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.7073
50 Votes for the Wall Act
This bill would establish a trust fund to build a wall along U.S.-Mexico border.
Sponsored by Representative Bradley Byrne (R – Alabama) (17 cosponsors – 17 Republicans)
10/19/2018 Introduced in the House by Representative Byrne
10/19/2018 Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security
10/24/2018 Referred to the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
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 29, 2018.
THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK
Federal
Trump Considering Closing Southern Border to Migrants in Response to Caravan, Sends Troops to Border
In response to the caravan of Central Americans making its way through Mexico, President Trump is reportedly considering executive actions that would prevent migrants from crossing into the United States through the Southern border. The administration reportedly is also considering new regulations to disqualify asylum seekers who cross the border between ports of entry. The unprecedented response barring Central American migrants from entering the United States and limiting the availability of asylum would be grounded in the same provision of immigration law that underpinned the administration’s travel ban. That provision – Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act – permits the president to bar the entry of categories of aliens that are “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The executive actions, if issued, would override existing federal law governing asylum and would almost certainly face legal challenges, including challenges to any assertion that the migrants pose a danger to public safety.
Previously, on October 25, in response to the caravan entering Southern Mexico, President Trump announced the U.S. will send additional 1,000 U.S. troops to the border to reinforce 2,000 National Guard personnel currently deployed there, as well as the thousands of existing agents and officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Consistent with federal law, troops at the border would almost certainly be limited to support roles.
The Trump administration has also sought to pressure countries in the region to halt the caravan, threatening to reduce financial aid to the Central American countries whose nationals are participating in the caravan and negotiating with Mexican officials to halt the group in Mexico and deport the migrants from there. However, the countries have yet to agree on any concrete steps.
The moves to consider limiting asylum, closing the border to migrants and sending troops follow reports that the caravan, which remains hundreds of miles from the U.S. border, is getting smaller and President Trump’s admission that he has no proof his earlier assertions that terrorists or other security threats are traveling in the migrant caravan.
On October 26, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said that “every option is on the table” to halt the flow of migrants to the border.
Border Apprehensions Rise in FY2018, Returning to Pre-2017 Levels
According to new CBP apprehension data, the overall number of border apprehensions returned to the levels of recent years in fiscal year (FY) 2018, after falling significantly recorded in FY2017 as President Trump took office. The FY2018 data indicated that CBP apprehended approximately 100,000 more individuals than FY2017, which is largely consistent with pre-2017 apprehension levels.
CBP officers apprehended a total of 521,090 individuals either at or between ports of entry in FY2018, an increase of more than 100,000 from the 415,517 apprehensions reported in the previous year. The increase is in line with FY2016 levels, when CBP apprehended 553,378 people.
CBP data showed that, in FY2018, the number of families and unaccompanied immigrant children (UACs) presenting themselves at ports of entry was 8,624 and 53,901, respectively, out of the total of 124,511 inadmissible individuals in FY2018, a slight increase from the 111,601 people deemed inadmissible at ports of entry in FY2017. In FY2016, CBP identified 274,821 inadmissible individuals at ports of entry.
USCIS Updates Its Medical Admission Form Policy, Helping Green Card Applicants
On October 16, the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an update to its green card application process to improve processing of applicants’ medical records, which are mandatory for obtaining permanent residency in the U.S. Under the new policy, USCIS-designated civil surgeons must sign applicants’ medical admission forms no more than 60 days before they submit their applications. The form will also newly remain valid for two years following the signature. The change is expected to fix a significant problem in the system – the expiration of the applicants’ medical records while their requests for green cards are still pending. The change will go into effect on November 1.
Legal
Judge Rules in Favor of Seattle and Portland on Sanctuary Cities
On October 24, a federal judge ruled in favor of Portland and Seattle in their lawsuit against Trump administration policies that withheld federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities. Following an earlier ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said the administration’s efforts to withhold congressionally approved funding pursuant to a 2017 executive order on interior immigration enforcement, were unconstitutional, in violation of the separation of powers.
Following the Judge Jones’ decision, Portland and Seattle will receive previously-withheld 2017 federal funding for key public safety programs. Judge Jones’ ruling is the latest in a serious of rulings against Trump administration efforts to withhold or attach new conditions to federal grant funding for so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.
DC Attorney General Sues ICE Over Summer Arrests
On October 22, District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the Trump administration to release information about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid this past summer. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerns a July 2018 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid that led to arrests of 130 immigrants and detention of 12 individuals in the Washington area. Following accusations by activists that the raid racially profiled and targeted Latino immigrants, who were then arrested at random.
Racine filed a FOIA request back in July, seeking more information on 12 of the detainees, but ICE did not respond within the request within the timeframe required by law. As a result, Racine filed the lawsuit to force ICE to comply with FOIA.
Children of Undocumented Immigrants Sue for Drivers Licenses in Ohio
An Ohio immigrant advocacy group filed a class action lawsuit on October 23, against the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) challenging its current policy denying driver’s licenses to children of undocumented immigrants. The lawsuit claimed that the Ohio BMV routinely denies driver’s licenses to children of undocumented immigrants, even if they are U.S. citizens.
Current Ohio BMV regulations state that minors who apply for a driver’s license must pass the required exams and also have a parent or guardian co-sign and present their own driver’s license or ID card to the BMV. Because undocumented parents cannot demonstrate require proof of citizenship or legal presence, they do not have the required license or ID card to co-sign their children’s driver’s licenses, including citizen children who are otherwise eligible for a driver’s license.
According to the plaintiffs, the policy is unconstitutional and discriminates against the citizen children of undocumented immigrants. Previously, the neighboring state of Michigan changed a similar policy in 2013 to ensure that children of undocumented immigrants could receive driver’s licenses.
State & Local
San Francisco Will Permit Non-Citizen Voting in School Board Election; Non-Citizen Registration Remains Low
Following the passage of Proposition N, which permitted non-citizen voting in school board elections by qualified adult parents or legal guardians, only 35 non-citizens registered to vote, potentially due to fears that ICE will see their names listed on public voting records.
San Francisco will nevertheless proceed with permitting non-citizen voting in that race, and remains the largest U.S. city permitting non-citizens to participate in certain local elections.
In September 2018, Congress passed a non-binding resolution opposing non-citizen voting and disapproving of cities that allow it. However, a number of cities in California, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts continue to uphold their non-citizen voting laws. Non-citizens voting in specified local races remain ineligible to vote in federal elections.
GOVERNMENT REPORTS
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): Unaccompanied Children: Agency Efforts to Reunify Children Separated from Parents at the Border, October 9, 2018 (by Kathryn A. Larin)
This report examines government’s planning and reunification efforts after the president’s executive order (EO) to stop separation of families at the U.S. Southern Border and a federal judge’s ruling to reunify parents and children impacted by the administration’s “zero tolerance policy.” Specifically, the report analyzes systems in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to determine their effectiveness in tracking separated families, as well as reunification planning and actions taken after the EO and court order. The report revealed that officials were unaware of the potential increase of unaccompanied kids before the ‘zero tolerance” policy came into effect and found that nearly 440 children were still in HHS custody as of September 10, 2018, almost three months after the judge’s decision.
SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES
Essentials of Naturalization for Military Service Members and Veterans
This report provides an overview of the military naturalization process and looks at the recent data and policy changes of military naturalizations.
Manufacturing Sector: Immigrants Are Indispensable to U.S. Workforce
This infographic focuses on immigrants in the manufacturing sector, highlighting key facts about their demographics and role in our workforce.
Comments on Proposed Regulations Removing Key Safeguards for Children in Immigration Detention
Those wishing to make public comments on the Trump administration’s proposed regulations that would overturn protections for children who the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hold in custody due to immigration laws may do so through the National Immigration Forum’s Legislative Action Center.
Comments on DHS Public Charge Rule
Those wishing to make public comments on the DHS’s proposed regulations that would redefine the meaning of the legal term “public charge” to reject immigrants applying for an immigrant visa (green card), or a temporary visa if they have previously accessed or are deemed likely to rely on certain forms of public assistance in the future may do so through the National Immigration Forum’s Legislative Action Center.
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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.