national & state immigration issues nora skelly acting director for advocacy
TRANSCRIPT
National & State Immigration Issues
Nora Skelly
Acting Director for Advocacy
LIRS Advocacy Work• Engage Congress and the Administration– Educate staff on issues– Develop and maintain relationships– Urge them to take targeted actions
• Work with NGOs, Lutheran church partners, and constituents – Coalitions– Stand for Welcome campaign– Support targeted actions– Advocacy gatherings
Broken Immigration System
11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S In 2011, 396,906 migrants were deported, the largest
number in history Estimated 100,000 parents of U.S. citizen children
Countless families separated 5,100 children in foster care
Billions of dollars spent on immigration enforcement and detention
Immigrants waiting for a family visa wait years, even decades to reunite
Passage of misguided state laws
National issues - Congress• House of Representatives
– Republican majority– Trying to advance bills that add
more enforcement measures (mandatory employer verification, increased detention, etc.) and restrict legal immigration to the United States
• Senate– Democrat majority– Passage of modest bills, seek to stall objectionable bills passed by the
House
• 2012 elections likely to stall progress in remainder of year
National issues - Congress
• Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
• SSI assistance for refugees• Religious worker visas• Violence Against Women
Act• Child tax credit• Harmful detention
proposals
Violence Against Women Act
Senate version:o Increases visas available for victims of serious
crimes who collaborate w/ law enforcement House version:
o Deny vulnerable immigrants many protections originally created by VAWA
o Deter victims from cooperating with law enforcement
o Hold victims of abuse to a higher standard than other applicants for immigration benefits
Two versions of VAWA have been passed and now need to be reconciled before the bill can be passed into law, but no plans yet announced to do so
Child Tax Credit Additional Child Tax Credit = families with
children to receive approx $1,800 for taxpayers earning $21,240/year
Individualized Tax Identification Number users = People without Social Security numbers, such as undocumented immigrants
Proposals revoking ITIN eligibility for ACTC: - way to offset costs of other
proposals- Independent legislation by Sens.
Vitter (R-LA) and Rubio (R-FL) Legislation has the potential to harm 1.3
million children
Harmful Enforcement Proposals
• Keep Our Communities Safe Act– Remove judicial review and prolong
detention– Harmful impacts for asylum seekers,
stateless individuals and other vulnerable migrants
• Spending for Department of Homeland Security– Increase in detention spending– Increased collaboration between federal
and state law enforcement– Prohibiting funds for family unity waiver
or prosecutorial discretion
National issues - Administration
• President Obama – Supports comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act and
has criticized Arizona and Alabama state laws– Has devoted limited political capital to build public support and
advance legislation• Department of Homeland Security
– Deports ~400,000 immigrants per year– Announced immigration detention reforms, though little progress– Continues to expand Secure Communities nationwide– Announced a review process to allow the government to suspend the
deportations of certain immigrants– Announced policy to protect DREAMers from deportation
• Department of Justice– Suing Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina and Utah– Cooperating with deportation review
National issues - Administration
Prosecutorial Discretion
- Case-by-case review
Stateside processing for family unity waiver
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
- “Live” on August 15
Prosecutorial Discretion Prosecutorial discretion = the long-established authority of law
enforcement to decide what charges to bring and how to pursue each case.
In August 2011 DHS announced a new process to utilize prosecutorial discretion in a nationwide review of 300,000 cases of migrants currently in deportation proceedings and close cases of migrants who are a “low enforcement priority:” strong ties to the United States have made significant contributions have not committed any serious crimes.
Administrative closure = Migrants are allowed to remain in the United States. They are not be provided legal status, a work permit, or a guarantee that their case will not be reopened at a later date.
Prosecutorial Discretion in Practice
As of May 29, ICE attorneys had found 20,648 cases eligible for administrative closure, or approximately 7.2% of those reviewed. Offers of administrative closure were accepted in 4,363 cases and
rejected in 3,998 cases, for an acceptance rate of 52.2%. In 3,000 cases, these migrants may be eligible for a more permanent
form of relief
Family Unity Waiver• Waiver for undocumented immigrants to reunify with U.S.
citizen parent/spouse in cases of extreme hardship• Current process means leaving the country and risk short- or
long-term separation• Proposed change:
– Begin process within United States– Shorten separation– Increase transparency and likelihood people will come forward
• Administration has announced a proposed change, solicited public comment, and could make change operational in a few months
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Announcement of relief from deportation and work authorization for DREAMers on June 15
Guidelines announced for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on August 3
o Be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;o Have come to the United States before reaching the age of 16;o Be currently enrolled in or completed high school;o Not have been convicted of certain crimes
Application process began August 15
State Issues – Arizona v. United States
The Department of Justice challenged the constitutionality of SB 1070. In June 2012, U.S. Supreme Court invalidated three out of four of the
law’s challenged provisions:o Making it a crime for immigrants without work permits to seek
employmento Making it a crime for immigrants to fail to carry registration
documentso Authorizing police to arrest without a warrant any immigrant they
believe has committed a deportable offense Court suggested an openness to considering the remaining provision in
the future:o “Papers please” - allows police to verify the immigration status of
anyone they detain if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is without proper documentation
State Issues - Legislation
• Harmful SB 1070 “copycat” legislation– AL, GA, SC, UT, IN– Many being litigated or
amended• Tuition equity or state
“DREAM Act”– CA, CT, MD, RI• CA Trust Act- Pushing back on Secure
Communities
Photo credit: Wingchi Poon
State Responses to Deferred Action
Eligibility for state benefitsAZ, NE – no state benefits or driver’s licensesTX – no state benefitsCA – driver’s licenses will be issuedSome reiteration of existing law, others new policy
What about comprehensive
immigration reform?
History of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• 2005/2006: House and Senate pass different CIR bills, but unable to agree on final bill
• 2007/2008: Senate rejects CIR and then the DREAM Act on the Senate floor
• 2009/2010: Bipartisan work on Senate CIR proposal begins but negotiations break down
• 2009/2010: House of Representatives passes DREAM Act, but it falls 5 votes short in Senate
Future of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• Priority elements for LIRS:o Earned pathway to citizenshipo Protection for families and speedy family reunificationo Humane enforcement and alternatives to detentiono Protections for migrant and U.S. citizen workerso Protection for refugees, children and vulnerable migrants
• Congress and the Administration need to hear from YOU that immigration reform is a TOP priority and that YOU EXPECT them to support fair and humane policies
