) (15

cosponsors- 12 Democrats, 3 Republicans)

10/07/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Salazar

10/07/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 9167

**Combatting International Drug Trafficking and Human Smuggling
Partnership Act of 2022**

The bill would grant Customs and Border Protection (CBP) permanent
authority to operate in foreign countries.

Sponsored by Representative Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) (1

cosponsor- 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

10/11/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Guest

10/11/2022 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**

The U.S. Senate will be in session the week of Monday, October 17, 2022.

The U.S. House of Representatives will not be in session the week of
October 17, 2022.

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

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****Biden Administration Expands Title 42 Expulsions to Venezuelans,
Launches Limited Humanitarian Parole Program****On October 12, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced

an agreement with Mexico to expand Title 42 expulsions to Venezuelan
nationals who arrive at the border. The administration simultaneously
announced a new special parole program that would allow 24,000
Venezuelans to enter the country through official land or airports and
receive temporary protections.

Title 42 is a pandemic-era order

that both the Trump and Biden administrations have been using to rapidly
expel arriving migrants to Mexico or their countries of origin without
providing them the opportunity to seek asylum under U.S. law. Prior to
the DHS announcement, Venezuelan asylum seekers were among the
nationalities exempted from Title 42, in part because Mexico had refused
to accept them. However, per the DHS announcement, Mexico has now agreed
to accept up to 1,000 expelled Venezuelan
migrants each day, and 300 Venezuelan migrants were already expelled
under Title 42 on October 12. According to most recent data, over 25,000

Venezuelans have been arriving at the border seeking protection each
month.

The new parole program

- based in part on the Uniting for Ukraine

private sponsorship parole program - will allow a U.S.-based
individual or organization to sponsor a Venezuelan who wishes to migrate
to the U.S. If both parties pass screening and background checks, the
migrant would be permitted to fly to the U.S. and enter under
humanitarian parole
.
This status will last for two years and include work authorization. This
program is initially capped at 24,000 Venezuelan migrants, although the
DHS statement noted

it "may consider expanding it in the future." Those who travel
unlawfully into Mexico after the announcement of the program will not be
eligible, potentially stranding tens of thousands of vulnerable migrants
who were in the midst of the dangerous journey across the Darién gap,
into Mexico, and towards the U.S. border.

This plan also provides for enhanced enforcement operations throughout
the North American region in attempts to reduce human smuggling and
irregular migration, especially in the Darién Gap.

****Some**

**Afghan Evacuees Begin Filing  for Asylum or SIV Amid Lack of
Congressional Action on Adjustment Act****According to an October 10 CBS
News report
,
over 17,400 Afghan evacuees have filed applications for asylum or
special immigrant visa (SIV) status amid Congress' lack of action on the
Afghan Adjustment Act. The Afghan Adjustment Act

is a bill that would provide a path to permanent status to tens of
thousands of Afghans who were evacuated under humanitarian parole to the
U.S. following the fall of Kabul in August 2021. The bill, which
received a bipartisan introduction in both the House and Senate on
August 10, also includes provisions to ensure that eligible Afghan
evacuees have been subject to rigorous vetting and screening procedures,
and it would improve and expand pathways to protection for those left
behind and at risk in Afghanistan.

In the past year, the U.S. military has evacuated over 124,000 people

from Afghanistan - including tens of thousands of Afghan allies,
refugees, parolees, and their families. Over 70,000 of these evacuees
were vetted and then brought to the U.S. under humanitarian parole,
which - unlike refugee or asylum status - does not automatically
confer a path to a green card or citizenship. Afghan parolees are
granted

two years of protection from deportation and work authorization but no
further access to status.

While many of these evacuees remain stuck in limbo on rapidly-expiring
temporary status, a limited number with access to legal counsel have
begun the lengthy asylum or SIV application process. These avenues are
heavily backlogged

and could take several months or years to complete.

Congress has passed

adjustment acts in the aftermath of multiple prior evacuations,
including for Cubans fleeing the Castro regime in the 1960s, for
Vietnamese and South Asian refugees after the fall of Saigon in the
1970s, and Iraqis after Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi
Freedom in the 1990s.

****Biden Administration Supplements H-2B Cap with 64,716 Additional
Visas for Fiscal Year 2023****On October 12, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL),
announced

that it will make available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary
non-agricultural worker visas for fiscal year 2023, on top of the 66,000
normally available. Of the available visas, 20,000 are reserved for
nationals of Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The remaining
44,716 supplemental visas will be available to returning workers who
received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one
of the last three fiscal years.

In the announcement, DHS highlighted

that the H-2B supplement advances the Biden administration's pledge
under the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection

and its joint commitment

with Mexico to expand legal pathways as an alternative to irregular
migration.

The H-2B visa program

is intended to help American employers fill temporary, non-agricultural
positions when there are no sufficient qualified U.S. workers capable of
performing the work.

****Biden Administration Reports Reunification of 500 Families Separated
at the Border in 2017, 2018****On October 7, the Biden administration
reported

that its Family Reunification Task Force has so far reunited 500
families who were separated under former President Trump's "zero
tolerance" border policy. The zero tolerance policy - which was met
with widespread criticism from members of Congress, faith groups, and
the general public - resulted in the deliberate separation

of at least 5,569 migrant children from their parents between 2017 and
2018, impacting over 1,500 families. However, the exact number of
separated children remains unknown due to the lack of precise records
from the previous administration.

In a press release, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas
stressed
that while DHS and the Task Force "take great pride in this
accomplishment, we also know that this important work isn't finished."
Mayorkas also highlighted
that "the
Task Force continues to identify and engage families who were separated
to ensure they are aware of the reunification process and the support
the Task Force has arranged."

****Legal****

****Judge Hanen Extends Injunction to New DACA Rule, Protections Remain
in Place for Current DACA recipients****On October 14, in the recently
remanded case Texas v. U.S
., District Judge
Andrew Hanen applied an existing injunction against the Biden
administration's new 2022 DACA rule
,
preventing it from going into effect. Following the lead of the Fifth
Circuit, Judge Hanen also made clear that current DACA recipients would
continue to be able to maintain and renew their protections and work
authorization. Hanen's decision was issued after meeting
 with
the parties' attorneys in the case, and his application of the existing
injunction was agreed to by both parties. DACA is a policy that allows
undocumented immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children to
stay and work in the U.S.

The case stems
 from a lawsuit
brought by nine Republican-led states, led by Texas, challenging the
legality of DACA. On July 16, 2021, Judge Hanen had ruled against the
legality of DACA as it was set out under the Obama administration. The
decision stopped new and pending applications to the program, but the
judge did allow a stay of the ruling for the approximately 600,000
current DACA recipients. To address procedural concerns raised in Judge
Hanen's ruling, on August 24, 2022, DHS announced a final rule that
codified a substantively identical version of DACA.

On September 10, 2021, the Department of Justice appealed Judge Hanen's
ruling before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. On October 5, the
Fifth Circuit sided with Judge Hanen in ruling against the legality of
the DACA program as set out in 2012. The Fifth Circuit declined to rule
on the legality of the new DACA program set out in the Biden
administration's 2022 rule, which was set to go into effect on October
31. A decision on the lawfulness of the new but substantively similar
DACA program was remanded to Judge Hanen, who has now extended an
injunction against the rule as he continues his decision.

While the case proceeds

before Judge Hanen and likely ultimately before the Supreme Court, DACA
recipients remain at risk of losing protections.

****State & Local****

****Sheriff Certifies Migrants Flown to Martha's Vineyards By Florida
Governor Were Victims of a Crime****According to an October 13 report
,
Sherrif Javier Salazar of Bexar County, Texas, certified that the 48
Venezuelan migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard by Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis (R) were victims of a crime. The certification ensures that the
migrants will be able to stay in the U.S. to serve as witnesses as
criminal proceedings continue, and is a key step towards allowing them
to apply for U-visas, which are provided to crime victims or witnesses.

On September 19, Sherrif Salazar opened

a criminal investigation into the flights, noting that evidence
indicated the migrants had been misled and lured onto the flights under
false pretenses by the DeSantis administration. On September 20, the
migrants filed

a class action lawsuit against Governor DeSantis and other Florida state
officials.

****New York City Mayor Declares State of Emergency in Response to
Increased Number of Migrants Being Bussed to NYC****On October 7, New
York City Mayor Eric Adams declared

a state of emergency and directed relevant city agencies to coordinate
their efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis arising out of the
busing of asylum seekers to the city. According to Mayor Adams, his
state of emergency declaration

came in response to the more than 17,000 asylum seekers who have been
bussed to the city from Texas and Arizona, straining New York's
shelter system. Mayor Adams also called

for emergency federal and state aid to handle the continued influx of
asylum seekers as the city projects costs of more than $1 billion
related to the asylum seekers in this fiscal year.

According to the Mayor, the increasing number of asylum seekers being
bused to the city
has forced the city government to habilitate 42 hotels as emergency
shelters, enroll over 5,500 children in public schools and open a
Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center to assist asylum
seekers arriving with immediate needs and help them reach their final
desired destination.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**There were no immigration-related government
reports this week.

**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.

Bill Summary: The Afghan Adjustment Act
The bill -
which got a bipartisan intro in the House and Senate this week - would
provide a path to permanence for Afghan evacuees (and some others).
The bill also establishes rigorous vetting and criminal
inadmissibility requirements to access this new path and it includes
provisions that would improve and expand pathways to protection for
those left behind and at risk in Afghanistan.

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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