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☆ Supreme Court Cancels Arguments Over Pandemic-Era Immigration Policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jan Wolfe | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Migrants being expelled from the U.S. and sent back to Mexico under Title 42 last month. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Thursday said it has removed from its calendar a case relating to the pandemic-era immigration policy known as Title 42, which allows migrants to be quickly expelled at the southern border without an opportunity to request asylum. The high court didn’t provide its reasoning for canceling the oral arguments scheduled for March 1, but the move came about two weeks after President Biden’s administration announced that in May it would end the national emergency declaration for Covid-19 on which the immigration policy is based.

☆ U.S. to Allow H-1B Workers to Renew Visas Without Leaving Country
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The State Department couldn’t confirm how many renewal applicants could participate in the pilot program. The State Department will begin allowing some work-visa holders to renew their visas without leaving the country, a department official said Friday. Employees working in the U.S. on H-1B or L-1 visas will be permitted to renew their status domestically under a pilot program the State Department hopes to launch later this year. H-1B visas, popular with the tech industry, are intended for foreigners with college degrees working in high-skilled occupations, while L-1 visas are used by foreign managers whose companies transfer them to the U.S.

☆ U.S. Business Owners Pay Premium to Hire Migrant Workers in Extremely Tight Labor Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Santiago Pérez | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Migrants who come to the U.S. to find work are now being hired more quickly, at higher pay and under better working conditions than at any time in recent memory. In many cases, employers and economists say, migrant workers are being paid as well as their American counterparts. Job vacancies in the U.S. increased to 11 million at the end of December, according to the Labor Department. While the tightness appears to be easing in the white-collar job market, employers say finding hourly wage workers remains a challenge. Many small businesses say they are unable to hire enough native-born and naturalized workers and are paying a premium for migrant workers.

☆ Migrants Are Doing Better Than Ever Thanks to Tight Labor Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Santiago Pérez | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Alejandro Mayorkas Faces GOP Investigations, Liberal Anger Over Southern Border
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Tarini Parti | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas has been under fire for what some say isn’t enough action on curbing illegal border crossings. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is emerging as the Biden administration’s biggest target for House Republicans, who seek to make him the first cabinet secretary impeached in more than a century. His GOP critics—and some centrist Democrats—say the secretary hasn’t done nearly enough to curb record illegal crossings at the southern border and prepare for the coming end of Title 42, the pandemic-era measure that allows the government to rapidly turn away migrants seeking asylum. Mr. Mayorkas is also drawing criticism from other factions of his own party, who say he hasn’t made a clean break from former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

☆ Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro Seeks to Remain in the U.S. Longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, center, outside a vacation home where he is staying near Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 4. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro , who narrowly lost re-election last year and has been vacationing in Florida since the beginning of this month, has applied for a tourist visa to prolong his stay in the U.S.Mr. Bolsonaro’s immigration lawyer, Felipe Alexandre, confirmed the former president’s intention to remain in the U.S. at least temporarily. He said the U.S. government received Mr. Bolsonaro’s application for a six-month tourist visa on Jan. 27 and it should provide an answer within several months.

☆ Migrant Arrests Fell by Roughly Half in January After New Enforcement Measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Michelle Hackman | Alicia A. Caldwell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illegal crossings at the southern border have dropped to roughly half the levels seen in December, after the Biden administration rolled out new border-enforcement measures earlier this month. Arrests across the U.S.-Mexico border have fallen to between 4,000 and 5,000 a day in January, down from about 8,000 to 9,000 a day last month, according to three federal officials familiar with the unpublished data.

☆ New Program Allows Small Groups of Americans to Sponsor Refugees
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan , thousands of Afghan families came to the U.S. as refugees, overloading the U.S. refugee-resettlement system. Small groups of Americans will be able to directly sponsor refugees under a new program the Biden administration introduced Thursday. Under the program, called the Welcome Corps, groups of at least five Americans can band together to sponsor refugees from around the world who are approved by the State Department to resettle in the U.S.

☆ Senators Pursue Deal on Border Security and Path to Citizenship for Dreamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Eliza Collins | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SOMERTON, Ariz.—A bipartisan group of senators is pushing ahead in the new Congress with efforts to reach an agreement on border security and immigration policy, after talks ran out of time last year. The lawmakers recently visited the southern border in Arizona and Texas, in the face of sharp political divides over how to handle a record number of illegal crossings that have strained border staff and facilities. The lawmakers say they see an opening for compromise on an issue that has vexed Capitol Hill for decades, following last year’s bipartisan work to pass a gun-control law.

☆ Biden Visits Southern Border While Facing Criticism From Both Parties
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Michelle Hackman | Catherine Lucey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden was greeted in El Paso on Sunday by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who handed him a letter outlining issues on the border. WASHINGTON—President Biden made his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since taking office, amid criticism from both parties of his immigration policy and as the administration begins a new push to drive down illegal crossings. Mr. Biden arrived Sunday afternoon in El Paso, Texas, which in December saw a surge of mostly Nicaraguan migrants. He is stopping there on his way to Mexico City, where he will meet Monday and Tuesday with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the North American Leaders’ Summit.

☆ Biden Administration Leans on Trump-Era Policies to Combat Migrant Wave
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Michelle Hackman | Tarini Parti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—President Biden announced his administration’s broadest effort yet to deter migrants seeking asylum at the southern border, expanding its use of several Trump-era border control measures the president had previously decried. Beginning on Thursday, the administration will use a pandemic-era border measure known as Title 42 to rapidly expel migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the countries that have posed the greatest challenge to the administration in the past year. The administration is taking the step even as the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in the case and the administration has argued that the measure is no longer justified on public-health grounds and must end.

☆ Biden Administration Expands Title 42 Migrant Expulsions to More Countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Michelle Hackman | Tarini Parti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Biden administration is expanding its use of a pandemic-era border measure known as Title 42 to begin rapidly expelling migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, while opening a new legal path for up to 30,000 migrants from those countries to enter the U.S. a month. The new policy represents the broadest effort yet that the Biden administration has undertaken to deter migrants seeking asylum from crossing the border illegally. It also relies on an expanded use of Title 42 as a border-control measure, even while the administration is arguing in court that the measure is no longer justified on public-health grounds and must end. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Title 42 in February.

☆ Biden Administration Proposes Higher Fees for Employment Visas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A proposal would raise fees for H-1B visas, a favorite among tech and financial companies along with universities and other nonprofit research centers. WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is proposing to raise the fees companies must pay for employment-based visas to fund the agency that oversees legal immigration, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday. Under the proposal, the primary fee for an H-1B visa would jump to $1,595 from $470. The visa, which allows immigrants with college degrees to live and work in the U.S. for as long as six years before becoming permanent residents, is a favorite among technology and financial companies along with universities and other nonprofit research centers.

☆ Arrests, Deportations of Immigrants in U.S. Illegally Increased in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Arrests and deportations of immigrants in the country illegally increased in the second year of the Biden administration, though both remained below Trump- and Obama-era levels, according to new annual figures released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday. ICE made 143,000 arrests and 72,000 deportations in the 2022 fiscal year that ended in September, the agency said. That was up from 74,000 arrests and 59,000 deportations the previous year, which comprised most of President Biden’s first year in office.

☆ Partisan Splits Scuttle Year-End Action on Immigration Policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—A political logjam over the southern U.S. border has once again prevented Congress from making changes to the immigration system, with prospects for next year only growing dimmer. Farmers, military veterans, tech companies and immigration advocates had all pinned their hopes on Congress to pick up any of several bipartisan immigration proposals during their lame duck session, before Republicans assume control of the House in January. But a $1.65 trillion omnibus spending package, the last bill to pass before this Congress adjourns, contained no significant immigration measures.

☆ Supreme Court Leaves Pandemic Border Controls in Place
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Jess Bravin | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A surge of migrants reached the southern U.S. border in recent days, including at El Paso, Texas, ahead of the expected end of a policy intended to reduce border crossings. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court left pandemic-era border controls in place Tuesday while it considers whether nearly two dozen Republican-led states can intervene in a lawsuit over the so-called Title 42 regulations’ legality. By a 5-4 vote, the court court acted in the wake of a temporary stay that Chief Justice John Roberts imposed on Dec. 19, two days before the policy was set to end. Border officials had already started observing an increase in border crossings in the days ahead of the policy’s expected end on Dec. 21, with at least 10,000 additional migrants waiting in Mexican border cities with the expectation that the measure would soon be lifted.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brought up two rival amendments related to preserving the Title 42 immigration rule. WASHINGTON—Senators closed in on passing a $1.65 trillion spending bill just ahead of the Christmas holiday and a looming winter storm, after breaking an impasse related to immigration policy. In a compromise, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) brought up two rival amendments related to preserving the Title 42 immigration rule, after Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) insisted on a vote for his bill as a condition for moving ahead. Both the Lee amendment and one from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked lawmakers to stay close to the Senate floor so that they could vote quickly. WASHINGTON—Senators broke an immigration-related impasse Thursday morning, reaching a deal on amendments that clears the way to pass a $1.65 trillion spending bill just ahead of the Christmas holiday and a looming winter storm. “We will vote on all of the amendments in order and then vote on final passage,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Thursday. Mr. Schumer said that an immigration amendment from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.) would be added to the list of amendment votes ahead of final passage, alongside one by Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) that had frozen Senate business as Senate Democrats scrambled to keep it from passing.

WASHINGTON—Senate Democratic leaders hope to break an impasse Thursday morning over a sprawling spending bill that has put the federal government on the precipice of a partial shutdown just before the Christmas holiday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) closed Wednesday’s legislative day without an agreement on the terms for cutting off debate and proceeding to a vote on a $1.65 trillion government funding bill for fiscal 2023. The bill, which would keep the government funded beyond Dec. 23, also carries $45 billion in aid for Ukraine and NATO allies, and would finance big increases in military and domestic spending, including military pay raises.

WASHINGTON—Senators passed a $1.65 trillion spending bill just ahead of the Christmas holiday and a gathering winter storm, after breaking an impasse related to immigration policy and racing through more than a dozen amendments. The bipartisan bill passed in a 68-29 vote. It includes $858 billion in military spending, $45 billion more than President Biden had requested and up about 10% from $782 billion the prior year. It also includes $772.5 billion in nondefense discretionary spending, up almost 6% from $730 billion the prior year. The overall discretionary price tag works out to about $1.65 trillion, compared with $1.5 trillion the prior fiscal year.

☆ Justice Department Defends Ending Pandemic Border Controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jess Bravin | Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department defended the planned termination of pandemic-era border controls inherited from the Trump administration, telling the Supreme Court Tuesday that public-health needs no longer justify excluding foreign nationals to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The Justice Department’s brief came a day after Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative order keeping the Trump-era policy, known as Title 42 for a provision of the federal Public Health Service Act, in place temporarily while Arizona and other Republican-led states challenge its termination.

☆ What Is Title 42? What to Know as Pandemic-Era Border Policy Ends
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Migrants expelled from the U.S. under Title 42 headed toward Mexico at the Paso del Norte International Bridge in early April. The Biden administration will end its use of Title 42, the pandemic-era border policy allowing migrants to be quickly expelled at the southern border, after a federal judge in Washington ruled the policy illegal in November. The policy’s expiration will once more allow migrants seeking asylum to ask for protection without the threat of being immediately sent back to Mexico. That change, back to immigration laws that were in place for decades before the pandemic, will nevertheless have a profound impact on the government’s efforts to manage illegal migration at the border and will force President Biden to consider a range of alternative policies that could act as potential new deterrents.

☆ Biden Administration Races to Change Asylum Rules as Title 42 Expiration Looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Michelle Hackman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—With Title 42 set to expire on Wednesday, the Biden administration is narrowing in on a plan that would combine Trump-era limits on asylum claims at the border with a new system for asylum seekers to apply to enter the U.S. legally, according to people familiar with the matter. Title 42, a pandemic-related public-health measure allowing migrants to be quickly expelled back to Mexico after crossing the border illegally, is believed to have acted as a deterrent for some migrants seeking asylum because they could be turned back even if they asked for protection. A federal court ruled in November that the policy violates federal immigration law by denying migrants a chance to ask for humanitarian protection.

☆ Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Biden From Ending Trump-Era Border Policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Michelle Hackman | Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily extended a Trump-era policy that bars asylum applicants from entering the U.S. to protect the American population from Covid-19, issuing a brief order on Monday that maintains the status quo while the Supreme Court considers an emergency request from Republican-led states to keep the exclusions in place. In November, a federal judge found the policy unlawful because it denies applicants a chance to seek humanitarian protection. Title 42, the pandemic-era public-health measure allowing migrants to be quickly expelled back to Mexico after crossing the border illegally, was set to expire on Wednesday, leaving immigration officials scrambling to put in place a new legal regime that could stem the flow of unlawful migration.

☆ Court Denies GOP States’ Request to Extend Title 42
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Michelle Hackman | Alicia A. Caldwell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The policy has meant that as many as half of migrants caught crossing the border illegally have been swiftly sent back to Mexico or their home countries before they can apply for asylum. A federal appeals court in Washington declined a last-minute request by 15 GOP-led states to block the Biden administration from ending Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allows migrants to be immediately expelled at the border. The policy is set to end on Dec. 21 after a lower court ruled in November that it violates federal immigration law by denying migrants a chance to ask for humanitarian protection.

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