This Week on the Hill
Week of March 15, 2021
(Last Updated: Monday, March 22, 2021 at 9:00 am 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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Bicameral
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Non-Governmental
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This Week's Hearings and Briefings
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
9:30 am EST
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Anticipated Witnesses: The sole witness scheduled to testify at the hearing is Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
10:00 am EST
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Anticipated Witnesses: Scheduled to testify at the hearing are former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
This Week's Markups and Business Meetings
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
11:00 am EST
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This Week's Floor Actions
Thursday, March 18, 2021
- House Floor Consideration of American Dream and Promise Act: The full House this week is scheduled to take up H..R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021", a measure that would legalize the status and provide a path the citizenship of millions of undocumented persons living in the United States who were brought to the United States as children, granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or granted Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).
- House Floor Consideration of Farm Workforce Modernization Act: The full House this week is scheduled to take up H.R. 1603, the :Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021", which would legalize the status and provide a path the citizenship for undocumented seasonal agricultural workers and make changes to the H-2A nonimmigrant agricultural guest worker program.
- House Floor Consideration of Bill to Avoid Across-the-Board Spending Cuts: The full House this week is scheduled to take up H.R. 1868, a bill to avoid across-the-board pending cuts.
Background. The bill excludes the budgetary effects of the just-enacted American Rescue Plan Act from being counted on OMB's statutory PAYGO scorecards in order to prevent an automatic 4% cut to Medicare spending and a 100% cut to other mandatory programs that would otherwise be required under the 2010 PAYGO law. Provisions to deactivate statutory PAYGO couldn't be included in the pandemic relief law because it was considered under the budget reconciliation process. The measure also extends through Dec. 31, 2021, a moratorium of the 2% annual sequester of Medicare payments to health care providers otherwise required by the 2011 Budget Control Act. The measure is expected to be considered under a closed rule that prohibits amendments.
This Week's Hearings and Briefings
Thursday, March 18, 2021
10:00 am EST
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Anticipated Witnesses: Scheduled to testify at the hearing are Joseph Wrona, member of the United Steelworkers, Buffalo, N.Y.; Martina E. Vandenberg, founder and President of the Human Trafficking Law Center, Washington, D.C.; Julia K. Hughes, President of the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, Washington, D.C.; and Leonardo Bonanni, founder and CEO of Sourcemap, New York, N.Y.
This Week's Markups and Business Meetings
Thursday, March 18, 2021
10:00 am EDT
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Background on Deputy Attorney General. The Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in a Department of Justice. He or she oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department, and may act as Attorney General during the absence of the Attorney General.
From an immigration perspective, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) reports to the Deputy Attorney General.
Background on Associate Attorney General. The Associate Attorney General is the third-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice. The Associate Attorney General advises and assists the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General in policies relating to civil justice, federal and local law enforcement, and public safety matters. It oversees a number of entities within the Department.
From an immigration perspective, the position oversees the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) and the Community Relations Service.
This Week's Floor Actions
Date To Be Announced
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Parliamentary Situation. The Senate on Thursday, March 11, 2021, by a 51-48 vote, voted to discharge Xavier Becerra’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services from the Senate Finance Committee, teeing up floor debate and a confirmation vote as soon as this week
Department of Health and Human Services Jurisdiction Over Migration Matters. The Department of Health and Human Services operates several specific programs that assist refugees and other vulnerable populations of noncitizens:
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Resettlement Services to Refugees, Including Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM); Asylees; Special Immigrant Iraqis and Afghans; Cuban/Haitian Entrants; and Certain Amerasians. These programs provide resettlement services to refugees who have been admitted to the United States and aliens, individuals who have been granted asylum in the United States, individuals from Vietnam who are admitted to the U.S. as immigrants pursuant to section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988.
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Trafficking Victims. These programs assist aliens found in the United States who are the victims of trafficking (these individuals also receive resettlement services);
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Torture Victims. These programs assist alien torture victims who are found in the United States (these individuals also receive resettlement services); and
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Unaccompanied Alien Children. Unaccompanied Alien Children. These programs provide care and custody and some post-release services for unaccompanied aliens in federal custody while their status is being resolved.
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The Department operates these programs through its Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), an office in the Department’s Administration for Children and Families.
At the time of this writing, no unanimous consent agreement was in place providing for floor consideration of the nomination.
Outlook. The Senate is almost certain to confirm the nomination.
Hearings, Briefings, and Conference Committee Actions
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Legislative Activity