This Week in Immigration
This Week on the Hill
Week Beginning March 20, 2017
(Last Updated: March 20, 2017 at 11:59 pm EDT)
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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Non-Governmental
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This Week's Hearings
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- Oversight Hearing on the Operations of the Department of Justice: The House Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Examining Systemic Management and Fiscal Challenges within the Department of Justice." The hearing is scheduled to take place at 1:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. The witness list for the hearing included Michael Horowitz, Inspector General of the Justice Department; and Diana Maurer, Director of Homeland Security and Justice at the Government Accountability Office.
Background. Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) wrote that "This hearing is the first in a series to examine the Justice Department and its components in order to identify matters that are in need of critical reform." Continuing, he note that "The Justice Department has not undergone a reauthorization since 2005. As a result, nearly all of the agencies’ authorizations for appropriations expired in 2009. Dozens of programs receiving funding in fiscal year 2016 are currently unauthorized." The Chairman went on to write, "Reauthorization of the federal government’s departments, agencies, and programs is a critical oversight tool to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely and efficiently. It’s been over a decade since the Justice Department was last reauthorized by Congress and it’s important that we closely examine the Department to identify how it can be more cost-effective and work better for all Americans. I look forward to hearing ideas for reform from our witnesses next week and looking at this issue more closely over the next several months.”
- --POSTPONED--Hearing on Border Security Task Forces: The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Defeating a Sophisticated and Dangerous Adversary: Are the New Border Security Task Forces the Right Approach?" The hearing is scheduled for 2:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, in Room HVC-210 of the U.S. Capitol Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. The following witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing: Vice Admiral Karl Schultz, Director, Joint Task Force—East, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Chief Paul A. Beeson, Commander, Joint Task Force—West, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Ms. Janice Ayala, Director, Joint Task Force—Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Homeland Security; and Ms. Rebecca Gambler, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Background. In announcing the hearing, Subcommittee Chair Martha McSally (R-AZ) wrote, "Mexican drug cartels are a sophisticated adversary that continue to use advanced and novel tactics to move illicit drugs across the border. DHS should develop a counter-network approach that degrades and dismantles the cartel organization through the use of coordinated intelligence that leads to interdiction and ultimately the prosecution of cartel leadership This hearing will examine the Department of Homeland Security’s counter network strategy and the recently authorized border security joint task forces that aim to better coordinate DHS’s efforts to secure the border.."
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
- Hearing on Anti-Semitism Around the World: The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Anti-Semitism Across Borders." The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am EDT on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, in Room 2172 of he Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. The witness list for the hearing includes Paul Goldenberg, National Director of the Secure Community Network; Rabbi Andrew Baker, Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism in the Office of the Chairperson-in-Office, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; and Mark Weitzman, Director of Government Affairs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Background. In announcing the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith, who authored the provisions of law that created the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism and the Special Envoy to lead it, wrote, "Anti-Semitism is an ancient and persistent hatred that must be fought until it is defeated. We must be clear-eyed about the problem and relentless with the perpetrators. The witnesses at this hearing will discuss the most urgent threats to Jewish communities, underlying ideological motivations, and make recommendations for what needs to be done.”
This Week's Markups
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
- 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. It also will take up requests for reports on the beneficiaries of three private immigration bills. The business meeting is scheduled for 10:00 am EDT on Tuesday, March 21, 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 business meeting, the Subcommittee will consider whether to request reports on three private immigration bills:
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Outlook. At the time of this writing, there appears to be no opposition to requesting the reports.
This Week's Floor Actions
Monday, March 20, 2017
- House Floor Consideration of Nine Homeland Security Bills: The full House of Representatives this week is scheduled to take up nine noncontroversial homeland security bills that were approved earlier this month by the House Committee on Homeland Security. The House was originally scheduled to take up the measures on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. However, that consideration was postponed due to inclement weather in the Washington, DC area. The House now is scheduled to take up the measures beginning sometime after 2:00 pm EDT on Monday, March 20, 2017. Votes on the bills, if ordered, would not occur until after 6:30 pm on the 20th.
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 this week:
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Parliamentary Situation. The House will 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.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
- --CANCELED--House Floor Consideration of "Repeal and Replace" Health Care Bill: The full House of Representatives this week is scheduled to take up H.R. 1628, the "American Health Care Act of 2017", legislation that would repeal key parts of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" and replace it with a new health insurance regime. The House is scheduled to take up the measure on Thursday, March 23, 2017. However, at the time of this writing, there was some doubt about both the precise contours of the legislation and whether there is sufficient support for it in the House to pass it. Accordingly, the situation was fluid at the time of this writing.
Parliamentary Situation. It was not known at the time of this writing to what degree Members will be allowed to offer amendments to the measure on the House floor. However, it is widely believed that the House will take up the bill under procedures that severely limit, if not bar altogether, the ability of Members to offer floor amendments to it.
Summary of Immigration-Related Provisions. As approved by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Ways and Means, the measure contains at least one significant provision that could impact nonciitizens:
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Medicaid Eligibility. Sec. 114(c) of the measure could have an impact on immigrants' ability to access the Medicaid program. More specifically, under current law, states must give individuals a reasonable amount of time to establish their citizenship status or their status as an eligible noncitizen before denying benefits to such individuals who otherwise are eligible for services on the basis of their alienage. Sec. 114(c) of the measure would essentially repeal that requirement.
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Possible Revisions to the Bill. Notwithstanding the fact that the measure has been approved by the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and House Committee on the Budget, the measure was still being refined at the time of this writing. It is expected that the House Committee on Rules will approve a negotiated set of revisions to the bill, to be consolidated into a “Manager’s Amendment”, before the bill is brought before the full House.
The revisions to the bill that are under consideration are designed to win support for the bill from conservative Members of Congress who are displeased with the bill that was approved by the House Committee on the Budget.
It was not known at the time of this writing whether any of the provisions that will make it into the Manager’s Amendment will pose consequences for immigrants or refugees.
Legislative History. The following is a brief legislative history for the measure:
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Energy and Commerce Provisions. On March 9, 2017, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee approved its portion of the measure, which contained Sec. 114(c), relating to immigrants. The Committee acted at the end of a 27 hour markup that began on March 8th, approving the measure by a vote of 31-23
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Ways and means Provisions. On March 9, 2017, the House Committee on Ways and Means Committee approved five separate measures that would repeal or delay more than a dozen health-related taxes that were enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act. None of those measures contained any significant immigration-related provisions. The Committee acted in the pre-dawn hours of March 9th in a business meeting that started on March 8th, approving the measures by a vote of 23-16.
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Budget Committee Consolidation. On Thursday, March 16, 2017, the House Committee on the Budget consolidated the measures produced by the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce into one consolidated measure, titled the "American Health Care Act of 2017”, ordering it reported to the House by a vote of 19-17. The Budget Committee reported the measure to the full House of Representatives on Monday, March 20, 2017.
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Outlook. At the time of this writing, the outlook for passage of the measure was highly uncertain.
This Week's Hearings
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
- Hearing on Global Humanitarian Affairs: The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Flashing Red: The State of Global Humanitarian Affairs." The hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, in Room SD-419 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. Two panels of witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing:
Panel I
Gregory Gottlieb, Acting Assistant Administrator U.S. Agency for International Development for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance.
Panel II
Nancy Lindborg, President of the U.S. Institute of Peace; and Yves Daccord, Drector-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Hearing on DHS Staffing and Security Requirements: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Perspectives from the DHS Frontline: Evaluating Staffing Resources and Requirements." The hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, in Room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. The following witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing: Brandon Judd, President, National Border Patrol Council, testifying on behalf of Border Patrol Agents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Anthony M. Reardon, National President, National Treasury Employees Union, testifying on behalf of Office of Field Operations Officers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Chris Crane President, National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, testifying on behalf of Enforcement Removal Operations Officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This Week's Markups
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Markups
This Week's Floor Actions
At the time of this writing, no measures containing significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions and no measure that were likely to be targets for floor amendments on those subjects were scheduled this week for floor consideration in the Senate. However, the nature of the Senate is that measures and nominations are often brought before the full Senate with little notice.
The following measures containing significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions 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 containing significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions 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:
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.
- Senate Floor Consideration of Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Nomination: The full Senate could at any time take up the nomination of Elaine C. Duke to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. The nomination was 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.
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 does the Office of Policy and Office of Immigration Statistics.
Parliamentary Situation. At the time of this writing, the precise parliamentary situation that will govern Senate floor consideration of the Duke nomination was not yet known.
Senate Democrats have heretofore forced the Senate to vote on cloture on most of President Trump's nominees. Under the rules of the Senate, it takes the affirmative votes of 51 senators to invoke cloture (thus end the debate and force an eventual vote) on most nominations. Should a vote on cloture in relation to a nomination be necessary and cloture is invoked, opposing senators are then able to force the Senate to endure ten hours of debate on the nomination before the Senate votes on it.
It was unclear at the time of this writing whether Democrats will force an extended debate on the Duke nomination.
Outlook. At the time of this writing, no organized opposition to Ms. Duke's nomination had emerged.
Hearings and Briefings
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Legislative Activity