This Week in Immigration
This Week on the Hill
Week Beginning March 13, 2017
(Last Updated: March 17, 2017 at 6:00 am EST)
ThisWeekInImmigration.Com's "This Week on the Hill" page lists the immigration-, human trafficking-, and refugee-related hearings, markups, and floor actions that either have been officially scheduled or that are anticipated to occur during the current week.
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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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Non-Governmental
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This Week's Hearings
Thursday, March 16, 2017
- Hearing on Immigration Benefits Vetting: The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency has scheduled a hearing for this week, titled, "Immigration Benefits Vetting: Examining Critical Weaknesses in USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) Systems." The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 am EDT on Thursday, March 16, 2017, in a Room CVC-210 of the Capitol Visitors Center.
Anticipated Witnesses. The following witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing: Lori Scialabba, Acting Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); Carol Harris, Director of Information Technology Acquisition Management Issues, Government Accountability Office; and John Roth, Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security.
Background. According to Subcommittee Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA), the Subcommittee is holding the hearing in order “to examine challenges facing information technology (IT) systems used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to adjudicate immigration benefits.” The Chairman noted that “Without effective IT systems to process applicants, immigrants could potentially receive immigration benefits or even be granted citizenship despite posing national security threats.”
He asserted that “The hearing will focus on findings from the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) related to these critical systems.”
- Hearing on FY '18 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs has scheduled a "Members Day" hearing for this week. The hearing is scheduled to take place at 10:00 am EDT on Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Room HT-2 of the U.S. Capitol Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing had not yet been published. However, the hearing is set aside for Members of Congress to testify about their fiscal year 2018 appropriations priorities for agencies, programs, and activities under the Subcommittee's jurisdiction.
Background. With regard to immigration- and refugee-related matters, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs has appropriating jurisdiction over the Department of State’s refugee admissions and overseas refugee assistance programs that are administered by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and administered through the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) and Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) accounts.
The Subcommittee also has appropriating jurisdiction over the International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account that is administered through the Department of State’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
This Week's Markups
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
- --POSTPONED--Request for Information on Private Immigration Bills: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security has scheduled a business meeting for this week, during which it will adopt its Rules of Procedure and Statement of Policy for Private Immigration Bills and take up requests for reports on the beneficiaries of three private immigration bills. The business meeting is scheduled for 9:30 am EDT on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Background. Upon receipt of a request from the House or Senate Judiciary Committee for a report on a private bill relating to an immigration or nationality matter, USCIS sends a message to the appropriate district office. . A copy of this message and the bill will also be sent to the appropriate district investigations branch. If the beneficiary appears to be an alien in the United States, a stay of deportation will generally be authorized.
At this week's business meeting, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security will consider whether to request reports on three private bills: H.R. 780, a bill for the relief of Maria Carmen Castro Ramirez and J. Refugio Carreno Rojas; H.R. 461, bill for the relief of Ibrahim Parlak; and HR 349, a bill for the relief of Corina de Chalup Turcinovic.
This Week's Floor Actions
Week Beginning March 13, 2017
- --POSTPONED--House Floor Consideration of Nine Homeland Security Bills: The full House of Representatives this week is expected to take up nine noncontroversial homeland security bills that were approved earlier this month by the House Committee on Homeland Security. The House is expected to take up the measures on Wednesday, March 15, 2017.
The Bills that the House is Expected to Take Up. The following are the homeland security-related bills that are the subjects of floor consideration next week:
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Parliamentary Situation. The House is expected to take up the nine bills under a procedure known as “suspension of the rules.” Under the procedure, the House will debate each bill for 40 minutes, with the time equally divided between the majority and minority. The measures will not be amendable, and they each must receive the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of those Members who are present and voting in order for them to be passed by the House.
Outlook. At the time of this writing, none of the measures scheduled to be taken up by the House had generated any opposition.
This Week's Hearings
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
- Hearing on Fraud in the Fiancé Visa Program: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Vows for Visas: Investigating K-1 Fiancé Fraud.", The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am EDT on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. Two panels of witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing:
Panel I
Ms. Elena Maria Lopez, NJ; Ms. Grace Huang, Policy Director, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, Oakland, CA; and Dr. Jamal Hussain, M.D., K-1 Visa Fraud Victim, Lakewood , CA
Panel II
Mr. Greg Nevano, Deputy Assistant Director for Illicit Trade, Travel, and Finance Division, Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security; Mr. Matthew D. Emrich, Associate Director, Fraud Detection and National Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security; Mr. Donald Neufeld, Associate Director, Service Center Operations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security; Mr. Daniel M. Renaud, Associate Director, Field Operations Directorate, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security; Mr. David Donahue, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Department of State.
- Hearing on the Syrian War's Human Toll: The Senate Committee on the Foreign Relations has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Six Years of War in Syria: The Human Toll." The hearing is scheduled for 11:00 am EDT on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Room SD-419 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing included the following: Syrian Doctors Farida, Abdulkhalek, and Rajab, Aleppo, Syria; and David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee.
This Week's Markups
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
- Vote on the Nomination of Elaine Duke to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has scheduled a business meeting for this week, during which it expects to vote on the nomination of Elaine Duke to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 am EDT on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Background. The Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security is the chief operating officer of the Department, with responsibility for managing the Department’s day-to-day operations.
From an immigration perspective, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) components all report to the Deputy Secretary, as so the Office of Policy and Office of Immigration Statistics.
This Week's Floor Actions
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Floor Actions
Hearings and Briefings
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Events
This Week's Activities
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Events