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
H.R. 7059
Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act of 2018
The bill would provide about $23.4 billion in border wall funding and implement several immigration enforcement measures, such as “Kate’s Law,” that already passed the House of Representatives.
Sponsored by Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-California) (20 cosponsors – 20 Republicans, 0 Democrats)
10/12/2018 Introduced in the House by Representative McCarthy
10/12/2018 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Ways and Means, Armed Services, and the Budget
H.R. 7068
End Catch and Release Act
The bill would establish new limits on requesting asylum and remove certain protections for unaccompanied migrant children.
Sponsored by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) (0 cosponsors)
10/16/2018 Introduced in the House by Representative Goodlatte
10/16/2018 Referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary and on Foreign Affairs
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 22, 2018.
THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK
Federal
Trump Administration Weighs New Proposal to Separate Families at the Border
The Trump administration is reportedly weighing a new proposal that would once again separate parents and children at the Southern border as a way to deter migrant families from coming to the U.S. to request asylum. Under the proposal, parents would be given a “binary choice” after 20 days in immigration detention to either agree to remain in family detention with their children while their case makes its way through the immigration court system or remain in detention by themselves while their children are separated from them and released. The Trump administration is considering a 90-day pilot program to test the proposal, but specific details like location and breadth have not been determined. On October 13, President Trump argued that separating families at the border deters some immigrants, stating that “[i]f they feel there will be separation, they don’t come.”
The Trump administration contends that the “binary choice” proposal is legal because U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw, who ordered the administration to reunite separated families in June, approved of a similar proposal in one of his rulings. Yet, a Congressional Research Report (CRS) last month noted that “practical and legal barriers” remain to using the “binary choice” approach, and that releasing families together is the only clearly viable option under the law. In addition, the U.S. government does not have sufficient detention space to detain migrant families. It is unclear where the government would detain parents who choose to remain in detention with their children.
Reports around the “binary choice” proposal come as the number of family members apprehended at the border reached 16,658 in September, the highest one-month total for family unit apprehensions. Yet, border crossings overall remain near-record low levels.
Meanwhile, as of October 15, 245 children remain in U.S. government custody after they were separated from their parents at the border. Of those, 175 children have parents who were deported from the U.S. and 70 have parents who remain in the U.S. On average, the children have spent five months in government custody.
President Trump Threatens to Militarize and Close Southern Border Due to Migrant Caravan
President Trump threatened on October 18 to “call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!” and cut off financial aid for Honduras and other countries if officials there do not stop a caravan of about 4,000 migrants, mostly from Honduras, making its way through Guatemala and Mexico to the U.S. to request asylum.
In response, Honduras and Guatemala both urged their citizens not to join the caravan, and Guatemala detained a lead organizer. Additionally, Mexico sent about 500 federal police officers this week to its Southern border with Guatemala in order to intercept the caravan. Mexico’s government said that any migrant without proper immigration papers would be apprehended and “returned to their country or origin,” but that those with proper documents or wishing to apply for asylum would be allowed to enter Mexico. On October 17, President Trump thanked Mexico for sending federal police officers to its Southern border.
ICE Signs New Deal to Keep the Dilley Detention Facility Open
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a new contract last month with the city of Dilley, Texas to maintain open the South Texas Family Residential Center, a 2,400-bed detention center used to detain immigrant mothers and children. Under the contract, ICE will pay $13 million per month to Dilley, which will then outsource the management of the facility to CoreCivic, one of the nation’s largest private prison and detention centers management companies. Immigration advocates argue that the contract sidelines proper oversight, permitting ICE and CoreCivic to operate without public scrutiny by placing responsibility for oversight on Dilley, a city of about 4,000 people with a yearly operating budget of $2.1 million.
ICE said the new contract with Dilley will replace an existing arrangement with the city of Eloy, Arizona that dates back to 2014, which allowed the city of Eloy to technically run the Dilley facility, which was 900 miles away in another state. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that ICE’s arrangement with Eloy violated budget guidelines and resulted in possible overpayment.
Trump Administration Releases Plan for Fall 2018 Regulatory Agenda
On October 17, the Trump administration released its fall 2018 Unified Regulatory Agenda, which includes several proposed rule changes to the H-1B, H-4, F-1 and EB-5 visas. According to the agenda, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to propose a rule change to revise the definition of employment and specialty occupations under H-1B visas, which allows companies to hire workers in specialty occupations. The intended proposed changes would alter the selection and intake process for H-1B visa petitioners and would potentially place higher priority for graduates of U.S. masters or higher degree programs. In addition, USCIS plans to propose to remove from its regulations certain spouses of H1-B visa holders, known as H-4 visas, from the class of immigrants eligible to work in the U.S., a move that could prevent 70,000 H-4 visa holders who currently have work permits from working.
The agenda also states that ICE will publish a proposed rule that changes the period of authorized stay for certain categories of immigrants, including for F-1 international student visa holders. The proposed change would modify the period of authorized stay from “duration of status,” which allows students to remain in the U.S. as long as they maintain their status as students, to a maximum period of authorized stay. The agenda does not specify the maximum period of stay, but such a move could potentially make it harder for international students to make modifications to their immigration status in the U.S.
Another proposed item on the agenda is a modification to the EB-5 immigrant investor category, including proposed rulemaking to solicit public input on proposals that could increase monitoring and oversight of EB-5 projects. USCIS also plans to propose to modify the program, including increasing minimum investment amounts.
Proposed Public Charge Rule Could Significantly Impact Businesses
The Trump administration’s proposed rule change to broaden the meaning of the legal term “public charge” could have significant impacts on the business community, as hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the U.S. will now be required to demonstrate they do not receive public benefits and undergo a potentially burdensome process to prove their self-sufficiency. Individuals with employment-based H-1B visas for skilled workers, the H-2A visa for agricultural workers, and the H-2B visa for seasonal, non-agricultural workers will be subject to new questions about whether they have previously accessed or are deemed likely to rely on certain forms of public benefits. The companies that rely on those workers, ranging from technology firms to agriculture and the hospitality industries, could find themselves unsure whether their current workers will be able to stay permanently in the U.S. or whether future workers will be able to enter the U.S.
Legal
Chicago Files Lawsuit Against the Justice Department Over Byrne JAG Grants
The city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) on October 12 for not releasing more than $2 million in public safety grants to the city because it does not carry out federal immigration enforcement beyond that already required under federal law. The lawsuit states that the DOJ has not released fiscal year (FY) 2017 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants (Byrne JAG funds) for law enforcement to Chicago and that the city has not, unlike other cities, received a key FY 2018 grant letter. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel noted that Chicago has “has repeatedly beaten the Trump Justice Department in court,” invalidating the same or similar conditions imposed on the grants.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that DOJ could not attach new grant conditions and withhold FY2017 public safety grant money from Chicago. Last week, a federal judge in California ruled that the Justice Department could not cut off Byrne JAG funds to San Francisco because of its so-called sanctuary city policy, which limits the city’s participation in federal immigration enforcement.
Justice Department Asks Ninth Circuit to Rule on DACA by Oct. 31
On October 17, DOJ asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on a case challenging the Trump Administration’s rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) by the end of October. In a letter, DOJ said a final ruling is necessary so that the government can petition the Supreme Court to consider the legal status of DACA during its current term, which ends in June 2019 and warned that it will ask the Supreme Court to intervene if the appellate court has not issued a decision by October 31. The Ninth Circuit held oral arguments on the case on May 15, but has not issued a final ruling on the matter. Normally, the Supreme Court does not hear cases that have not received a final ruling at the appellate level.
Three federal district judges, including one in California, have separately issued nationwide injunctions requiring the government to continue to process DACA renewals while the cases make their way through the court system. The case in California stems from the University of California and others challenging the Trump administration’s decision to end DACA.
GOVERNMENT REPORTS
There were no immigration-related government reports published on the week of Monday, October 15, 2018.
SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
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.
TPS Extensions Act of 2018 Summary
This is a bill summary of Rep. Mike Coffman’s (R-Colorado) TPS Extensions Act of 2018 (H.R. 6696), which would extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for all current TPS holders until September 15, 2021.
* * *
*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.