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. 3558
Child Trafficking Victims Protection and Welfare Act
This bill expands protections for vulnerable children in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This is a companion to H.R. 7047.
Sponsored by Senator Mazie Hirono (D-California) (7 cosponsors – 0 Republicans, 7 Democrats)
10/05/2018 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Hirono
10/05/2018 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
S. 3567
No Internment Camps Act
This bill prevents any federal funds from being used for the operation or construction of family detention facilities, and creates a one-year phase-out of currently operating family detention centers. It would also transfer the funds currently used to operate family detention centers to the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program.
Sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) (1 cosponsors – 0 Republicans, 1 Democrat)
10/10/2018 Introduced in the Senate by Senator Merkley
10/10/2018 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
H.R. 7047
Child Trafficking Victims Protection and Welfare Act
This bill expands protections for vulnerable children in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This is a companion to S. 3558.
Sponsored by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-California) (1 cosponsor – 0 Republicans 1 Democrat)
10/05/2018 Introduced in the House by Representative Roybal-Allard
10/05/2018 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Appropriations and Foreign Affairs
H.R. 7052
No Federal Funds for Public Charge Act of 2018
The bill prevents any federal funds from being used to implement the Trump administration’s proposed regulations that would redefine the meaning of the legal term “public charge.”
Sponsored by Representative Judy Chu (D-California) (49 cosponsors – 0 Republicans, 49 Democrats)
10/09/2018 Introduced in the House by Representative Chu
10/09/2018 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives are in recess until Tuesday, November 13, 2018.
UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS
There are no immigration-related hearings or markups scheduled for the week of Monday, October 15, 2018.
THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK
Federal
Investigation Reveals Deported Parents May Lose Children to Adoption
An Associated Press investigation found that gaps in immigration law could allow state court judges to grant custody of migrant children, including those separated from their parents at the border, to American families without notifying the children’s now-deported parents. The investigation notes that there are several cases of children being taken from their parents permanently after being separated at the border. Because state governments tend to run child-welfare systems, inconsistencies between federal immigration law and its application by state courts may lead to problematic results.
The report focused on the case a 2-year-old toddler from El Salvador who was separated from her mother and placed into foster care in 2015 after crossing the border. The foster family was granted a guardianship over the child in state court after the child’s mother was deported, in contravention of federal law. The child was eventually reunified with her mother in early 2017 after the U.S. Department of Justice intervened.
The AP report comes as the White House is reportedly considering additional efforts that could again separate parents and children at the Southern border to try to discourage migrants and asylum seekers from entering the U.S. Earlier this year, the administration’s “zero tolerance” border policy led to hundreds of parents being separated from their children at the border.
ICE Releases Hundreds of Parents and Children from Custody in Arizona
On October 9, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that it has released hundreds of parents and children from immigration detention facilities in Arizona in recent days, as detention space has been largely depleted in the area. While ICE typically helps released families reunite with relatives in the U.S. and provides them with the means to travel to their court hearing, many of these families were released without advance notice or instructions.
ICE asserted that the mass releases are the result of an “incredibly high volume” of border crossers and legal requirements limiting the time that children can be detained. The releases have strained church shelters and charities who have attempted to temporarily house, feed, and assist many of the released families. ICE’s decision to end the practice of providing travel assistance and guidance upon release has only further strained church shelters and charities as they seek to help migrants reach their final destinations. More families are expected to be released in the coming days.
In testimony before a Senate committee on October 10, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said that the department will continue to ask Congress to pass legislation permitting indefinite family detention. At the same time, the Trump administration is proposing regulations that would permit indefinite family detention and end existing Flores requirements that govern the standards for detaining migrant children.
Report: U.S. Army Discharged More Than 500 Immigrant Recruits in One Year
Between July 2017 and July 2018, the U.S. Army discharged more than 500 immigrant recruits who enlisted in the military through the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program, according to an Associated Press report. The report notes all the enlistees had committed to serve in active duty or in the reserves, and many had been regularly attending drills and training with their recruiters while awaiting security clearances. The army offered “refuse to enlist” as the reason for expelling two-thirds of the recruits, but at least one recruit said the reason was not accurate and that he did not find out about his discharge until he asked his congressman’s office for help. The army stated that nearly a quarter of the recruits were discharged because their entry-level performance and conduct was subpar and another 10 percent of the recruits because of an unfavorable security screening, including situations where the recruit has family members in another country or because the military’s screening backlogs meant that it did not complete all of the screening in a reasonable period of time. The army reportedly is not giving discharged enlistees their legal right to appeal the discharge decision.
The MAVNI program, which was put on hold in 2016, allowed qualified noncitizens in the U.S. to enlist in the military if they had specialized medical or critical language skills, affording them an opportunity to obtain U.S. citizenship as a result of their military service.
DHS Issues Waivers to Permit for Border Wall Construction
DHS issued two waivers this week to construct new border barriers in South Texas in sensitive locations, including through 17 miles of the National Butterfly Center. In the waiver, which allows federal reviews and regulations to be bypassed, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said there was an “acute and immediate need” for construction to “prevent unlawful entries” into the U.S. Under existing law, DHS has the authority to waive laws, such as the Clean Water Act of the Endangered Species Act, that might otherwise delay or prevent the construction of border barriers.
Some area residents and environmental activists argue that border wall construction would prevent landowners from accessing their land and cause environmental damage, while not doing much to stop unauthorized crossings. DHS stated that stakeholders, including affected landowners, were and will continue to be consulted in an attempt to minimize impacts on the environment, wildlife and cultural and historical resources.
Ryan, McConnell Tease Possible Government Shutdown; McCarthy Introduces Border Wall Funding Bill
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) said on October 8 that Congress will have a “big fight” over border wall funding after the midterm elections, stating that Republicans “have a commitment to go fight for securing the border” and refusing to rule out a partial government shutdown. On October 11, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) noted he is expecting a “relatively lively” lame-duck session of Congress, including a possible partial government shutdown over border wall funding. Congress passed, and President Trump signed, legislation that funds more than 70 percent of the federal government for fiscal year (FY) 2019. However, Congress relied on a continuing resolution to fund some agencies, including DHS and the Justice Department, at current spending levels until December 7. Failure to pass a spending bill for those agencies could lead to a partial government shutdown in December.
In addition, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) will reportedly introduce legislation in the coming days that includes about $23.4 billion in border wall funding and several immigration enforcement measures, such as “Kate’s Law,” that already passed the House of Representatives. McCarthy’s bill will only focus on interior and border immigration enforcement, and not include a permanent solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
Senators Grill Nielsen on Family Separation and Child Detention, as Drug Prosecutions Decline at the Border
Democratic Senators in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee questioned DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on October 10 about the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy at the border, which resulted in parents being separated from their children, and the detention of separated migrant children. During the hearing, Senator Kamala Harris (D-California) noted that CBP detained some separated children for longer than the 72 hours allowed by statue. Harris referenced a report by the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) that found that 27 percent of children detained by CBP in the Rio Grande Valley sector were held in detention for longer than five days. Nielsen testified that DHS aims to detain children in “as short amount of time as possible” before they are transferred to HHS custody, as required by law, but sometimes HHS is not able to receive the children immediately because of capacity issues.
Following the hearing, on October 12, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- California) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-New York), ranking members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, sent a letter to DHS requesting an unredacted version of a DHS memorandum used to justify the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.
Meanwhile, a review by USA TODAY found that federal prosecutors charged fewer people with drug-trafficking violations in June and July 2018 than any month since at least 2001, just as the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy was implemented. At that time, Attorney General Jeff Sessions instructed prosecutors near the border to seek criminal charges against all immigrant apprehended crossing the U.S. border without documentation. John Sandweg, a former acting chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said that “there’s no doubt in my mind that serious federal felony offenses are being declined because of the additional resources being spent on people crossing the southwest border.”
Legal
Federal Judge Rules in Favor of San Francisco in Lawsuit over Sanctuary Policies
On October 5, a federal judge in California ruled that San Francisco’s “Sanctuary City” policy, which limits San Francisco’s participation in federal immigration enforcement, complies with federal law. U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick ruled that the Trump administration could not cut off grants to local jurisdictions that do not help carry out federal immigration enforcement responsibilities beyond those already required under federal law, because Congress holds control of the purse. Orrick also ruled that a provision of federal law that requires states and localities to share information relating to individuals’ immigration status, 8 U.S.C. 1373, is unconstitutional. Judge Orrick previously issued preliminary rulings in favor of San Francisco earlier this year.
President Trump’s January 2017 executive order on interior immigration enforcement aims to prevent so-called sanctuary cities from receiving Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (Byrne JAG funds) for law enforcement. San Francisco uses around $1.4 million in Byrne JAG funds for drug court proceedings, targeted drug treatment for the underserved population and other law enforcement purposes. However, Orrick’s decision only covers the 2017 grant conditions, leaving a separate lawsuit filed for the 2018 grant conditions still pending.
State and Local
Arizona Shelter Closed Because Staff Abused Migrant Children
Federal officials said that staff members at Hacienda del Sol, a Phoenix-area shelter for unaccompanied migrant children (UACs), allegedly physically abused three children, leading to the closure of the shelter. Hacienda del Sol shut down on Friday, October 5, though authorities did not disclose the cause of the shutdown until October 9.
HHS said in a statement that the federal contractor for the shelter, Southwest Key, fired the staffers involved in the September 18 incident. HHS did not release any additional details about the incident. It also remains unclear how many staff members were involved or whether they will face criminal charges. The children held in the shelter were all relocated to other Southwest Key shelters within 10 days. HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) stated that it has “a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of abuse or inappropriate behavior at (migrant) care provider facilities.”
The closure of Hacienda del Sol also comes after Arizona officials pushed to revoke licenses for Southwest Key after it missed a deadline to show all its employees passed background checks.
GOVERNMENT REPORTS
Congressional Research Services (CRS): Comparing DHS Component Funding, FY 2019: In Brief, October 4, 2018 (by William L. Painter)
This report examines the budget authority provided to DHS for fiscal year (FY) 2018, funding requested by President Trump for FY 2019, as well as the funding levels proposed in the Senate and House Appropriations Committee legislation for FY 2019.
SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
DHS Body-Worn Camera Act of 2018: Bill Summary
This is a bill summary of Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-California) DHS Body-Worn Camera Act of 2018 (S. 3538), which would direct DHS to test and evaluate the use of body-worn cameras at CBP and ICE, among other provisions.
Public Charge Proposed Regulations Summary
This summary provides an overview of the proposed regulations that would redefine the meaning of the legal term “public charge.” Under the new, broadened definition of “public charge,” immigrants applying for an immigrant visa (green card) or a temporary visa may be rejected if they have previously accessed or are deemed likely to rely on certain forms of public assistance.
Summary of Proposed Regulations Regarding Children and Immigration Detention
This summary provides an overview of the proposed regulations to modify key elements of the Flores settlement agreement and permit the long-term detention of children.
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*This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact Christian Penichet-Paul, National Immigration Forum Policy and Advocacy Associate, with comments and suggestions of additional items to be included. Christian can be reached at cpenichetpaul@immigrationforum.org. Thank you.