This Week in Immigration
Over the Horizon
Friday, April 28, 2017
(Last Updated: April 28 2017 at 1:30 pm EDT)
ThisWeekInImmigration.Com's "Over the Horizon" page contains a listing of immigration- or refugee-related hearings, markups, and floor actions that either have been officially scheduled or that are anticipated to occur in the coming weeks and months.
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U.S. House of Representatives
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U.S. Senate
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Bicameral
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Off of the Hill
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Hearings
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
- Hearing on Human Trafficking: The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations has scheduled a hearing for next week titled, "Winning the Fight Against Human Trafficking: The Frederick Douglass Reauthorization Act." The hearing is scheduled for 2:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing included Kristin Leary, senior adviser for the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives; Jo Becker, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch's Children's Rights Division; and Tim Gehring, policy and research manager at the International Justice Mission.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
- Hearing on Terrorist Travel to the United States: The House Committee on Homeland Security has scheduled a hearing for next week titled, "Denying Terrorists Entry to the United States: Examining Visa Security." The hearing is scheduled for 2:00 pm EDT on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, in Room HVC-210 of the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center.
Anticipated Witnesses. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing had not yet been revealed.
Markups
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
- Mark Up of Human Trafficking Legislation: The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has scheduled a business meeting for next week, during which it will mark up three measures, including two bills on human trafficking. The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 am EDT on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, in Room HVC-210 of the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center.
Anticipated Agenda. At the time of this writing, the markup agenda includes the following measures:
Outlook. At the time of this writing, none of the measures appeared to have generated any opposition.
- Mark Up of Homeland Security Legislation: The House Committee on Homeland Security has scheduled a business meeting for next week, during which it will mark up eight measures, including two bills relating to the Department of Homeland Security and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 am EDT on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Agenda. At the time of this writing, the markup agenda includes the following measures:
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Outlook. At the time of this writing, none of the measures appeared to have generated any opposition.
Floor Actions
Thursday, May 4, 2017
- House Floor Consideration of Stopgap Fiscal Year 2017 Funding Measure: The House next week is likely to take up a yet-to-be-introduced measure providing funding for federal programs and activities, as well as extensions of expiring authorities, through the end of fiscal year 2017.
Passed by the Other Body
- No Items
Hearings
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
- Hearing on Oversight of the FBI: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing for next week titled, "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am EDT on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, in Room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. The sole witness testifying at the hearing will be FBI Director James Comey.
Markups
- No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Markups
Floor Actions
At the time of this writing, no measures containing significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions and none that are likely to be targets for floor amendments on those subjects were scheduled for Senate floor consideration this week. However, the nature of the Senate is that measures or nominations can be brought before the full body with little notice.
The following measures items have either been passed by the House or have been approved by Senate committees and are likely candidates for consideration soon by the full Senate:
The following measures items have either been passed by the House or have been approved by Senate committees and are likely candidates for consideration soon by the full Senate:
Thursday, May 4, 2017
- Senate Floor Consideration of Full-Year Fiscal Year 2017 Funding Measure: The Senate next week is likely to take up a yet-to-be-introduced measure providing funding for federal programs and activities, as well as extensions of expiring authorities, through the end of fiscal year 2017.
Date To Be Announced
As passed by the House, H.R. 1301 would provide for a total appropriation of $577.9 billion for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017., including , $61.8 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). Its expenditures fall within the budget caps negotiated between the House and Senate last year, and it is a product that was negotiated between House and Senate appropriators, based largely on bills that were moved in those chambers last year during the 114th Congress.
Parliamentary Situation. At the time of this writing, the precise parliamentary situation that will govern Senate floor consideration of H.R. 1301 was not yet known.
Summary of Immigration Provisions. As passed by the House, H.R. 1301 does not contain any significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions. However, in the unlikely event that parliamentary procedures permit floor amendments to be offered to the bill on the House floor, the bill could become a target for amendments on those subjects during floor consideration.
Background. As a general rule, defense appropriations bills do not contain significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions at the time they are approved by the Committee on Appropriations. It is not unusual, however, for amendments relating to those subjects to be offered to a Defense Appropriations bill during floor consideration of the measure.
The House-passed version of the measure does not contain any significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions. Indeed, missing from it is a significant immigration-related provision that was contained in H.R. 5293, the FY '17 Department of Defense Appropriations Act that the House passed during the 114th Congress but that died at the end of that Congress. That provision, added on the House floor by an amendment offered by Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL), would have barred Department of Defense funding for being used to house unaccompanied alien children at a Department of Defense facility.
Possible Immigration- or Refugee-Related Floor Amendments. At the time of this writing, it was not known what, if any, amendments will be permitted to be offered to the bill on the Senate floor. However, it is believed that the Leadership will seek to negotiate a unanimous consent agreement that precludes offering such amendments to the measure.
Awaiting Senate Consideration
Bills and Resolutions
Immigration- and Refugee-Related Nominations
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Nominee |
House Floor Action |
Senate Committee Action |
Nomination of Elaine C. Duke, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security |
Not Applicable |
Confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, April 4, 2027, by a vote of 85-14. Approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. by a voice vote, with only one senator, Senator Kamela Harris (D-CA), voting against the nomination. |
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Meetings, Hearings, and Briefings
- No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Activity
Meetings, Hearings, Discussions, and Briefings
- No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Activity
