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
Harris Plans Border Visit as Administration Considers Expanding Asylum Restrictions; Trump Continues Sharing Misinformation
On September 27, Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border as the Democratic presidential nominee when she visits Douglas, Arizona, as part of her campaign in the swing state.
Harris is expected to call for increased border security and Border Patrol resources, continuing a turn toward an enforcement-focused approach at the U.S.-Mexico border.
She also plans to criticize former President Donald Trump for helping to tank a bipartisan border enforcement bill in the Senate earlier this year. “The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” she is expected to say, according to CNN.
Likewise, reports indicate that the Biden-Harris administration is planning to expand its restrictions from earlier this year that significantly curtail access to and eligibility for asylum at the U.S.’s southern border. The administration is expected to announce changes that would maintain the severe asylum limits unless border crossings fall below a seven-day average of 1,500 for 28 days — virtually guaranteeing they remain in place for the foreseeable future.
“The policy largely solidifies a shift from the longstanding U.S. promise to allow migrants who come into the country to apply for asylum, regardless of how they do it, and fundamentally alters years of past practice at the southern border,” Hamed Aleaziz reported in the New York Times.
At the same time, Trump has continued to repeat misinformation about a Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio — most of whom are in the country legally, namely through Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — while audience members at one of his rallies chanted “send them back” as he railed against how Haitian immigrants had “destroyed” the small city.
Trump also mentioned immigrants having “serial numbers” as part of his plan for mass deportations, language that critics said was troubling and echoed previous historical cases of human right abuses.
Qatar Becomes First Gulf Country to Join Visa Waiver Program
On September 24, the Biden administration announced that Qatar will become the 42nd nation — and the first Gulf country — designated into the Visa Waiver Program, a move that will allow Qataris to come to the United States for up to 90 days without needing a visa.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken celebrated Qatar’s entry into the program as a security win for both countries that also facilitates more effective commerce and travel. Qataris will now be able to access an updated Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application by the beginning of December at the latest and come to the U.S. for tourism or business, with no visa necessary.
To comply with program requirements, Qatar has joined info-sharing partnerships with the U.S. government around terrorism and other serious criminal activity.
Reports: A Look Inside Guantánamo Holding Center for Asylum Seekers
Guantánamo Bay’s Migrant Operations Center — where generations of Haitians and Cubans interdicted at sea have been temporarily kept for screening and resettlement by the U.S. government – is under renewed scrutiny amid reports of inhumane conditions, indefinite detentions, and a lack of child-friendly services that make the facility inhospitable for families fleeing violence and insecurity at home.
The site is a holding area for asylum seekers apprehended while trying to reach U.S. soil by boat, who are not extended the same rights under U.S. law as those who have historically traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border by land. Instead, they can either return to their home country and the dangers they fled, or they can wait at Guantánamo for a nation other than the U.S. to agree to accept them.
But the treatment they face at the Migrant Operations Center — where some asylum seekers say they were required to wear blackout goggles as they traversed the U.S. base, and where people are only allowed 30 minutes a week of phone time, all monitored — brings into question the adequacy of a facility that has long operated off-grid.
“Former IRAP clients, other detained refugees, and former staff at the GMOC describe the dilapidated building with mold and sewage issues, where families with young children are housed alongside single adults,” according to a new report by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). “They are denied confidential phone calls, even with their attorneys, and punished if they dare share accounts of mistreatment.
“Refugees are regularly confined to their rooms for weeks at a time. And although the GMOC detains traumatized children, there are no educational services or pediatric psychiatric care provided to them.”
A State Department spokesperson told the Miami Herald that allegations against the Migrant Operations Center were untrue. The spokesperson said individuals could return home at any time or had the option to wait there to be resettled if eligible.
Legal
Nonprofit Group Files Affidavit Charging Trump and Vance
On September 24, the immigrant rights group Haitian Bridge Alliance filed an affidavit with criminal charges against GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), over repeating misinformation that reports indicate the candidates knew to be untrue on some of the largest stages in the nation.
Earlier this month, Trump and Vance made unsubstantiated comments about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, sharing false accusations at high-profile events, including the first presidential debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. They did so after local officials in Ohio confirmed that the rumors were specious, with Trump repeating the falsehood and going viral at the September 10 debate — a day after Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck told a Vance staffer that “these claims were baseless.”
“We have told those at the national level that they are speaking these things that are untrue,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue (R) told the Wall Street Journal, lamenting that the false claims have only been “repeated and doubled down on.”
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance told CNN earlier this month.
As Springfield has entered the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons, the city has been thrust into chaos because of over 30 bomb threats, as well as death threats targeting Rue. Amid these threats, Haitian Bridge Alliance is asking a municipal court to affirm probable cause that Trump and Vance have allegedly disrupted public services, made false alarms, and committed telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing, and complicity.
Ohio lets private citizens file affidavits charging people with crimes. The state’s law requires that a hearing take place before the affidavit can move forward – so far, no hearings have been scheduled.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration sent another plane full of deportees back to Haiti on Thursday, despite ongoing turmoil and instability there.
State and Local
Newsom Vetoes California Bill Allowing Undocumented Students to Work
On September 22, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have expanded employment opportunities for undocumented students at public universities. Newsom justified his veto by citing legal liability, as the legislation is based on the relatively untested legal theory that federal laws ban federal entities from hiring undocumented individuals, not state entities like public universities.
While the bill was supported by most Democrats in the California legislature, it drew opposition from Republican state lawmakers, who argued funding should go to U.S. citizens.
Newsom also vetoed another bill earlier in September that would have made some undocumented people in California eligible for state-funded home loans.
These vetoes come at a time when immigration is at the forefront of the political engine. The University of California’s governing board has postponed discussing the idea of employing undocumented students until January 2025.
Many undocumented students coming into college today are ineligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which means they do not have work authorization. The vetoed bill would have possibly given undocumented students who fall into this category an opportunity to help fund their educations and receive critical on-the-job training.
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.
Below is one bill from this week that has received some attention.
S. 5223
Birthright Citizenship Act of 2024
This bill would prevent children born on U.S. soil from receiving birthright citizenship if their parents are unauthorized immigrants or nonimmigrants with temporary visas and/or statuses.
Sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) (1 cosponsor — 1 Republican, 0 Democrats)
09/25/2024 Introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham
09/25/2024 Referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives are not expected to be in session from Monday, September 30 through Friday, October 4, 2024.
UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS
Here, we round up congressional hearings and markups happening in the field or in Washington.
No relevant hearings or markups have been announced for the week of Monday, September 30, 2024.
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.
DHS Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG); ICE Did Not Fully Implement Effective Security Controls on Selected High Value Asset Systems; Published September 17, 2024
This report details security deficiencies that leave U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) High Value Asset systems vulnerable to unauthorized access or data manipulation/deletion.
Congressional Research Service (CRS); Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2025 State of Play; Published September 19, 2024
This report provides a general overview of where Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations stand for Fiscal Year 2025.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Efforts to Improve Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention of Law Enforcement Personnel; Published September 25, 2024
This report explores how U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is trying to recruit and keep personnel, even as the agency has failed to meet its staffing targets in recent years.
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:
Q&A: Birthright Citizenship
This Q&A explores the legal basis for birthright citizenship in the United States.
Bill Analysis: No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act
The No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, or H.R. 5717, is a bill that would define the term “sanctuary jurisdictions” and prohibit those localities from receiving federal funds intended to be “use[d] for the benefit” of undocumented immigrants.
Operation Lone Star: Texas’s Logistical and Political Fireball
This paper provides background on some of the most significant practices related to Operation Lone Star, unpacking its consequences for the federal government, Texas’s leadership, cities in the U.S. interior, Texas border communities, and migrants themselves.
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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.