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
S. 3638
Keep STEM Talent Act of 2022
The bill would exclude from the annual green card numerical cap foreign nationals with master’s degrees or PhDs in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields who have a job or a job offer in the U.S.
Sponsored by Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) (6 cosponsors— 6 Democrats, 0 Republicans)
02/10/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Durbin
02/10/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
S. 3653
Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act of 2022
The bill would prohibit awarding federal funds to non-profit entities unless they submit a certification of compliance with federal laws related to human trafficking, immigrant smuggling, fraud, bribery, and gratuity. This is a companion bill of H.R. 6563.
Sponsored by Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) (0 cosponsors)
02/15/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Kennedy
02/15/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance
S. 3665
Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2022
The bill would reduce the current 365-day waiting period for work authorization eligibility for asylum seekers to 30 days. This is a companion bill of H.R. 6693.
Sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) (2 cosponsors— 1 Democrat, 1 Independent)
02/16/2022 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Collins
02/16/2022 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
H.R. 6673
Border Operations Strengthened by Stonegarden Act (BOSS) Act
The bill would appropriate $180,000,000 for the Operation Stonegarden grant program of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through 2025. 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 Gonzalez (R-Texas) (0 cosponsors)
02/09/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Gonzalez
02/09/2022 Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security
H.R. 6706
Abolishing the Lottery & Immigration Enforcement Now (ALIEN) Act
The bill would eliminate the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The bill would also increase penalties for individuals that overstay their visas. The penalties would include a fine of up to $1,000 each day that they remain in the U.S. or face a jail sentence of up to a year; a 5-year ban on legal re-entry; a 10-year ban on removal relief; and a 15-year ban on applying for legal permanent residence.
Sponsored by Representative Pat Fallon (R-Texas) (8 cosponsors— 8 Republicans, 0 Democrats)
02/11/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Fallon
02/11/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
H.R. 6715
The Improving Opportunities for New Americans Act
The bill would require the Department of Labor to conduct a study of the factors affecting employment opportunities for immigrants and refugees with professional credentials obtained in foreign countries.
Sponsored by Representative John Katko (R-New York) (3 cosponsors— 2 Democrats, 1 Republican)
02/11/2022 Introduced in the House by Representative Fallon
02/11/2022 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor
LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives will not be in session the week of Monday, February 21, 2022.
UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS
There are no immigration-related hearings scheduled for the week of Monday, February 21, 2022.
THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK
Federal
CBP Border Data Reveals Decline in Migrant Arrivals in January
On February 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released official data on the number of migrants the agency had apprehended or encountered at the border in the month of January. The data showed a 14% decrease in overall monthly arrivals as the numbers dropped to 153,941 in January from 178,840 in December. The overall numbers continue to be inflated by a high number of repeat crossers, with recidivism rates reported at 26%. Taking this repeat crosser rate into account, CBP reported that the total number of “unique” crossers encountered was 111,437, an 18% decrease from December.
The majority of all encounters — a total of 75,455 individuals — were immediately expelled under a Trump-era public health order called Title 42 without any access to the asylum system. The administration has conintued to use Title 42 even as other pandemic restrictions have been lifted at the border and across the country.
The decline in encounter numbers included sharp drops in arriving family units (down 39%) and unaccompanied children (down 26%).
Biden Administration Proposes Limiting Use of Public Charge Determinations for Status Applications
On February 17, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would issue a proposed rule that would regulate how DHS determines whether a noncitizen is inadmissible to the United States because they are likely to become a public charge.
According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, noncitizens who seek an adjustment of status or a visa must establish that they are not likely to rely on particular government benefits . Historically, the benefits that make an applicant ineligible under this “public charge” provision have been limited to government cash assistance and government-financed long-term institutionalization. However, a Trump-era regulation — which was halted by the courts in 2019 — attempted to allow officials to deny visas and green cards to those who used a much broader range of public benefits.
The Biden administration’s proposed rule, which will be open to comments from the public, would codify the previously existing limits to public charge determinations. In other words, DHS would formally limit the number of public benefits that can weigh against immigrants applying for certain visas and green cards.
Veterans, Advocates Mark Six-Month Anniversary of Kabul Evacuation with Push for Afghan Adjustment Act
On February 14, commemorating six months after the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, veterans and immigration advocates gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to call upon Congress to pass an Afghan Adjustment Act — legislation that would provide Afghan evacuees a path to permanent status in the United States.
The majority of the 82,015 Afghan 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. With many Afghans evacuees already six months into their humanitarian parole, the veterans and refugee advocates at the news conference described the situation as “a ticking time bomb.”
Matt Zeller, a representative of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said at the conference that “we have already failed these people once. We cannot fail them again.”
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 1970s, and Iraqis after Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom in the 1990s.
House Judiciary Hearing Highlights Role of Foreign-Born Physicians in the US
On February 15, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the role of the 200,000 immigrant physicians in the U.S healthcare system. In her opening remarks, Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pennsylvania), who presided over the hearing, highlighted that the U.S. is facing a shortage of physicians. She referenced Department of Health and Human Services figures showing more than 86 million Americans live in areas with an insufficient number of primary care doctors.
One of the witnesses at the hearing, David Skorton, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), recommended expanding the State Conrad 30 J-1 visa waiver Program, which allows foreign medical graduates expanded access to visas if they agree to work in underserved communities. He also urged Congress to enact a permanent pathway to citizenship for enrolees of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Both proposals have previously received bipartisan support in Congress.
Legal
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Review Remain in Mexico Case
On February 18, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to the Biden administration’s petition to consider its bid to end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known as Remain in Mexico. In granting cert, the Supreme Court announced that it would hold oral arguments on the case in the second week of April 2022.
The case, Biden v. Texas, brought by the states of Texas and Missouri, challenges the administration’s termination of MPP. Soon after taking office, the Biden administration stopped enrollment in MPP, and it officially terminated the program in June 2021. However, on August 13, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the termination of MPP violated the APA. Hence, in compliance with court orders, the Biden administration resumed the implementation of MPP on December 6. On December 29, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to consider its arguments to end MPP after the Fifth Circuit rejected its appeal on December 14.
Court Settlement Prohibits ICE from Making Traffic Stops and Warrantless Arrests
On February 8, a District Court approved a class action settlement requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end its practice of using local traffic enforcement as a way to detain undocumented immigrants without a warrant. The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in 2018 — Castañon Nava et al. v. Department of Homeland Security et al. — by five undocumented immigrants detained without an arrest warrant. The plaintiffs alleged that ICE agents had racially profiled them while driving in Latino-majority neighborhoods or near construction sites in Chicago and the suburbs.
The court settlement mandates ICE to issue a new nationwide policy regarding collateral arrests and vehicle stops. Under the agreement, ICE officers may only make vehicle stops if they have reasonable suspicion — based on specific, articulable facts — that a particular person inside the vehicle does not have legal status. In addition, the settlement prohibits ICE officers from telling drivers or vehicle passengers the purpose for a stop is related to any vehicle or traffic violations.
State and Local
Detention of Immigrants Facing Deportation Ends in Illinois in Compliance with State Law
On February 15, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that as of February 5, there were no more immigrants facing deportation detained in the state of Illinois. The announcement came after a new state law, the Illinois Way Forward Act, banned county jails from detaining people facing deportation.
Prior to the passage of the law in August 2021, ICE had contracts with three Illinois county jails to hold people facing deportation. After the bill passed, ICE transferred those awaiting deportation to facilities outside of the state. With the new law, Illinois joined New Jersey, California, Washington, and Nevada in passing laws that limit or bar immigration detention.
Massachusetts’ House of Representatives Pass a Bill that Would Allow Undocumented Immigrants to Obtain Driver’s License
On February 17, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill by a vote of 120 to 36 that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. The bill would require undocumented immigrants seeking a license to prove their identity and provide evidence of their residency in the state. Applicants would be required to provide two separate identification documents, the first consisting of either a passport or consular identification and the second consisting of an unexpired driver’s license from any U.S. state or territory, a birth certificate, a foreign national identity card, a foreign driver’s license, or a marriage certificate issued in Massachusetts.
The bill still requires approval by the Massachusetts Senate, where it will need to pass by a two-thirds majority vote. If the bill becomes law, it would benefit over 200,000 undocumented immigrants and Massachusetts would become the 16th state in the country to allow undocumented immigrants to access driver’s licenses.
House Committee in Florida Votes to Advance Bill Targeting Sanctuary Jurisdictions
In a party line vote on February 17, Florida’s House of Representatives State Affairs Committee voted in favor of advancing a bill, HB 1355, that would ban so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions” in the state. The bill, which has yet to face a vote on the Florida House floor, would require counties to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce immigration laws. The bill would also ban state and local governments from contracting transportation companies that bring undocumented immigrants into the state.
Sanctuary jurisdictions are those which limit state and local officials’ involvement in federal immigration enforcement functions. Some immigration advocates and law enforcement officials have argued that requiring local law enforcement to conduct federal immigration enforcement functions can undermine public trust in local law enforcement and make communities less safe.
GOVERNMENT REPORTS
There were no immigration-related government reports released the week of Monday, February 14, 2022.
SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
Lighting the Beacon: A New Method for Setting Refugee Admissions Levels
This policy proposal suggests setting the annual baseline for refugee admissions at 10% of UNHCR’s Refugees in Need of Resettlement (RINOR) estimate — the projected population of forcibly displaced people who are most in need of permanent resettlement each year.
Explainer: What’s Happening at the U.S.-Mexico Border
This explainer breaks down what is happening at the U.S.-Mexico border, analyzing CBP data on recent apprehensions, describing the impact and use of Title 42 expulsions as well as the treatment of arriving UACs, and providing additional context on reports of increased migration to the U.S. and releases of migrant families into the interior. The explainer also includes a Facebook live discussion covering developments at the border.
Room to Grow: One Year Later
This blog post commemorates the one-year anniversary of our Room to Grow report. The post describes why our findings in Room to Grow — and calls to reimagine our immigration system — are more important now than ever, particularly given recently released Census data and growing labor market shortages.
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*This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact Arturo Castellanos-Canales, National Immigration Forum Policy and Advocacy Associate, with comments and suggestions of additional items to be included. Arturo can be reached at acastellanos@immigrationforum.org. Thank you.