Welcome to the National Immigration Forum’s weekly bulletin! Every Friday, our policy team rounds up key developments around immigration policy in Washington and across the country. The bulletin includes items on the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, as well as some coverage at the state and local levels.
Here’s a breakdown of the bulletin’s sections:
DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION THIS WEEK
BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED
SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION THIS WEEK
Immigration policy is a dynamic field subject to constant change. Here, we summarize some of the most important recent developments in immigration policy on the federal, legal, state, and local levels.
Content warning: This section sometimes includes events and information that can prove disturbing.
Federal
Migrant Numbers Drop in May as Biden Administration Changes Policies at the Border
Initial reports indicate yet another month-over-month decline in irregular border crossings in May, based on data for the first 21 days of the month that show roughly 3,700 daily apprehensions on average — a 54% decrease compared to December.
Earlier this month, Border Patrol was on track to document between 110,000 and 120,000 migrant encounters in May, down from just under 129,000 in April. That dip would continue a downward trend in migrant apprehensions between ports of entry this calendar year, likely affected by increased enforcement in Mexico.
Even still, the Biden administration is expected to move forward with its plan to debut a new policy to “shut down” the U.S.-Mexico border in June, likely based on a certain number of average daily crossings.
Federal officials have also announced a number of other changes in border enforcement and immigration processing in recent days. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published new guidelines on using classified information in immigration proceedings, which for the past two decades had only been allowed “as a last resort.” Now, immigration judges will have greater access to classified information, including potentially when it pertains to terrorism or public safety considerations.
The Justice Department on Friday also said officials were expanding efforts to prosecute smugglers, by starting an Anti-Smuggling Rewards initiative, sending additional personnel for immigration-related prosecutions to border U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and proposing changes to U.S. sentencing guidelines that would trump up penalties against certain human smugglers.
Report: Greece, Italy Plan to Collaborate With Biden Administration on Resettlement
On May 30, CBS News reported that the Biden administration intends to work with Greece and Italy to resettle a small number of people from Latin America in Europe, as part of the federal government’s Safe Mobility Offices initiative in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
The Safe Mobility Offices were established last year to reroute would-be migrants to legal immigration pathways to the United States and elsewhere. Already, Spain and Canada have been partnering to resettle some of the people processed through the program.
U.S. officials discussed the Safe Mobility Offices with diplomats from Spain, Canada, Italy, and the offices’ host countries on May 20, CBS News reported, while Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had previously alluded to a new collaboration with Greece.
But Italy and Greece will likely only accept 500 or fewer people each, an unnamed source told CBS News — a relatively minor share of the many thousands within the hemisphere who are trying to migrate.
State and Local
Arizona Senate Advances Controversial Copycat of Texas’s SB 4
On May 22, the Arizona Senate advanced House Concurrent Resolution 2060, a proposed ballot measure that — if voters approve it — would criminalize noncitizens entering the state from Mexico anywhere besides a port of entry.
Dubbed the Secure the Border Act, the bill would expand the power of local police to arrest people believed to have crossed the border without authorization. It would also give state judges the ability to effectively order deportations, much like Texas’s Senate Bill 4 and other copycat legislation in Iowa and Oklahoma.
Likewise, the bill would increase the penalty for selling fentanyl when it leads to a fatality and criminalize unauthorized immigrants based on the information they provided for benefits and employment.
After the state Senate’s approval, HCR 2060 will now be considered by the Arizona House on June 4, and if no amendments are made, it will then be put to a vote in November, when Arizonans will decide whether to make it the law of the land.
By pursuing a ballot measure, state lawmakers are intentionally avoiding the veto of Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), a vocal opponent of the policies involved, who is concerned that they would hurt businesses and lead to racial profiling.
Other opponents have also noted that the legislation may violate Arizona’s constitution because it does not address how these increased responsibilities for police and the courts would be funded.
BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED
It can be challenging to keep up with the constant barrage of proposed legislation in Congress. So, every week, we round up new bills. This list includes federal legislative proposals that have recently been introduced and that are relevant to immigration policy.
Please follow this link to find new relevant bills, as well as proposed legislation from past weeks.
LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
The U.S. Senate will be in session from Monday, June 3 through Friday, June 7, 2024.
The U.S. House of Representatives will be in session from Monday, June 3 through Thursday, June 6, 2024.
UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS
Here, we round up congressional hearings and markups happening in the field or in Washington.
Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice
Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. EDT (House Judiciary)
Location: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
Witnesses: TBA
The Consequences of Biden’s Border Chaos for K-12 Schools
Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 10:15 a.m. EDT (Education and the Workforce)
Location: 2175 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
Witnesses: TBA
Biden’s Border Crisis: Examining Efforts to Combat International Criminal Cartels & Stop Illegal Drug Trafficking Targeting Indian Country
Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. EDT (Natural Resources)
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
Witnesses: TBA
GOVERNMENT REPORTS
Reports by bodies such as the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General provide invaluable information on immigration policy and practice. Here, we give brief summaries of new immigration-related reports, with links to the resources themselves in case you want to learn more.
Congressional Research Service (CRS); DHS Budget Request Analysis: FY2025; May 21, 2024
This report describes the Biden administration’s annual budget request for Fiscal Year 2025 in regard to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while comparing the request to related appropriations from FY 2024.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); Southwest Border: Additional Guidance and Monitoring Needed to Improve CBP’s Handling of Personal Property; Publicly Released May 23, 2024
This report analyzes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) policies around handling personal property of apprehended people and finds a lack of consistency and monitoring around the existing guidance’s implementation.
Congressional Research Service (CRS); Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure; Updated May 28, 2024
This report explores two forms of humanitarian immigration relief — Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure — by considering their historical use, information about the nationalities currently designated for these protections, past legislative action to try to provide a pathway to a green card for beneficiaries, and the current legislative state of play around relevant actions.
DHS Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG); DHS’ Fiscal Year 2023 Compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019; Published May 28, 2024
This report found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) complied with nine out of 10 requirements from the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019.
Congressional Research Service (CRS); Credible Fear and Defensive Asylum Processes: Frequently Asked Questions; Published May 29, 2024
This report answers frequently asked questions about the processes asylum seekers go through during expedited removal and formal removal proceedings.
SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
The Forum is constantly publishing new policy-focused resources that engage with some of the most topical issues around immigration today. Here are a few that are particularly relevant this week:
The Biden Administration’s Proposed Rule on Asylum Bars & Other Measures: Explainer
This explainer provides an overview of the proposed rule. In essence, it would provide asylum officers the discretion to make decisions on bars to humanitarian relief around public safety and national security concerns during initial screenings, which take place usually days or weeks after an asylum seeker enters the country.
Bill Analysis: Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023
The Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023 (H.R.6542) is a bill that aims to facilitate and expand access to family- and employment-based visas in the United States.
The Myths and Truths of Noncitizen Voting in the United States
This analysis covers the truths around immigrants voting in the U.S., which include that noncitizens have been barred from voting in federal elections since 1924.
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*This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact Alexandra Villarreal, Senior Policy and Advocacy Associate at the National Immigration Forum, with comments and suggestions of additional items to be included. Alexandra can be reached at avillarreal@immigrationforum.org. Thank you.