Bi-Partisan Senate Immigration Proposal Released

This weekend, a bipartisan group of Senators released a long awaited deal that pairs foreign aid with new border policies.  CNN highlights some key aspects of the proposal:

"— New emergency authority to restrict border crossings if daily average migrant encounters reach 4,000 over a one-week span. If that metric is reached, the Homeland Security secretary could decide to largely bar migrants from seeking asylum if they crossed the border unlawfully.

If migrant crossings increase above 5,000 on average per day on a given week, DHS is required to use the authority. If encounters reach 8,500 in one day, the department is required to trigger the authority. But the federal government is limited in how long it can use the authority.

In the first year, the government can use it for 270 days, then 225 calendar days in the second year, and 180 days in the third year. The authority sunsets after three years.

— Codifies a policy that requires the government to process at least 1,400 asylum applications at ports of entry when the emergency authority is triggered.

— Raises the legal standard of proof to pass the initial screening for asylum, making it potentially more difficult for asylum seekers to pass.

— Expedites the asylum processing timeline from years to six months.

— Introduces a new process in which US Citizenship and Immigration Services would decide an asylum claim without it going through the immigration court system. The process doesn’t apply to unaccompanied migrant children.

— Preserves the president’s authority to designate humanitarian parole on a case-by-case basis. President Joe Biden has used the authority for Ukrainians, Afghans, Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians, among other populations.

— Includes limited changes that narrow the use of parole at land borders.

— Authorizes 250,000 additional immigrant visas to spread out over five years for families and applies to employment-based immigrants.

— Provides a pathway to citizenship for Afghans paroled into the United States after the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and extends the special immigrant visa program for Afghans who worked for the US government."

NPR reports that, since the bill was unveiled, it has received "sharp criticism" from the left and right. Up First says some immigration advocates have a positive view of the changes to expedite the asylum process but oppose the trigger that would shut down entry. Former President Donald Trump wants to wield the immigration issue against Biden for the 2024 election. He lobbied against the bill before it was out and is urging Republicans to derail the Senate deal.

Immigration Hub Executive Director Kerri Talbot issued the following statement in response:

“Thanks to the committed advocacy of individuals and organizations across the country, this legislation steers away from some of the most egregious, Trump-era policies initially considered–including family detention, the nationwide expansion of expedited deportations, and a full asylum ban. We are grateful to the tireless advocates who rallied week after week to remind lawmakers of the stakes involved when ineffective and cruel policies target immigrant communities.

“The deal announced today offers temporary measures for an immigration system in dire need of bold, lasting solutions that fully invest in the modernization of our border infrastructure and a path to citizenship for Dreamers and millions of hard-working immigrant families in our nation. If enacted, the bill would severely restrict the ability to seek asylum at the border of the United States.

“We urgently hope that bipartisan conversations will continue toward more comprehensive reform in the near future. It is imperative that we do not lose sight of what the majority of Americans, across the aisle, have consistently demanded – an immigration system that honors our promise to those fleeing persecution and meets the economic demands of the country and, above all, delivers a path to citizenship for Dreamers and long-settled immigrants in the U.S. The decades-long wait by Dreamers and hard-working immigrants is a broken promise at the center of a broken system and divided Congress. . . .  "

The following is a quote from Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, following the release of the Senate border and immigration bill: 

"We continue to review the bill. On first glance, it includes some positive pieces.

"As we absorb the details, we are encouraged that the bill addresses certainty for our Afghan allies and so-called ‘documented Dreamers,’ whose families came legally when they were children but who then aged out of their status. It also appears to include some important and needed reforms to the asylum adjudication process.

"More resources are necessary at all parts of the asylum process. This bill appears to take a step in that direction. The U.S. must remain a leader in humanitarian protection, and people with viable asylum claims must still be able to make them.

"Conspicuous in their absence are solutions for Dreamers, people with Temporary Protected Status, and the farm workforce. No matter what happens with this bill, it cannot be the end of Republicans’ and Democrats’ courageous work together. Americans need, and want, more."

Stay tuned for further analysis.

UPDATE:

In response to the immigration sections of the recently released funding deal in the U.S. Senate, Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights with Amnesty International USA, made the following statement:

 

“This cruel deal trades the human rights of immigrants and asylum seekers for foreign military funding, and members of Congress should reject it. 

 

“The immigration measures in this deal are the most extreme anti-immigrant proposals this country has seen in 100 years. From ending the legal right to asylum, to creating unworkable standards that will fail to protect the most vulnerable, to funding to detain 50,000 people and build a border wall, these policies are draconian and antithetical to human rights. These permanent policies will not solve the humanitarian crisis at the border, they will only lead to more suffering, more cruelty, and more death. 

 

“As candidate, Joe Biden vowed to return to humane immigration policies, but as President, he has repeatedly pulled from former President Trump’s playbook of cruelty. It is shameful that he has now joined the ranks of politicians so ready and willing to use migrants as pawns.

 

“Human rights are not bargaining chips. People have the human right to seek asylum. Senators must not trade away the human rights of immigrants and people seeking safety.”

 

Elon Musk is not a fan of the Senate proposal.

NGO personnel who deliberately and repeatedly broke the law to facilitate illegal immigration should face prosecution immediately! https://t.co/OQF0ipMvju

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2024

 

KJ