Legislative Bulletin

 

 

Hello all,

The National Immigration Forum's Legislative Bulletin for Friday,
January 20, 2023, is now posted.

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

All the best,

Arturo 

**LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN - Friday, January 20, 2023**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. 163
<[link removed]>

**Security First Act**

The bill would appropriate $180 million for the Operation Stonegarden
grant program of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through 2027.
Operation Stonegarden provides funding to state, local, and tribal law
enforcement agencies to enhance their capabilities to support joint
efforts to secure U.S. borders.

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

01/09/2023 Introduced in the House by Representative Gonzales

01/09/2023 Referred to the House Committees on Homeland Security and the
Judiciary

H.R. 183
<[link removed]>

**To promote accountability and transparency in future executive
orders**

The bill would require the President of the United States to justify and
notify Congress at least 30 days in advance before issuing an executive
order related to any policy related to immigration.

Sponsored by Representative Tracey Mann (R-Kansas) (0
<[link removed]>
cosponsors)

01/09/2023 Introduced in the House by Representative Mann

01/09/2023 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

H.R. 319
<[link removed]>

**Legal Workforce Act**

The bill would require employers to check the work eligibility of all
future hires through the E-Verify system. E-Verify, operated by USCIS,
checks the social security numbers of newly hired employees against
Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security
records to help ensure that they are eligible to work in the U.S.

Sponsored by Representative Ken Calvert (R-California) (6
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 6 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

01/12/2023 Introduced in the House by Representative Calvert

01/12/2023 Referred to the House Committees on Education and Workforce,
Ways and Means, and the Judiciary

H.R. 334
<[link removed]>

**Significant Transnational Criminal Organization Designation Act**

The bill would deny the issuance of visas to all members of certain
transnational criminal organizations.

Sponsored by Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) (3
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 3 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

01/12/2023 Introduced in the House by Representative Gallagher

01/12/2023 Referred to the House Committees on Financial Services and
the Judiciary

H.R. 336
<[link removed]>

**To immediately resume construction of the border wall system along the
international border between the United States and Mexico to secure the
border, enforce the rule of law, and expend appropriated funds as
mandated by Congress**

Sponsored by Representative Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana) (33
<[link removed]>
cosponsors- 33 Republicans, 0 Democrats)

01/12/2023 Introduced in the House by Representative Higgins

01/12/2023 Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security

H.R. 367
<[link removed]>

**To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to aliens
associated with criminal gangs**

Sponsored by Representative Vern Buchanan (R-Florida) (0
<[link removed]>
cosponsors)

01/12/2023 Introduced in the House by Representative Buchanan

01/12/2023 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary

**LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR**

The U.S. Senate will be in session the week of Monday, January 23, 2023.

The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Tuesday,
January 24, through Friday, January 27.

**UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS**There are no immigration-related
hearings scheduled for the week of Monday, January 23, 2023.

**THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK**

****Federal****

****Biden Administration Launches New Private Sponsorship Program for
Refugees****On January 19, the Department of State announced
<[link removed]>
the creation of Welcome Corps, a new private sponsorship program that
allows people in the U.S. to help welcome refugees arriving through the
U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and support their resettlement
and integration into the United States. Under the program -
reminiscent of a long-standing system in Canada
<[link removed]>
- organizations or groups of at least five individuals will have the
opportunity to sponsor refugees if they raise $2,275 per refugee, pass
background checks, and submit a plan about how they will assist the
newcomers.

Approved private sponsors will assist in resettlement for at least 90
days after a refugee's arrival, helping newcomers access housing and
other basic necessities, such as food, medical services, education, and
public benefits for which they qualify. In the first year of Welcome
Corps, the Department of State will seek to mobilize
<[link removed]>
10,000 Americans to step forward as private sponsors to assist in the
resettlement of at least 5,000 refugees.

Welcome Corps was launched amid low refugee resettlement numbers in
recent years. In all of Fiscal Year 2022, the United States resettled
<[link removed]>
only 25,465 refugees - roughly 80% short of the administration's FY
2022 ceiling of 125,000. However, the U.S. welcomed over 100,000
humanitarian migrants during FY 2022 via temporary humanitarian parole
programs, including those that incorporated a private sponsorship
element.

In a press release, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said
<[link removed]>
that "the Welcome Corps will build on the extraordinary response of the
American people over the past year in welcoming our Afghan allies,
Ukrainians displaced by war, Venezuelans, and others fleeing violence
and oppression. By launching the Welcome Corps, we build on a proud
tradition of providing refuge and demonstrate the spirit and generosity
of the American people as we commit to welcoming refugees in need of our
support."

****Biden Administration Launches Process that Allows Noncitizens to
Report Labor Violations Without Fear of Retaliation****On January 13,
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced
<[link removed]>
a new process by which noncitizen workers who witness labor violations
can report them without fear of deportation or immigration enforcement
consequences. DHS said
<[link removed]> that the new
process would allow noncitizen workers to assert their rights and report
violations without fear of immigration-related retaliation via grants of
deferred action. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said
<[link removed]>
that "workers are often afraid to report violations of law by
exploitative employers or to cooperate in employment and labor standards
investigations because they fear removal or other immigration-related
retaliation by an abusive employer."

To apply, migrant workers must show
<[link removed]>
well-documented proof of their employment history and exploitation,
including demonstrating why they need DHS support and providing proof of
identity. If approved, those cooperating with a labor investigation can
legally stay in the country temporarily for two years, subject to
termination at any time, and apply for authorization to work during that
period. They may also be eligible for subsequent grants of deferred
action if a labor agency has a continuing investigative or enforcement
interest in the matter identified in their original letter supporting
DHS use of prosecutorial discretion.

The latest guidelines build upon an October 2021 memorandum,
<[link removed]> in
which Secretary Mayorkas permitted the agency to consider requests for
deferred action protection for migrants supporting labor enforcement
investigations.

****At Least 600 People from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti Have
Been Approved to Come to the US Under Recently Announced Parole
Program****A January 13 CBS News report
<[link removed]>
highlighted that at least 600 people from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba,
and Haiti had been vetted and approved to come to the United States
under the recently announced parole program. The program - launched
<[link removed]>
on January 5 - allows up to 30,000 individuals per month from these
four countries to apply to come to the U.S. under parole. Under the new
parole program
<[link removed]>,
any individual with lawful status in the U.S. can serve as a sponsor for
nationals of these countries as long as they file declarations of
financial support for prospective beneficiaries and pass required
background checks. The report noted that U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) has received
<[link removed]>
thousands of applications from prospective sponsors since the January 5
announcement.

The report also noted
<[link removed]>
that according to an anonymous source from the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), irregular border crossings have declined since the
measures were announced. According to the source, U.S. border agents are
averaging 4,000 daily migrant apprehensions, down from a daily average
of approximately 7,000 in November 2022.

Irregular travel by sea, however, has not diminished. On January 12, the
US Coast Guard intercepted
<[link removed]>
177 Cuban migrants and returned them to their nation. The coastguard
says that since October 1, it has intercepted and returned more than
4,900 Cubans at sea, compared with about 6,100 in the 12 months to
September 30. In that regard, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro
Mayorkas stressed
<[link removed]> that
"Cubans and Haitians who take to the sea and land on U.S. soil will be
ineligible for the parole process and will be placed in removal
proceedings." He also warned that "irregular maritime migration aboard
unseaworthy or overloaded vessels is always dangerous, and often
deadly."

****The U.S. and Mexico Sign Memorandums of Understanding on Labor
Mobility and Protection of Migrant Children****On January 18, Mexico and
the United States signed
<[link removed]>
two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on labor mobility and protection
of unaccompanied minors in a situation of mobility. The MOUs are the
result of a conversation last week between President Biden and Mexico's
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The first MOU, titled Labor Mobility and Protection of Participants in
Temporary Foreign Worker Programs, is designed
<[link removed]>
to strengthen the labor rights of Mexican workers in the United States.
In it, the two governments committed to strengthening their joint
efforts to 1. Ensure ethical recruitment of Mexican nonimmigrant workers
with H2 visas; 2. Collaborate to protect their wages and working
conditions; and 3. Further facilitate the availability of H-2A visas for
Mexicans. In addition, this MOU includes quarterly meetings to prevent,
monitor, and report violations of labor rights, such as fraud, abuse,
and discrimination, and to stop measures that companies can take against
those who file complaints for rights violations.

The stated goal of the second MOU on unaccompanied minors in a situation
of mobility is to create
<[link removed]>
bilateral mechanisms that strengthen the protection mechanisms of
migrant children by Mexican and U.S. authorities. The goal is further to
avoid contact between unaccompanied minors and criminal human
trafficking and smuggling networks. Due to the transnational nature of
migration, the MOU also seeks to assist other countries of the region in
promoting international cooperation as part of their policies of
protection for minors.

****US Secretary of Labor Declares that America Needs Immigrants to
Tackle Labor Shortage****On January 18 - during the World Economic
Forum at Davos, Switzerland - U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin Walsh
stressed
<[link removed]>
that the United States needs immigrants to tackle the labor shortage. He
said that "a lack of workers is the biggest threat to the U.S. economy
in the long term and immigration is key to addressing the shortfall."
Secretary Walsh added that students from around the world come to
America to get educated but risk being sent back home if they fail to
secure a work visa. "There are jobs available right now in the U.S. that
we don't have enough people for," he said. "The threat to the American
economy long-term is not inflation, it's immigration," he said. "It's
not having enough workers."

Secretary Walsh's remarks come amid a severe labor shortage
<[link removed]>
in the United States. In the last fifteen months, job vacancies
<[link removed]> have consistently
surpassed 10 million while the number of hires averages only 6 million.
In other words, there are only 60 workers available for every 100 job
openings. Moreover, in the U.S., there are nearly two job openings
<[link removed]> for each
unemployed worker.

****State & Local****

****NYC Mayor Travels to El Paso and Washington, DC, Calls on Federal
Government to Aid Cities Dealing with Migrants Arrivals****On January
14, New York City Mayor Eric Adams traveled
<[link removed]>
to El Paso, Texas, where he pledged to form a coalition of mayors
addressing the increase of asylum seekers coming to their cities.
According to Mayor Adams, the increase in migrants has strained
resources in destination cities. According to his estimations, New York
City is on track to spend over $2 billion dollars
<[link removed]>
on services for asylum seekers through June, up from the $366 million
that his government spent last year.

On January 18, Mayor Adams traveled
<[link removed]>
to Washington, DC to participate at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where
he asked for more funding to help settle the more than 40,000 newcomers
that have arrived in New York City since the spring. He also called for
the federal government to implement policy changes, including faster
work permits for asylum seekers and a pathway to citizenship for
immigrants. On January 18 he also authored an Op-ed
<[link removed]>
published by the Washington Post where he proposed six steps to tackle
challenges connected to the increase of asylum seekers.

**GOVERNMENT REPORTS**

**Congressional Research Service (CRS);****Afghan Eligibility for
Selected Benefits Based on Immigration Status: In Brief**
<[link removed]>

**; January 18, 2023**This CRS report outlines Afghan nationals'
eligibility for select public benefits depending on whether they are
refugees, asylees, special immigrants, parolees, TPS, or DED.

**SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES**Explainer: Private
Sponsorship Programs for Refugees
<[link removed]>This explainer describes
the elements and history of private sponsorship initiatives for
refugees. It also describes the success cases of the Canadian and
Australian private sponsorship models.

**Alternative Pathways for Arrivals at the Border**
<[link removed]>The
paper seeks to put the challenges we face at the southwest border in the
broader context of growing displacement in the hemisphere, describing
how many come to the border because there is no other real alternative
- no "right way" to come.

**Journey to the U.S. Southern Border**
<[link removed]>This
interactive resource will allow you to experience a virtual journey
where you'll face the challenges a migrant family could encounter when
making the journey to the U.S. - and consider what choices you would
make.

* * *

*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 [email protected].
Thank you.

 

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