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The following are immigration-, asylum-, or refugee-related legislative items that are expected to be acted on some time over the next several weeks or actions that are expected to occur but have not yet been officially scheduled...
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House Actions Senate Actions Bicameral Actions "Off-the Hill" Actvities News Briefs
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Upcoming House Immigration- and Refugee-Related Hearings
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Sunday, February 5, 2012 -- 5:00 pm EST
The following immigration- or refugee-related hearings are scheduled or likely to occur in the coming weeks:
The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, in Room 2359 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
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House Homeland Security to Hold Hearing on the President's FY '13 DHS Budget Proposal: The House Committee on Homeland Security has scheduled a hearing for mid-February to examine President Obama's proposed fiscal year 2013 budget for the Department of Homeland Security. The witness list for the hearing had not yet been officially released at the time of this writing. However, it is anticipated that the witness will be Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 pm EST on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, in Room 311 of the Cannon House Office Building.
The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am EST on Friday, February 17, 2012, in Room 2359 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
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House Appropriations Panel to Hold Hearing on the President's FY '13 CBP Budget Proposal: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security has scheduled a hearing for late-February to examine President Obama's proposed fiscal year 2013 budget for the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. Testifying at the hearing will be Michael Fisher, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol; Kevin McAleenan, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations; Mark Borkowski, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Technology Innovation and Acquisition; and Michael Kostelnik, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Air and Marine.
The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, in Room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
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House Judiciary Panel Hearing on the U.S. Refugee Admissions and Ayslum Programs: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement is planning a hearing that could be held as soon as early March on the U.S. refugee admissions and asylum programs. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing had not yet been announced.
The hearing is expected to take place on or around March 28, 2012. When it occurs, it likely will be held in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
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Upcoming House Immigration- and Refugee-Related Markups
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Sunday, February 5, 2012 -- 5:00 pm EST
The following immigration- or refugee-related hearings are scheduled to occur in the coming weeks:
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House Natural Resources Subcommittee Could Mark Up Border Security Bill: While no action had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, it is anticipated that the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands is planning in the coming weeks to mark up H.R. 1505, the "National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act". As introduced, H.R. 1505 would prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from taking action on public lands which impede the border security activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary). The measure provides that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have immediate access to any public land managed by the federal government in order to conduct activities that assist in securing the border (including access to maintain and construct roads, construct a fence, use patrol vehicles, and set up monitoring equipment).
In addition to provisions on access, H.R. 1505 also would extend the authority that the Secretary of Homeland Security currently has to waive all environmental and land management laws in order to complete construction of fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico so that the authority would be applicable to all sections of the international land and maritime borders of the United States within 100 miles of such.
At the time of this writing, the markup had not yet been scheduled.
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House Science, Natural Resources Committee to Space and Technology Committee Could Mark Up Border Technology Research Bill: While no Committee action had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, it is anticipated that the House Committee on Science, Space and technology will move in the coming weeks to markup H.R. 2463, the "Border Security Technology Innovation Act of 2011", which would direct the Department of Homeland Security to continue the development of a variety of border security technologies, including efforts to incorporate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in border and maritime airspace.
At the time of this writing, the markup had not yet been scheduled.
- House Homeland Security Committee Could Mark Up Bill to Increase CBP Access to Federal Lands: The House Committee on Homeland Security is expected in the coming weeks to mark up H.R. 1922, a bill to provide the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with greater access to federal lands for the purposes of conducting border security operations. As introduced by freshman Representative Ben Quayle (R-AZ), H.R. 1922 would provide that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, CBP shall have access to Federal lands for security activities, including routine motorized patrols; and the deployment of temporary tactical infrastructure. The measure would provide that in carrying out routine motorized patrols and deploying temporary tactical infrastructure, CBP shall do so, "to the maximum extent practicable, in a manner that the Secretary of Homeland Security determines will best protect the natural and cultural resources on Federal lands." The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security approved the measure on Thursday, June 2, 2011, by a voice vote.
At the time of this writing, the full committee markup had not yet been scheduled.
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Upcoming House Immigration- and Refugee-Related Floor Actions
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Monday, January 23, 2012 -- 8:45 am EST
The following immigration- or refugee-related floor actions could occur in the coming weeks:
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Full House Could Take Up Bill to Eliminate the Diversity Visa Program: The full House of Representatives could at any time take up H.R. 704, the "SAFE for America Act", legislation introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) that would eliminate the diversity visa program. The House Committee on the Judiciary approved the measure on July 20, 2011.
While no floor action on H.R. 704 had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, action on the measure could be scheduled at any time.
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Full House Could Take Up Bill to Make it Easier for Prosecutors to Convict Illegal Immigrants of Felony Identify Theft: The full House of Representatives could at any tme schedule floor consideration of H.R. 2552, the "Identify Theft Improvement Act of 2011", legislation introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) providing that when a person is charged with identity theft under Section 1028(a)(7) or 1028A(a) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, prosecutors would not need to show that the person charged knew that the identity documents were those of another actual person in order to win a felony conviction. The Committee approved the measure by a vote of 16-10 on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, after taking up three amendments that were offered to it, rejecting all three of them.
While no floor action on H.R. 2552 had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, action on the measure could be scheduled at any time.
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Full House Could Take Up Bill Providing for the Indefinite Detention of "Dangerous" Aliens: The full House of Representatives could at any time schedule floor consideration of H.R. 1932, the "Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2001", a measure introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) that would provide for the indefinite detention of "dangerous aliens". The House Committee on the Judiciary approved the measure on Thursday, July 13, 2011.
While no House floor action on H.R. 1932 had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, action on the measure could be scheduled at any time.
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Full House Could Take Up Visa Security Bill: The full House of Representatives could at any time schedule floor consideration of H.R. 1741, the "Secure Visas Act", a measure introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) that would make it easier for the Departments of State and Homeland Security to deny ad revoke visas. The House Committee on the Judiciary approved the measure on Thursday, June 23, 2011. However, the Committee has not yet formally reported it to the full House of Representatives.
While no House floor action on H.R. 1741 had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, action on the measure could be scheduled at any time.
- Full House Could Take Up Bill Requiring Plan to Achieve Operational Control of the Border: The full House of Representatives could at any time take up H.R. 1299, the "Secure Border Act of 2011", introduced by House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Chairwoman Candice Miller (R-MI). As reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security, the measure would require the Administration to submit within 180 days a plan on how to achieve operational control of the U.S. border within five years.
While no House floor action on H.R. 1299 had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, action on the measure could be scheduled at any time..
- Full House Could Take Up Bill Authorizing the Establishment of Border Enforcement Task Force Teams: The full House of Representatives could at any time take up H.R. 915, the "Jamie Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act", introduced by House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Ranking Minority Member Henry Cuellar (D-TX). As approved by the House Committee on Homeland Security, the measure would establish within the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit a Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) program. The bill would establish a number of criteria for the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into consideration when establishing BEST programs, and it would direct the Secretary to report on the effectiveness of the program in enhancing border security and reducing the drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien trafficking and smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across U.S. borders. The measure would authorize $10 MILLION for establishing and operating the BEST programs and for investigating and prosecuting smugglers and traffickers operating along the U.S. border.
While no House floor action on H.R. 1299 had yet been scheduled at the time of this writing, action on the measure could be scheduled at any time. .
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Upcoming Senate Immigration- and Refugee-Related Legislative Hearings
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Monday, September 23, 2012 -- 9:00 am EST
The following immigration- or refugee-related hearings are scheduled or likely to occur in the coming weeks:
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Upcoming Senate Immigration- and Refugee-Related Legislative Markups
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Sunday, January 29, 2012 -- 7:00 pm EST
The following immigration- or refugee-related markups are scheduled or anticipated to occur in the coming weeks:
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Upcoming Senate Immigration- and Refugee-Related Legislative Floor Actions
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Sunday, February 5, 2012 -- 5:00 pm EST
The following immigration- or refugee-related floor actions could occur in the coming weeks:
- Full Senate Could Take Up Violence Against Women Act Bill Containing a Number of Immigration Provisions: The full Senate could at any time take up S. 1925, the "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011". The measure contains among its many provisions, a number of sections intended to enhance protections for aliens who are the victim of domestic violence, as well as a provision that would make three more DUIs an aggravated felony for the purposes of determining an alien's removability.
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary approved its version of S. 1925 on Thursday, February 2, 2012.
At the time of this writing, no date for full Senate consideration of the measure had yet been set.
- Full Senate Could Take Up Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Bill Containing Immigration Provisions: The full Senate could at any time take up S. 1301, the "Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011". The measure contains a number of provisions relating to alien trafficking victims.
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary approved its version of S. 1301 on October 13, 2011.
At the time of this writing, no date for full Senate consideration of the measure had yet been set.
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Full Senate Could Take Up Bill Revising Annual Per-Country Limits for Employment- and Family-Based Immigrant Visas: The full Senate could at any time take up H.R. 3012, the "Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011. As passed by the House of Representatives, the measure would eliminate the annual per-country limitations for employment-based immigrants, and it would increase the annual per-country limitations for family-based immigant visas from 7.5 percent of the total number of available visas to 15 percent of the total number of available visas. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3012 on November 18, 2011, by a vote of 389-15.
At the time of this writing, no date for full Senate consideration of the measure had yet been set.
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Full Senate Could Take Up Haitian Progress Act: The full Senate could at any time take up H.R. 1016, the "Assessing Haitian Progress Act", which would make a number of findings with regard to the situation in Haiti and direct the President to report to Congress regarding the status of post-earthquake humanitarian, reconstruction, and development efforts in Haiti, including efforts to prevent the spread of cholera and treat persons infected with the disease, and an assessment of the ability of Haiti to absorb deportees from the United States.
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1016 on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, by a voice vote. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which has not indicated whether it plans to take up the measure.
At the time of this writing, no date for full Senate consideration of the measure had yet been set.
- Full Senate Could Take Up Bill Easing Plight of Deployed Military Personnel and Their Conditional Resident Spouses: The full Senate could at any time take up H.R. 398, a measure to ease the plight of active duty military personnel and their spouses who are seeking to remove the conditional nature of their permanent residency while they are deployed overseas. As passed by the House, the measure would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll, during active-duty service abroad in the Armed Forces, the periods of time to file a petition and appear for an interview to remove the conditional basis for permanent resident status. It was introduced by House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement Ranking Minority Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and is cosponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), House Judiciary Immigration Policy and Enforcement Chairman Elton Gallegly (R-CA), and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Minority Member John Conyers (D-MI).
The House Committee on Appropriations approved H.R. 398 on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, by a voice vote. However, the Committee did not formally report the measure to the full House of Representatives until July 8, 2011. The House passed the measure on Monday, August 1, 2011, by a vote of 426-0.
At the time of this writing, no date for full Senate consideration of the measure had yet been set. The House passed the measure on Monday, August 1, 2011, by a vote of 407-17.
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Full Senate Could Take Up Bill Reviving and Revising the Expired H-1C Nonimmigrant Nurses Program: The full Senate could at any time take up H.R. 1933, a measure introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) that would revive and revise the expired H-1C nonimmigrant nurses program.
At the time of this writing, no date for full Senate consideration of the measure had yet been set.
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Upcoming Bicameral Actions
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Upcoming Bicameral Actions On or Impacting
Immigration- and Refugee-Related Matters
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Friday, February 3, 2012 -- 7:00 pm EST
The following bicameral immigration- or refugee-related floor actions could occur in the coming weeks:
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NEW! Conference Committee Deliberations on Payroll Tax Cut and Unemployment Compensation Extension Bill: The Conference Committee that has been established to resolve differences betwen the House-passed and the Senate-passed versions of H.R. 3630, the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 has scheduled a meeting for next week.
The most significant immigration-related difference between the two bills is a provision contained in the House-passed version of the bill that was stripped from the Senate-passed version of the measure. The provision, found in Section 5201 of the House-passed version of the measure, would pay for the cost of the payroll tas cut, in part, by requiring that at least one parent have a Social Security Number to qualify for either the refundable (Child Tax Credit) or nonrefundable (Additional Child Tax Credit) version of the child care tax credit, even if the children who are receiving the child care are U.S. citizens. It has been estimated that the provision would result in the loss of $9.4 BILLION in tax credits to low-income immigrant families over the next ten years. There is no comparable version of the provision in the Senate-passed version of the measure.
The conference committee is scheduled to meet at 10:00 am EST on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, in Room 1100 of the Longworth House Office Building.
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NEW! Joint Economic Committee Hearing on the Payroll Tax Cut and Unemployment Benefits Extension Bill: The Joint Economic Committee has scheduled a hearing for next week titled, "Bolstering the Economy: Helping American Families by Reauthorizing the Payroll Tax Cut and UI [Unemployment Insurance] Benefits." Witnesses will include Mark M. Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody's Analytics; James Sherk, Senior Policy Analyst, Heritage Foundation; and Judith M. Conti, Federal Advocacy Coordinator, National Employment Law Project.
The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 pm EST on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, in Room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.
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Upcoming "Off of the Hill" Activities
Upcoming "Off of the Hill" Immigration- and Refugee-Related
Legislative Activity
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Friday, February 3, 2012 -- 7:00 pm EST
The following immigration- or refugee-related "off of the Hill" activities could occur in the coming weeks:
- UPDATED! Telephonic Discussion on Self-Deportation: The Immigration Policy Center has scheduled a telephonic discussion for next week titled "Discrediting 'Self- Deportation' as an Immigration Control Strategy. Participants will include Michele Waslin, Senior Policy Analyst, Immigration Policy Center; Jonathan Blazer, Advocacy and Policy Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union; Karen Tumlin, Managing Attorney, National Immigration Law Center; and Heidi Beirich, Director, Intelligence Project, Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Discussion is scheduled for 2:00 pm EST on Monday, February 6, 2012
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NEW! Briefing on the Potential Impact of the Latino Vote on the 2012 Elections: The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) has scheduled a briefing for next week titled, "The 2012 Latino Vote: Potential and Impact." Participants in the briefing will include Cesar Conde, President, Univision Networks; Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, Educational Fund, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; Clarissa Martinez, Director, Immigration and National Campaigns, National Council of La Raza; Maria Teresa Kumar, Executive Director, Voto Latino; Ben Monterroso, Executive Director, Mi Familia Vota; and Rudy Lopez, National Field Director of Politics, Campaign for Community Change.
The briefing is scheduled for 12:00 Noon EST on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC.
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Process and Timing on Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations
Beginning to Take Shape
By Micheal E. Hill
Last Updated on Monday, January 23, 2012 -- 9:00 am EST
The U.S. House of Representatives this week is preparing to take its first steps toward producing its version of the final fiscal year 2011 appropriations bills. Reports indicate that staff for the Appropriations Committee's subcommittees have been ordered to review programs under their jurisdictions for possible cuts and to submit those suggestions to the full committee’s staff, a process that could be complete by the end of this week. The most likely scenario from there is for the full Committee on Appropriations to pick and choose from those suggestions as it puts together a fiscal year 2011 continuing appropriations bill that would include those cuts and others.
Late last year, House Republicans promised to cut "non-security discretionary spending" for fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2008 levels. Republicans have softened that pledge in recent weeks, promising now to "transition" fiscal year 2011 spending toward fiscal year 2008 levels.
The House Committee on Appropriations could meet as soon as next week to begin the process of identifying fiscal year 2011 spending cuts, with an eye toward having a bill on the House floor in mid-February.
In the meantime, the House Republican Leadership is planning next week to bring a resolution to the House floor that would require House Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) to move toward seeting fiscal year 2011 "non-security discretionary spending" at fiscal year 2008 levels. The House Republican Leadership reportedly wishes to have the House vote on such a resolution before President Obama's January 25 State of the Union Address.
Congress must act before March 4, 2011, to complete the fiscal year 2011 appropriations bills in order to prevent a shutdown of federal agencies and activities. Among the functions that still need to be funded are the federal government's refugee admissions, overseas refugee assistance, refugee resettlement, trafficking victim assistance, torture victim assistance, border security, interior immigration enforcement, and immigration services adjudiction functions and ativities.
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Fiscal Year 2011 Refugee-Related Appropriations in Limbo
as the 112th Congress Convenes
By Micheal E. Hill
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 -- 12:01 am EST
 --Updated on Thursday, January 6, 2011, at 7:50 am EST--
When the 111th Congress adjourned in late December of 2010, it left virtually all of its fiscal year 2011 appropriations work undone. Among that unfinished work are the three fiscal year 2011 appropriations bills that fund the operations of nation’s refugee admissions, refugee adjudication, overseas refugee assistance, and refugee resettlement programs. As a consequence of that inaction, those programs currently are being funded by a continuing appropriations resolution that is set to expire on March 4, 2011.
One of the first major legislative orders of business for the new Congress will be completing the appropriations bills for fiscal year 2011. The process of producing those bills will begin almost immediately after the new Congress is sworn in on January 5, 2011. The battle over those appropriations bills will likely be the first substantive legislative skirmish between the GOP-controlled House, the Democratic-controlled-Senate, and the Obama-led White House of the 112th Congress.
The stakes for the federal government’s refugee-related agencies and functions are considerable. The House Republican Leadership has indicated that it wants to roll back funding for most discretionary spending in fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2008 levels. That desire was reinforced shortly after the 112th Congress convened when House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (D-WI) asserted that "we will clean up the fiscal wreckage left by House Democrats, setting spending limits for the remainder of FY2011 at pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels for non-security discretionary spending." Were this to occur for refugee-related functions, it would require that significant cuts in spending be made in those functions relative to the fiscal year 2010 appropriations, as well as require that significant cuts be made in spending on those functions relative to President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget request.
Just prior to adjourning for the 111th Congress, the Senate Committee on Appropriations prepared an omnibus fiscal year 2011 appropriations bill that contained funding for all of the discretionary programs and activities of the federal government. Included in the draft measure was funding for the federal government’s four refugee-related functions:
- Refugee Admissions and Overseas Refugee Assistance. The draft Senate bill would have appropriated $1.685 BILLION in fiscal year 2011 for Department of State's Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account, which funds both refugee admissions and overseas refugee assistance. Congress appropriated the same amount for the MRA account in fiscal year 2010. However, it only appropriated $1.296 BILLION for the MRA account in fiscal year 2008.
- Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance. The draft Senate bill would have appropriated $45 MILLION in fiscal year 2011 for the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account, which funds draw-downs for emergency refugee situations. Congress appropriated the same amount for the ERMA account in fiscal year 2010. However, it appropriated $76 MILLION for the ERMA account in fiscal year 2008.
- Office of Refugee Resettlement. The draft Senate bill would have appropriated $767.1 MILLION in fiscal year 2011 for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which operates the federal government’s refugee resettlement, trafficking victim assistance, torture victim assistance, and unaccompanied alien children programs. Congress appropriated $730.928 MILLION for ORR's activities in fiscal year 2010. However, it only appropriated only $628 MILLION for ORR in fiscal year 2008.
- Refugee and Asylum Adjudications. The draft Senate bill would have directly appropriated $176.4 MILLION in fiscal year 2011 to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for processing applications for asylum or refugee status. Congress appropriated $50 MILLION for refugee and asylum adjudications in fiscal year 2010. However, it did not appropriate any funds for that purpose in fiscal year 2008.
The widely accepted interpretation of the U.S. Constitution requires that the House of Representatives originate appropriations bills. Accordingly, the House will have to act before the Senate on the fiscal year 2011 appropriations bills. It was unclear at the time of this writing what vehicle(s) the House Republican Leadership will use to complete enactment of the fiscal year 2011 appropriations. It also was unclear at the time of this writing what legislative process the House Republican Leadership will use to take up the measures.
With regard to the vehicles(s) that the House Republican Leadership will use to move fiscal year 2011 appropriations, its options include simply proceeding with a long-term continuing appropriations resolution that funds the operations of the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2011, proceeding with an omnibus fiscal year 2011 appropriations bill that bundles the normal appropriations provisions that are contained in the 12 regular appropriations bills for all of the federal government into one measure, or proceeding with 12 individual appropriations bills.
With regard to the process that the House Republican Leadership will employ to consider the fiscal year 2011 appropriations bill(s), its options range from marking up the bill(s) in the House Committee on Appropriations to taking the bill(s) directly to the floor of the House. Given the amount of controversial decisions on spending priorities that will have to be made in order with respect to the bill(s) and the compressed timeframe for considering it (them), most appropriations insiders doubt that the House Republican Leadership will opt to move the 12 bills separately or engage in formal House Appropriations Committee markups.
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House Judiciary Panel to Hold Early Hearings
on Immigration Enforcement Matters
By Micheal E. Hill
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 -- 12:01 am EST
--Updated on Friday, January 14, 2011, at 10:35 pm EST--
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement is planning to hold at least two immigration enforcement-related hearings in the opening weeks of the 112th Congress. The first is expected to examine the worksite immigration enforcement actions of the Obama Administration. The second is expected to focus on expanding the E-Verify system. It is anticipated that the first hearing will be held on Tuesday, January 26, 2011, and the second in early- to mid-February. However, at the time of this writing, no formal announcement had yet been made of the precise dates of the hearings.
Published news reports, as well as recent statements made by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), indicate that Smith is planning to focus the Committee’s initial immigration-related actions on the question of whether illegal immigrants are taking jobs from American citizens and legal permanent residents. Indeed, Smith is quoted saying, "[w]e could free up millions of jobs for Americans and legal immigrants if we enforced our immigration laws against illegal workers."
Indications are that Chairman Smith believes that the hearings on E-Verify and worksite immigration enforcement will be widely supported by the American public. According to Politico, Smith said of the E-Verify and worksite enforcement issues, “[t]hey are what I call 70 percent issues – 70 percent or more of the American people support those efforts.” He continued, saying “I think they are popular across the board, and I think they will be appreciated by all American workers regardless of their ethnicity or background or anything else.” each year in the budget are proposed levels of funding for the federal government’s border enforcement, interior immigration enforcement, visa security, immigration services adjudication, refugee admissions, overseas refugee assistance, and refugee resettlement functions.
In addition to attempting to place a focus on the notion that illegal immigrants take Americans’ jobs, the two immigration enforcement-related hearings are seen by some longtime observers of congressional immigration-related activities as the beginning salvo of what they believe will be an early effort by House Republicans to pass legislation making the E-Verify System permanent and making its use by all employers in the United States mandatory. Observers also believe it will afford Republicans with an opportunity to criticize the Obama Administration’s enforcement practices, even as the Administration touts what it says is the highest ever levels of illegal alien removals in the country’s history.
The two upcoming hearings fit well into what appears to be a broad House Republican strategy of making the early months of its party’s control of the House focus on job creation and preservation. In late December, Chairman Smith told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, “all of the hearings that we have on the judiciary Committee, and the immigration subcommittee is just one of my five subcommittees, but every single subcommittee is going to have hearings and oversight on creating jobs.” Smith added, “[t]hat’s why we’re going to have a hearing about the Obama administration’s almost abandoned worksite enforcement.”
In a signal of what Smith’s approach at the hearing on worksite immigration enforcement will be, the Chairman told Hewitt that under the Obama Administration, worksite enforcement is down dramatically. More specifically, Smith said to Hewitt, “[i]t’s down 70 percent in the last two years as far as the efforts by the administration to actually make sure that illegal workers are not working in the United States, and that we save and protect those jobs for American citizens. So anything that has to do with jobs that we can save or create for American citizens, and for legal immigrants alike, that will be our focus on the Judiciary Committee.” Committee Republicans also are expected to question what they view as the Administration’s reticence to conduct worksite raids and what it believes is a pattern of manipulated numbers that inflate the Department of Homeland Security’s criminal alien deportation statistics.
Click on the Play Button, above, to see video of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith's appearance on the January 4, 2011, edition of FOX's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteran" program, during which he discussed his plans for the Committee during the 112th Congress.
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