Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
December 9, 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, December 9, 2022**

BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED
<#bills-introduced-and-considered>LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
<#legislative-floor-calendar>

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS <#upcoming-hearings-and-markups>

THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK <#Themes-In-Washington-This-week>

GOVERNMENT REPORTS <#government-reports> SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL
IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
<#spotlight-on-national-immigration-forum-resources>

**BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED**H.R. 7946
<[link removed]>

**Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022**The bill would direct the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense to
implement a program that allows noncitizen service members to file for
naturalization during basic training or as early as otherwise possible.
The bill would also direct DHS to establish a Military Family
Immigration Advisory Committee, which would review the cases of
noncitizen veterans and active-duty service members in removal
proceedings and provide recommendations as to whether prosecutorial
discretion is warranted or whether the removal proceedings should
continue. The bill would also provide an opportunity for noncitizen
veterans who have been removed or ordered removed and who have not been
convicted of serious crimes to apply for and obtain legal permanent
resident status in the U.S.

Sponsored by Representative Mark Takano (D-California) (36
<[link removed]> cosponsors-
36 Democrats, 0 Republicans)

06/03/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Takano

06/03/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Veterans' Affairs, Armed
Services, and the Judiciary

12/06/2022  Passed the House of Representatives by a 220-208 vote
<[link removed]>.

H.R. 9398
<[link removed]>

**U.S. Customs and Border Protection Behavioral Health Act**The bill
would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire behavioral
health providers and create a comprehensive behavioral health program
for the agency's staff.

Sponsored by Representative Elise Stefanik (R-New York) (12
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 12 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

12/01/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Stefanik

12/01/2022 Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security

H.R. 9406
<[link removed]>

**Customs and Border Protection Crisis Hardship and Incentive Pay Act of
2022**The bill would provide a $250 biweekly hardship incentive payment
to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) officers.

Sponsored by Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) (2
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 2 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

12/02/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Crenshaw

12/02/2022 Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security

H.R.9474
<[link removed]>

**Working for Immigrant Safety and Empowerment (WISE) Act**The bill
would increase the protections for immigrant victims of abuse. Among
various other provisions, the bill would lift the U visa and Special
Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) caps, prevent detention and deportation of
immigrant survivors with pending immigration cases, and ensure immigrant
survivors with pending cases are eligible for critical federal public
benefits, and no longer subject to the five-year bar.

Sponsored by Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) (21
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 21 Democrats, 0 Republicans)

12/08/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Jayapal

12/08/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Ways and Means,
Agriculture, Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Financial
Services, and the Judiciary

S. 5136
<[link removed]>

**Protecting Family Caregivers from Discrimination Act of 2022**Among
various other provisions, the bill would forbid employers to threaten
employees who lack immigration status with the prospect of reporting
them to immigration authorities as a form of retaliation.

Sponsored by Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) (0
<[link removed]>
cosponsors)

11/29/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Booker

11/29/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions

S. 5164
<[link removed]>

**Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act**Among various
other provisions, the bill would deny the issuance of visas to members
of the Russian-based PMC Wagner Group, suspected of crimes against
humanity in Ukraine, Mali, and the Central African Republic. This is a
companion bill of H.R. 9381
<[link removed]>.

Sponsored by Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) (1
<[link removed]>
cosponsor- 1 Democrat, 0 Republicans)

12/01/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Wicker

12/01/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

S. 5168
<[link removed]>

**Energy Security and Lightering Independence Act of 2022**The bill
would allow foreign nationals passing in transit through the United
States to board a vessel or aircraft on which they will perform
ship-to-ship liquid cargo transfer operations for a period not to exceed
180 days.

Sponsored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) (1
<[link removed]>
cosponsor- 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)

12/01/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Padilla

12/01/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**The U.S. Senate will be in session the
week of Monday, December 12, 2022.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Monday,
December 12, through Thursday, December 15, 2022.

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

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****Bipartisan Framework on Dreamers and Border Security Takes Shape in
the Senate****On December 5, several sources reported
<[link removed]>
an agreement between Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Kyrsten
Sinema (I-Arizona) on a framework for a draft bill on significant
immigration and border policy reforms. While the final text of the
agreement remains under negotiations as of December 9, several reports
<[link removed]> noted that
it would provide a pathway to citizenship for over 2 million Dreamers
(undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children), and
allocate billions of dollars for increased border security.Among the
several provisions
<[link removed]>
reportedly included in the  blueprint, the framework would temporarily
extend Title 42, a pandemic-era order set to end on December 21 that has
been used to rapidly expel arriving millions of arriving migrants
without providing them the opportunity to seek asylum. The bill would
also allocate between $25 and $40 billion in border security funding,
including a pay raise for Border Patrol agents and additional resources
for Office of Field Operations (OFO)  officers. The bill would provide
access to a path to citizenship for approximately
<[link removed]>
2.3 million Dreamers, including current DACA recipients whose status
remains imperiled
<[link removed].>
by ongoing litigation.

If Senators Tillis and Sinema introduce the framework as a standalone
legislation, it would require significant bipartisan support and at
least 60 votes to avoid a filibuster and pass the upper chamber.
Congress is expecting to remain in session until at least
<[link removed]>
December 23 as negotiations continue around several year-end priorities.
On December 9, Senator Sinema announced
<[link removed]>
that she had left the Democratic party and registered as an independent.

Faith leaders <[link removed]>, national
security experts
<[link removed]>,
immigration advocates
<[link removed]>,
and many others expressed encouragement at the news of ongoing
negotiations and compromise on immigration issues. The announcement of
the negotiations came only a few days after a poll
<[link removed]>
showed that  73% of overall voters, including 70% of self-identified
conservatives, support Republicans and Democrats working together on
immigration reforms that strengthen border security, allow immigrants
brought to the United States as children to earn citizenship, and ensure
a legal, reliable workforce for America's farmers and ranchers.

****Bill for Deported Veterans and Noncitizen Servicemembers Passes
House of Representatives****On December 6, the House of Representatives
passed
<[link removed]>
the Veteran Service Recognition Act of 2022. The bill - approved after
a 220-208 vote <[link removed]> - would assist
certain deported veterans in returning to the U.S. if they have not
committed serious crimes. The bill would also make it easier for current
noncitizen servicemembers and veterans to naturalize and create a
committee to review the cases of noncitizen veterans and active-duty
service members who are in removal proceedings and provide
recommendations as to whether discretion is warranted.The bill, endorsed
<[link removed]>
by the White House, still needs to be approved by the Senate to become
law. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), Maria Salazar
(R-Florida), and Mike Kinzinger (R-Illinois) joined Democratic lawmakers
in voting for the bill on the House floor.

According to recent data, over 700,000
<[link removed]> foreign-born veterans live
in the United States, out of which 94,000
<[link removed]> do
not have U.S. citizenship. Unfortunately, many of those
noncitizen veterans face deportation. While the numbers of removal
proceedings are not clear, a 2019 Government Accountability Office
report found that 250
<[link removed]> noncitizen veterans were
under deportation threat between 2013 and 2018 - 92 of them were
ultimately deported. In addition, it is estimated that as many as
2,000 veterans have been deported
<[link removed]> over
time.

Recent estimations suggest that there are about 45,000
<[link removed]> immigrants
actively serving in the military. To join the U.S.
military, noncitizens
<[link removed]> must
be permanent residents (green card holders), have permission to work in
the United States, have obtained a high school diploma, and speak
English. The Biden administration has begun efforts to help
<[link removed]> a
small number of deported veterans and their families.

****US Resettles Just 2,193 Refugees in Second Month of FY 2023, Far
Below Resettlement Goals****Refugee resettlement data released
<[link removed]> by the State
Department on December 5 revealed that the administration resettled
2,193 refugees in November, the second month of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.
This number represents a 1.8% increase from the 2,154 refugees resettled
in October as resettlement trends
<[link removed]> remain far
below the needed levels to reach the Biden Administration's stated
goals.With the first two months of the fiscal year in the books, the
Biden Administration is on track to resettle 26,082 refugees total in FY
2023 - almost the same as last year and a far cry from the ceiling
which President Biden again set at 125,000 in September. The U.S. would
now need to resettle over 12,000 refugees a month to meet that target.
While the administration has shared some progress regarding an increase
in refugee interviews and further investment in the program, this has
not yet impacted actual resettlement totals.

In addition, the Biden administration pledged
<[link removed]> in
June to resettle 20,000 refugees from the Americas during Fiscal Years
2023 and 2024. However, with just 351 total refugees resettled from the
region in November, the U.S. is on track to resettle fewer than 10,000
total from the region over the next two years - less than half of the
administration's commitment.

Among the nationalities that were resettled, refugees from the Congo
continued leading the list at 414, despite a decline from the previous
month. Significant upticks from Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, and
Ethiopia kept overall resettlement from Africa relatively level. The
U.S. has also seen robust resettlement from Burma with 366 refugees
resettled in November, representing the second-highest origin country
overall. Meanwhile, refugee resettlement from Afghanistan declined 54%
to just 169 in November. Recent reports of an emphasis
<[link removed]>
on rapid Afghan refugee processing
<[link removed]>
have not yet materialized.

The number of Afghan arrivals with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV)
declined to 864 arrivals in November from 996 in October, far below
peaks of over 3,000 during the 2021 evacuation and over 2,000 just a few
months ago. The SIV pathway remains limited for many Afghans here and
abroad, one reason many immigration advocates and veterans continue
pressuring Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act
<[link removed]>.

****Biden Administration Extends and Redesignates Haiti for Temporary
Protected Status (TPS)****On December 5, the Biden
Administration announced
<[link removed]>
the extension and redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected
Status (TPS). The 18-month extension, effective February 4, 2023, will
allow over 56,000 Haitian TPS holders to retain their status through
August 3, 2024. It also extends the protection to Haitian nationals
residing in the United States as of November 6, 2022.In the
announcement, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said
<[link removed]>
that the renewal of TPS for Haiti was appropriate in light of the
difficult conditions in the country, including socioeconomic challenges,
political instability, gang violence, crime, and environmental
disasters.

TPS <[link removed]> 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****

****Biden Administration Appeals Court Decision that Ordered to Lift
Title 42****On December 7, the Biden administration announced it would
be appealing
<[link removed]>
a November 15 District Court ruling that required
<[link removed]>
the end of Title 42 by December 21. Title 42 is a pandemic-era order
that both the Trump and Biden administrations have used since March 2020
to rapidly expel arriving migrants without providing them the
opportunity to seek asylum. Over 2.4 million
<[link removed]> people
have been expelled under Title 42 since the pandemic began.In the
appeal, the Biden administration argues
<[link removed]>
that the use of Title 42 was a lawful use of the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) authority. However, the appeal does not ask
the court to reconsider CDC's previous determination (made in March
2021) that Title 42 no longer serves a public health rationale. The
appeal is not designed
<[link removed]>
to prevent the end of Title 42 on December 21, but rather to ensure that
the authority may be used in future instances at the border.

The case, Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas
<[link removed]>, stems from a
lawsuit spearheaded by ACLU against the Trump administration in 2020
over Title 42 expulsions. After hitting an impasse in negotiations
with the Biden administration, the plaintiffs went back to court in July
2021 to seek an immediate termination of the policy.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS);****USCIS Fiscal
Year (FY) 2022 Progress Report**
<[link removed]>

**;**

**December 7, 2022**This USCIS report highlights the activities of the
agency during Fiscal Year 2022. The agency reports naturalizing
1,023,200 new U.S. citizens, using all the available  employment-based
immigrant visas (275,111), extending the EAD validity period for over
400,000 noncitizens, and expanding the number of supplemental H-2B visas
to 64,716 for 2023. The report also highlights that USCIS helped Afghan
evacuees by interviewing over 6,250 refugee applicants from Afghanistan,
completing over 92,000 EAD applications, almost 2,500 Adjustment of
Status applications, over 2,700 asylum applications, over 15,000 Special
Immigrant Visa (SIV) petitions, and over 7,000 family-based immigrant
petitions as of mid-November 2022.

**Congressional Research Service (CRS);****FEMA Assistance: Limited
English Proficiency and Equity**
<[link removed]>

**; December 5, 2022**This CRS report highlights that individuals with
limited English proficiency (LEP) often encounter barriers to federal
relief and disproportionate risk during hazards. Among the main
challenges, individuals with LEP may not understand evacuation notices
or instructions, raising the risk of casualty; may not understand
emergency relief providers, impeding access to emergency medical care,
sheltering assistance, and key relief commodities; and may not be able
to access federal aid applications, written guidance, and oral
instructions, deterring or delaying their requests for relief or
yielding insufficient awards.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES****What Makes a
Border Secure? Building a Healthier Border Dialogue**
<[link removed]>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.**42 Border Solutions That Aren't Title 42**
<[link removed]>This
resource provides 42 sustainable, effective border solutions that are
not Title 42. The 42 solutions are broken up into three categories -
border processes, root causes, and border security.**Fact Sheet:
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)**
<[link removed]>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.* * *

*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]
<[email protected]>. Thank you.

 

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