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. 2097
Protecting Sensitive Locations Act
The bill seeks to limit immigration enforcement actions at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and religious institutions without prior approval and exigent circumstances.
Sponsored by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) (15 cosponsors – 15 Democrats)
07/11/2019 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Blumenthal
07/11/2019 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
S. ____
Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act
The bill would set minimum health and safety standards for children and families in Border Patrol facilities and bar family separations except in limited circumstances when the child is in danger.
Sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) (6 cosponsors – 6 Democrats)
07/11/2019 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Merkley
H.R. 1044
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act
The bill would remove per-country caps for employment-based green cards. It would also increase the per-country caps for family-sponsored green cards from seven percent to 15 percent. The Senate companion bill is S. 386.
Sponsored by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-California) (116 cosponsors – 42 Republicans, 74 Democrats)
02/07/2019 Introduced in the House by Representative Lofgren
02/07/2019 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
07/12/2019 Passed the House in a 365-65 vote (Roll no. 437)
LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
The U.S. Senate will be in session the week of Monday, July 15, 2019.
The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session Monday, July 15, 2019 through Thursday, July 18, 2019.
UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS
Overcrowding and Prolonged Detention at CBP Facilities
Date: Monday, July 15, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. (House Judiciary Committee)
Location: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Witness:
Diana R. Shaw, Assistant Inspector General for Special Reviews and Evaluations, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General
Policy Changes and Processing Delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at 12 p.m. (House Judiciary Committee)
Location: 2237 Rayburn House Office Building
Witnesses: TBD
2020 Census: Conducting a Secure and Accurate Count
Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee)
Location: SD-342 Senate Dirksen Building
Witnesses:
Steven Dillingham, PH.D., Director, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce
Robert Goldenkoff, Director of Strategic Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Nicholas Marinos, Director of Information Technology & Cybersecurity, U.S. Government Accountability Office
ROUNDTABLE- Unprecedented Migration at the U.S. Southern Border: Bipartisan Policy Recommendations from the Homeland Security Advisory Council
Date: Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 9:15 a.m. (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee)
Location: SD-342 Senate Dirksen Building
Witnesses:
Karen Tandy, Chair, Customs and Border Protection Families and Children Care Panel, Homeland Security Advisory Council
Jayson Ahern, Vice Chair, Customs and Border Protection Families and Children Care Panel, Homeland Security Advisory Council
Sharon W. Cooper, MD FAAP, Member, Customs and Border Protection Families and Children Care Panel, Homeland Security Advisory Council
Leon Fresco, Member, Customs and Border Protection Families and Children Care Panel, Homeland Security Advisory Council
THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK
Federal
Trump Drops Census Fight; Will Seek Citizenship Data from Existing Records
On July 11, President Trump announced he will no longer seek to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, instead issuing an Executive Order instructing the government to collect citizenship data from existing federal records. The action followed speculation that the president would use an Executive Order to direct the Census Bureau to include the citizenship question in defiance of the recent Supreme Court decision blocking the effort. The Census Bureau’s experts stated that requiring a citizenship question in the census would discourage foreign-born respondents from participating and lead to an inaccurate count, resulting in redistribution of funds and political power away from Democratic-led cities with high immigrant populations (as well as some traditionally-Republican states with growing immigrant populations).
The dispute began in 2018 when Secretary Wilbur Ross indicated that the 2020 Census would include a question about citizenship in response to a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ). Secretary Ross stated that the reasoning behind the decision was to help the DOJ obtain data to better enforce federal voting-rights law, a rationale the Supreme Court later found to be a “contrived” pretext. A group of 18 states, 10 cities, four counties, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors filed suit against the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce in April 2018 to challenge the addition of the citizenship question.
ICE to Begin Raids Targeting Immigrant Families in 10 U.S. Cities
According to officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) is planning to launch nationwide raids targeting unauthorized immigrants in 9 major cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco, are scheduled to start on Sunday, July 14. New Orleans was also intended to be targeted, but DHS has announced it will not be carrying out enforcement initiatives there due to Tropical Storm Barry, which is expected to hit the Gulf Coast this weekend.
The operation, which had been previously postponed after resistance from key DHS officials, is expected to target at least 2,000 immigrant families who had been served deportation orders. Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ken Cuccinelli told CBS News on July 7 that ICE is ready to arrest and deport about one million people, consistent with President Trump’s June tweets that ICE would begin removing millions of undocumented people from the U.S.
ICE agents will reportedly also conduct “collateral” deportations, arresting unauthorized immigrants on the scene even if they were not the original targets of the operation. Family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania will be used to hold families picked up in the raids. Due to space limitations, ICE may also hold immigrants in hotel rooms. While the agency refused to comment on specific details of the raids, its officials stated that the ultimate goal of the operation is to deport the families as fast as possible to discourage people from arriving at the U.S. Southern border.
Immigration advocates have been preparing immigrant communities for the raids by educating them about their rights, and have expressed concerns about execution of the operation. On July 11, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union, five immigration legal services organizations filed a federal lawsuit to preemptively halt the raids. The lawsuit argued that many of the impacted families were not properly served notice of their immigration court hearings and were ordered removed in absentia without receiving adequate due process.
Trump to Meet Guatemalan President to Discuss Safe Third Country Agreement
President Trump will meet with Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales in Washington, D.C. on July 15 to discuss a migration agreement which would declare Guatemala as a safe third country for asylum seekers. Under such an agreement, migrants traveling to the U.S. through Guatemala would be required to apply for asylum there.
Critics have argued the Guatemala does not satisfy the requirements of being a safe third country, with, the Overseas Security Advisory Council warning that Guatemala’s homicide rate of 22 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants is one of the highest in Latin America. Immigration groups also claim that such agreement would violate the international laws.
Additionally, five Guatemalan former senior officials signed an appeal to the country’s Constitutional Court, seeking injunction against such agreement, stating that it would be harmful to Guatemalan citizens.
The only Safe Third Country Agreement currently maintained by the U.S., is one with Canada.
Administration Opens Three Detention Centers, in Tension with Congressional Spending Limits
At the end of June, ICE started to send asylum seekers from the U.S. Southern border to three new immigration detention centers in Mississippi and Louisiana. The new facilities, each of which is operated by a for-profit private entity, can collectively hold about 4,000 migrants. The three facilities had previously served as criminal detention facilities and faced criticism for inadequate conditions, such as mistreatment of inmates by staff, rotten food, and insufficient health care. Immigration groups have filed a lawsuit against forcing asylum seekers to those states, arguing that with shortages of immigration judges in Louisiana and absence of immigration courts in Mississippi means that these migrants will be forced to represent themselves in video hearings, which they are highly likely to lose.
Analysts have questioned whether the new facilities violate congressional spending limits for detention, as the recently-passed supplemental spending bill explicitly required that funds be dispensed for humanitarian purposes and not additional detention.
More Reports of Overcrowding and Abuses at CBP Facilities
According to a July 9th report from NBC News, migrant children held at the Yuma sector in Arizona reported sexual assaults and faced retaliation for protesting poor conditions. The NBC report followed a July 2 report from DHS’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which detailed poor conditions of facilities in El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors in Texas. The OIG report highlighted overcrowding in CBP facilities and noted instances where children were not provided space to sleep, and were not provided showers or clean clothes. In response to the NBC report, CBP noted that the Yuma allegations are currently the subject of a separate investigation by OIG.
As stories about substandard conditions in CBP holding facilities have continued to come out, CBP and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have been blaming each other for the harrowing conditions at border facilities. While CBP has claimed that overcrowding in its facilities – including numerous instances where it was forced to hold children past the 72-hour limit – was because HHS was at its capacity and could not accept more children, HHS says it received and accommodated every child that was referred to them, and has yet to reach capacity.
New Reports of Administration Policies that Have Led to Families Being Separated at U.S. Southern Border
On July 11, Reuters reported that the Trump Administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy has led some families to be separated. Under the policy, which requires some migrants to wait in Mexico as their cases are processed, a number of children have been left in U.S.-based shelters run by HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) while parents are sent across the border.
Advocates claim that families have remained separated, with immigration authorities failing to keep track of these MPP separations. This means that the cases often come to light weeks after the separations occur and are only revealed once the migrants held in Mexico come back to the U.S. for their immigration court hearings. About 18,500 migrants have been returned to Mexico since January when the administration began to implement MPP along the U.S. Southern border.
In addition, ProPublica reported on July 8 that CBP officials are utilizing secret databases run by foreign law enforcement to determine whether migrants crossing the U.S. border have gang affiliation. Immigration advocates question reliability of information in databases in an El Salvador-based “fusion” intelligence-center, which is funded by the U.S. State Department. Some have claimed that false data has led children to wrongfully be connected to gangs in Central America, causing them to be separated from their parents.
Administration to Reduce Asylum Seekers’ Preparation Time for Their Initial Interviews
On July 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new directive, reducing the time that asylum officers have to wait to interview immigrants detained for crossing the U.S. border without proper documents from the current 48 hours to 24 hours. While the administration claims the policy will speed up initial screenings of the asylum seekers, immigration advocates worry the measure will significantly reduce the amount of time that asylum seekers have to prepare for their credible fear interviews, arguing it yet another effort by the administration to restrict asylum. The new policy is also supposed to prevent migrants from rescheduling the interview, which is the first step toward applying for asylum in the U.S., unless they can prove certain extraordinary circumstances. It is unclear when the administration plans to start implementing the directive.
DOJ Replaces Interpreters at Initial Immigration Hearings with Informative Videos
On July 3, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Trump administration plans to substitute in-person interpreters at asylum seekers’ initial immigration court hearings with videos informing them and other individuals in immigration proceedings of their rights. The Justice Department (DOJ) informed immigration judges about the change in a training session conducted in June. The videos recorded in different languages will replace interpreters at the master calendar hearings, where the judges meet with immigrants to inform them of their rights.
The administration claims the change is a cost-saving measure that will help reduce the increasing immigration backlog, but immigration advocates worry the policy may jeopardize immigrants due-process rights and increase confusion, making it impossible for non-English language speakers to communicate at their hearings. Advocates argue that the change will make the immigration court system less efficient and prevent immigrants from receiving relief to which they are entitled or force them to later appeal their cases. The policy is expected to go into effect in mid-July.
Legal
Appeals Court Rules Administration Can’t Use DOD Funds for Border Wall
On July 3, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco affirmed a lower ruling prohibiting the federal government from using previously appropriated Department of Defense (DOD) counterdrug funding to build parts of border wall in Arizona, California, and New Mexico. The Appeals Court held that Trump Administration’s effort inappropriately used funding for a purpose that had not been approved by Congress. The Trump Administration vowed to immediately to appeal the ruling.
The dispute originated in February when President Trump rerouted $8.1 billion in funding appropriated to DOD projects under the authority granted by his national emergency declaration. The figure included $3.6 billion from military construction funds and $600 million on Treasury Department funds.
GOVERNMENT REPORTS
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): Actions Needed to Improve Information on Facilities and Capital Planning at Land Border Crossings, July 11, 2019
This GAO report reviews U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) infrastructure constraints at land border crossings. The report states that the agency needs to develop and implement a plan to ensure proper execution of its facility condition assessment program, which will enable it to collect more complete and current infrastructure information.
Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG): DHS Needs to Address Dangerous Overcrowding and Prolonged Detention of Children and Adults in the Rio Grande Valley, July 12, 2019
This OIG report reviews conditions in detention centers at Rio Grande Valley in Texas, highlighting overcrowding and prolonged detention of unaccompanied alien children (UACs), families, and single adults.
SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
Bill Summary: United States–Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act
This is a summary of the United States–Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act, which was introduced by Representatives Michael McCaul (R- Texas) and Eliot L. Engel (D- New York). The bill which seeks to address the root causes of migration from the three Northern Triangle countries – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Fact Sheets: Immigrants in Florida, Indiana and Ohio
These infographics provide information about immigrant contributions in Florida, Indiana and Ohio.
Early Childhood Education & Care: Immigrants are Indispensable to U.S. Workforce
This infographic focuses on hoe immigrants in the U.S. early childhood education and care sector are essential, highlighting key facts about their demographics, income, and contributions.
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*This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact Zuzana Cepla, National Immigration Forum Policy and Advocacy Associate, with comments and suggestions of additional items to be included. Zuzana can be reached at zcepla@immigrationforum.org. Thank you.