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This Week in Immigration- and Refugee-Related Legislation
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This Week on the Hill Archives
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Week of February 6, 2012
House Judiciary Panel to Hold Hearing on the Agricultural Guest Worker Program
House Foreign Affairs Panel to Mark Up Vietnam Human Rights Bill Containing Refugee Provisions
NALEO to Hold Briefing on the Potential Impact of the Latino Vote on the 2012 Elections
Conferees Could Make Decisions on Immigrant Provisions in Payroll Tax Cut Extension Bill
This Week’s Hearings
At the time of this writing, the following hearings were scheduled for this week at which significant immigration- or refugee-related matters are likely to be examined:
- Joint Economic Committee Hearing on the Payroll Tax Cut and Unemployment Benefits Extension Bill: The Joint Economic Committee has scheduled a hearing for this 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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House Judiciary Panel to Hold Hearing on the Agricultural Guest Worker Program: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Enforcement Policy has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Regional Perspectives on Agricultural Guestworker Programs". At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing had not yet been publicly revealed.
The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 am EST on Thursday, February 9, 2012, in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
This Week’s Markups
At the time of this writing, the following markups were anticipated for this week that could have significant immigration- or refugee-related consequences
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House Foreign Affairs Panel to Markup Bill on Human Rights in Vietnam: The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights has scheduled a markup for this week of H.R. 1410, the "Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2011". As introduced, the measure would prohibit U.S. nonhumanitarian assistance to the government of Vietnam in excess of FY2011 amounts unless: (1) the federal government provides assistance, in addition to democracy building assistance under this Act, supporting human rights training, civil society building, and exchange programs between the Vietnamese National Assembly and Congress at levels commensurate with or exceeding any increases in nonhumanitarian assistance to Vietnam; and (2) the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has made substantial progress respecting political, media, and religious freedoms, minority rights, access to U.S. refugee programs, and actions to end trafficking in persons and the release of political prisoners.
With specific regard to refugees, the introduced version of the measure would declare "it is U.S. policy to offer refugee resettlement to Vietnam nationals (including members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for the Humanitarian Resettlement program, the Orderly Departure program, the Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Returnees program, the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, or any other U.S. refugee program, but who were deemed ineligible for reasons of administrative error or who failed to apply because of circumstances beyond their control."
The markup is scheduled for 2:00 pm EST on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
This Week’s Floor Activity
At the time of this writing, no floor action was scheduled for this week on measures that could have significant immigration- or refugee-related consequences.
This Week's Conference Committee Activity
The following measures containing significant immigration- or refugee-related provisions are pending in conference committees:
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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 at least one meeting for this week. However, multiple meetings are possible.
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.
Off of the House and Senate Floors
At the time of this writing, the following "off of the floor" activity on immigration- or refugee-related legislative matters is anticipated this week:
- Telephonic Discussion on Self-Deportation: The Immigration Policy Center has scheduled a telephonic discussion for this 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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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 this 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.
- White House Daily Briefings: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is scheduled this week to conduct daily press briefings, at which he will field questions from the White House press corps, including possible questions on immigration- and refugee-related matters.
The specific time for each day's White House Daily Briefing is scheduled on an ad hoc basis. When they occur, they take place either in the White House Brady Briefing Room when the President is in Washington or aboard Air Force One when the President is traveling.
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