Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
December 16, 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 16, 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**

S. 5182
<[link removed]>

**Assuring that the Fact-Finding Examination Continues to Track (AFFECT)
Human Rights in Venezuela Act**

Among various other provisions, the bill would authorize the President
of the United States to urge the United Nations to address the
humanitarian needs of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in third
countries through direct assistance.

Sponsored by Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) (3
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 2 Republicans, 1 Democrat)

12/05/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Kaine

12/05/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

S. 5282
<[link removed]>

**Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2022**

The bill would establish a program for immigrant agricultural workers,
along with their spouses and minor children, to earn legal status. In
addition, the bill would allow farm workers in the program to earn a
path to a green card after ten years of agriculture work. The bill would
also reform the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker program by providing
H-2A visas for year-round jobs for the first time, modernizing the
application process, creating more wage certainty, and ensuring critical
protections for H-2A farm workers. The bill would also establish a
mandatory, nationwide electronic verification system for all
agricultural employment, with high standards for privacy and accuracy.

Sponsored by Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) (0
<[link removed]>
cosponsors)

12/15/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Bennet

12/15/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance

H.R. 9470
<[link removed]>

**American Safety and Fairness Through Expedited Removal (SAFER) Act**

The bill would subject all undocumented immigrants to expedited removal
proceedings regardless of where they are encountered or apprehended.

Sponsored by Representative Pat Fallon (R-Texas) (18
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 18 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

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

12/08/2022 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary

H.R. 9473
<[link removed]>

**Eradicating Narcotic Drugs and Formulating Effective New Tools to
Address National Yearly Losses of Life Act (END FENTANYL Act)**

The bill would require the CBP Commissioner to review and update the
policies and manuals of the Office of Field Operations to enhance
inspection practices at ports of entry to prevent the trafficking of
drugs and humans. This is a companion bill of S. 4460
<[link removed]>.

Sponsored by Representative Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) (1
<[link removed]>
cosponsor- 1 Democrat, 0 Republicans)

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

12/08/2022 Referred to the House Committees on Homeland Security and
Ways and Means

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**

The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives will be in session
the week of Monday, December 19, 2022.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**

There are no immigration-related hearings scheduled for next week.

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****Negotiations on Dreamer Protection and Border Security Compromise
Stall in Congress; Hope Remains for Other Immigration
Provisions****After months of negotiation
<[link removed]>
around a potential bipartisan compromise led by Thom Tillis (R-North
Carolina) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) that would have provided a
pathway to citizenship for over 2 million Dreamers and allocated
billions of dollars for increased border security, multiple sources
<[link removed]>
reported that the bill would not be introduced or move forward this
year. Despite support from faith leaders
<[link removed]>, national security experts
<[link removed]>,
and immigration advocates
<[link removed]>
for the reported framework of the compromise, the negotiations failed to
gain enough support to pass in the final weeks of the legislative
session.

The text of the framework had reportedly
<[link removed]> been
finalized by December 15, but the leads determined there was not enough
time in the legislative calendar to garner the necessary support.
According to a December 15 report
<[link removed]>, Senators
Tillis and Sinema are planning to continue to work on the legislation in
the next Congress - which begins on January 1, 2023.

The door has not yet been closed on other pieces of immigration
legislation this Congres. On December 15, Senator Michael Bennet
(D-Colorado) introduced the Affordable and Secure Food Act
<[link removed]>
to reform the agricultural visa system and offer migrant farmworkers a
path to permanent residency. The revised legislation is similar to the
Farm Workforce Modernization Act
<[link removed]>,
which passed the House with bipartisan support in 2021. Specifically,
the bill - which has received the endorsement
<[link removed]>
of farmers
<[link removed]>
and farmworker groups - would establish a program for immigrant
agricultural workers and their spouses and minor children to earn legal
status in the United States. In addition, the bill would allow farm
workers in the program to earn a path to a green card after ten years of
agriculture work. The bill would also reform the H-2A Temporary
Agricultural Worker program by providing H-2A visas for year-round jobs
for the first time, modernizing the application process, creating more
wage certainty, and ensuring critical protections for H-2A farm workers.
The bill would also establish a mandatory, nationwide electronic
verification system for all agricultural employment, with high standards
for privacy and accuracy.

In addition, on December 13 and 14, the Afghan Adjustment Act
<[link removed]>
received the bipartisan support of four additional cosponsors after
updated language in the bill concerning vetting and reporting
requirements. The Afghan Adjustment Act would provide
<[link removed]>
a vetting process and a path to permanent status to tens of thousands of
Afghans who were evacuated to the U.S. following the fall of Kabul to
the Taliban in August 2021.

****Over 1,000 Migrants Arrive in El Paso, Texas, as Court-Ordered End
of Title 42 Nears****On December 11, a group
<[link removed]>
of over 1,000 migrants - mostly Nicaraguan asylum seekers who are
currently not subject to Title 42 expulsions - crossed the Rio Grande
border into El Paso, Texas. Their arrival represented one of the largest
groups
<[link removed]> of
migrants to cross in a single day to West Texas, where encounters have
been rising in recent months: In October alone, the city received over
50,000 migrants
<[link removed]>.
As a consequence, local shelters and immigrant detention centers in El
Paso are overwhelmed, leaving many asylum seekers without a roof over
their heads.

The El Paso arrivals presaged some of the challenges the Biden
administration could face after lifting Title 42 by December 21 as
ordered
<[link removed]>
by a District court. 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. Title 42 has been used over 2.5 million
<[link removed]> times
to expel arriving migrants since the pandemic began. The policy has been
used for approximately 35% of arrivals - mostly single adults from
Mexico and the Northern Triangle - since July of this year.

In response to the arrivals and in preparation for lifting Title 42 next
week, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said
<[link removed]>
that "once the Title 42 order is no longer in place, DHS will process
individuals encountered at the border without proper travel documents
using its longstanding Title 8 authorities." Secretary Mayorkas added
<[link removed]>
that under Title 8, migrants could be subject to expedited removal
proceedings, which allows DHS to quickly repatriate individuals who do
not have a legal basis to stay in the United States. In addition, on
December 13, DHS published the framework
<[link removed]>
guiding the administration's preparations to lift Title 42.

According to multiple sources
<[link removed]>,
the Biden administration is considering new asylum restrictions that
might restrict asylum for those who have crossed through third countries
where they may have applied for protection. The sources also note the
administration is considering programs for a limited group of Haitians,
Nicaraguans, and Cubans to apply for humanitarian parole from their home
countries.

****The US Issued 493,000 Permanent Immigrant Visas in Fiscal Year 2022,
a 73% Increase From 2021****On December 14, CBS News published
<[link removed]>
preliminary statistics from the State Department showing that in Fiscal
Year (FY) 2022, the U.S. issued 493,000 permanent immigrant visas. That
number represents a 73% increase from 2021. The tally also represents a
7% increase from 2019 - the last full year before the Covid-19
pandemic.

The report highlights that due to closures of consulates, shutdowns of
cities worldwide, and President Trump's partial bans on immigrant visas,
the number of permanent immigrant visas plummeted to 240,526 in 2020. To
reverse the decline, the report notes that the State Department hired
additional consular officers who reduced the immigrant visa backlog in
2022 by 30%. However, the pending immigrant visa applications remain
considerably above pre-pandemic levels. According to the report, 377,953
<[link removed]>
immigrant visa applicants are currently waiting for an interview at U.S.
consulates, compared to the 60,866 pre-pandemic backlog average.

The report notes
<[link removed]>
that the top ten countries whose nationals received immigrant visas in
2022 were Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, India, Cuba,
Vietnam, China, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Bangladesh. The report also
clarifies that the State Department visa figures do not include
immigrants who gained permanent residency while already living in the
U.S., as those cases are adjudicated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS). In FY 2022, USCIS approved more than 545,000 green
card requests from immigrants in the U.S., according to unpublished
agency figures.

****Secretary Mayorkas Meets with Colombian and Ecuadorian Presidents to
Discuss Regional Migration Management****On December 9, Secretary of
Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas met
<[link removed]>
in Bogota with Colombia's President Gustavo Petro to follow up on the
commitments adopted last June in the Los Angeles Declaration on
Migration and Protection
<[link removed]>.
During the meeting, Colombia's government promised to continue leading
regional efforts to reduce irregular migration. Secretary Mayorkas
praised Colombia's government for welcoming and integrating more than
2.4 million Venezuelans who have fled their country in the last decade.
He also reiterated the U.S. government's pledge
<[link removed]>
to spend $376 million in humanitarian assistance for people affected by
the Venezuela refugee crisis in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The day before, on December 8, Secretary Mayorkas met
<[link removed]>
with Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso to discuss various bilateral
issues, including regional migration. During the meeting, Secretary
Mayorkas urged Ecuadorian migrants not to put their lives in the hands
of smugglers, noting that individuals and families who try to cross into
the United States without a legal basis to stay would be removed. In
addition, both delegations reiterated their commitment to fulfill the
migration commitments adopted as part of the Los Angeles Declaration.

****Biden Administration Relaunches Task Force on New Americans to Help
Immigrants and Refugees Integrate in the U.S.****On December 13, the
Biden administration announced
<[link removed]>
the reconvening of the Task Force on New Americans, an interagency
effort to develop a coordinated federal strategy to help new Americans
and refugees integrate into their communities. Initially created
<[link removed]>
in the mid-2000s and dissolved during the Trump administration, the task
force will focus on workforce training, financial access, and language
learning of immigrants. According to the White House, the Task Force on
New Americans - overseen by the Domestic Policy Council
<[link removed]> - will strengthen the civic,
economic, and linguistic abilities of immigrants and refugees in the
United States to help them contribute fully to our economy.

****Biden Administration Announces Availability of Additional H-2B Visas
for Fiscal Year 2023****On December 12, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced
<[link removed]>
the availability of an additional 64,700 H-2B temporary nonagricultural
worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023. Of the supplemental visas,
44,700 will be available for returning H-2B workers, and the remaining
20,000 will be reserved for nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Honduras. In the announcement, the administration highlighted that
the policy was adopted after reaching
<[link removed].>
the 33,000 semiannual cap for the first half of FY 2023 on September 12.

The H-2B program permits
<[link removed]> employers
to temporarily hire noncitizens to perform nonagricultural temporary
labor or services in the United States. Employers seeking H-2B workers
must certify there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing,
qualified, and available to do the temporary work for which they seek a
prospective foreign worker. In addition, they must certify that
employing H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working
conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

****USCIS Automatically Extends Green Cards for Certain Naturalization
Applicants****On December 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) updated
<[link removed]>
the agency's policy manual to automatically extend the validity of
Permanent Resident Cards - commonly called Green Cards - for 24
months for lawful permanent residents who apply for naturalization after
December 12, 2022. In the announcement, USCIS explained that the policy
aims to protect naturalization applicants by maintaining their status
while waiting for the naturalization process's culmination.

The announcement came a few days after USCIS reported
<[link removed]>
that 1,023,200 immigrants were naturalized as American citizens in
fiscal year 2022. Among the total number of naturalizations, 967,400
were immigrant adults
<[link removed]>,
which marked the third-highest annual tally recorded in U.S. history
after 1996 and 2008.

****Legal****

****District Court in Texas Allows Biden Administration to Use MPP at
Its Discretion****On December 15, a District Court in Texas paused
<[link removed]>
the effectiveness of the October 29 memo
<[link removed]>
through which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated the
Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the "Remain in Mexico"
program. The ruling
<[link removed]>
does not compel the Biden administration to resume placing arriving
migrants in MPP. The ruling - which argues the October 29 memo does
not satisfy requirements in the Administrative Procedures Act - comes
almost six months after the Supreme Court ruled
<[link removed]> 5-4 that
the Biden administration can lawfully end MPP. The case, however, was
sent back to the lower courts, where it was expected that the
administration's attempts to end MPP could face additional procedural
challenges.

If the administration decides to reimplement MPP, the United States
government would have to engage again in diplomatic negotiations with
Mexico, whose government announced
<[link removed]>
on October 25 the termination of collaboration on the policy. Moreover,
on October 26, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled
<[link removed]>
that the Mexican government had failed to publish the guidelines under
which migrants expelled under MPP would be received and protected in the
country. The ruling forced Mexican authorities to publish those
guidelines without delay. Those guidelines still do not exist.

The case, Biden v. Texas
<[link removed]>, revolved
around whether the Biden administration may end MPP under the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Texas and Missouri - the states
challenging the administration's efforts to end the policy - argued
that the Biden administration is statutorily required to use MPP as
long as it does not have the capacity to detain all arriving migrants.
The Supreme Court, however, sided with the Biden administration, ruling
<[link removed]> that the
government is not required to implement MPP and the policy can be
lawfully ended. Additionally, the Supreme Court noted that the judiciary
should not "impose a significant burden on the Executive's ability to
conduct diplomatic negotiations," and bilateral negotiations with Mexico
over its implementation.

****19 Republican-Led States Request U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Delay the Lifting of Title 42****On December 12,
nineteen Republican-led states filed
<[link removed]>
a request before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
to suspend a lower court ruling that ordered the termination of Title 42
border expulsions 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. Title 42 has been used over 2.5 million
<[link removed]> times
to expel arriving migrants since the pandemic began.

In their request, the states argued
<[link removed]>
that Title 42's cancellation would create an "enormous disaster" along
the U.S.-Mexico border.

The case, Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas
<[link removed]>, stems from a
lawsuit spearheaded by the 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. On November 15, a
U.S. District Court in D.C. ordered
<[link removed]>
the Biden administration to lift Title 42 because it found it "arbitrary
and capricious." As a consequence, on December 7, the Biden
administration also appealed
<[link removed]>
the ruling, arguing that the use of Title 42 was lawful. Unlike the
states' involvement, the administration's appeal does not seem
intended to result in the continued use of Title 42 expulsions
immediately after December 21 - but rather the ability to legally use
the policy in the future.

****Biden Administration Sues Arizona Over Shipping Containers on Mexico
Border ****On December 14, the U.S. government sued
<[link removed]> Arizona
Governor Doug Ducey (R) over his construction of a temporary wall of up
to 3,000 double-stacked shipping containers along parts of the
U.S.-Mexico border. The lawsuit, which was filed by the Department of
Justice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, asks
that Arizona be compelled to halt placement and remove the containers in
Cochise County, and compensate the U.S. to fix any damage caused along
the border.

In the suit, the Biden administration argues
<[link removed]>
that the containers trespass on federal lands and pose operational
concerns for the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies. The
government also contends that the construction of the wall has posed a
public safety risk and caused negative environmental impacts, including
the degradation of habitats in which endangered species live.

Governor Ducey's project, which costs $95 million, began in August this
year when he issued an executive order instructing the state's
Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to fill in gaps along the
border with shipping containers. The order was issued without official
permits or authorization.

Ducey rejected
<[link removed]> the
claims made by the U.S. government in its lawsuit but stated that
Arizona would help remove the containers, which he alleges were placed
as a temporary barrier. The Republican governor has continued carrying
out his project in the final weeks before he steps aside for
Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on January 5, 2023. Hobbs, a Democrat, has
said she opposes the project
<[link removed]> and
is exploring options for removing the containers. Environmental
protesters have held up further construction on the wall in recent days.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**Congressional Research Service (CRS);****Federal Agency Rule Expands
Asylum Officers' Authority**
<[link removed]>

**; December 9, 2022**This CRS report provides an overview of the
interim final rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
on March 2022, that allows asylum officers within USCIS to determine
whether foreign nationals encountered at the border who show a credible
fear of persecution or torture may seek asylum and related protections.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES**Fact Sheet: Changes
in Migrant Demographics at the Southwest Border
<[link removed]>The
fact sheet describes and visualizes the changing dynamics at the border
- particularly concerning the increasing number of Cubans,
Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and Colombians. It also discusses the policy
implications of these changes.

**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.

Explainer: Venezuela Parole Program and Title 42 Expansion
<[link removed]>This
explainer describes the elements, policies, likely impact, and some
concerns surrounding the Venezuela Parole Program and Title 42 expansion
to Venezuelans.

* * *

*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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