Policy Update - 2/26/15

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Congress

  • The Senate is currently expected to pass a “clean” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that runs through September – though it continues to include funding for family detention, ongoing detention bed quota, and 287(g); following passage in the Senate, the bill will be moving to the House but passage remains unclear; if it does not pass the House by midnight Friday, DHS will face a partial shutdown (see here for what a shutdown could look like) and Sen. Boxer’s made a  speech in the Capitol on DHS funding.
  • Sen. Collins’ (R-ME) proposal (S. 534) to undo AR (by barring funds for the implementation of DAPA and expanded DACA, implementation of new enforcement priorities, and reforms to S-Comm) is expected to come up on a separate vote tonight, Friday, or early next week.
  • Yesterday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Health Care, Benefits & Administrative Rules held a hearing on DHS procedures; the House Judiciary Committee also held a hearing on the “unconstitutionality” of Administrative Relief.
  • Democrats have prepared a report on their proposed changes to the President’s 2016 budget request.

Administration/Lawsuit

  • On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a request for a stay on the preliminary injunction with the District Court and a notice of intent to appeal (NILC fact sheet); on Wednesday, the district court judge allowed the plaintiffs (26 states bringing lawsuit) to file a response to the stay request by next Tuesday.
  • Obama held a townhall on immigration in Florida; he stated that he will be as aggressive as possible in defending Administrative Relief in the courts and would veto any Congressional measure that would challenge Administrative Relief’s legality.
  • In a meeting with advocates at the White House, Obama said that he still hopes CIR can happen while he’s in office but is not sure that this Congress can make it happen.
  • USCIS published regulations on Wednesday allowing work authorization for certain H-4 visa holders whose H-1B spouse is seeking an employment-based green card; this would go into effect in 90 days.

Local

  • On Tuesday, County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to allocate $1.8 million towards Administrative Relief implementation and create IRIS as its own standalone immigration office.
  • On Wednesday, the City Rules Committee voted 4-1 in favor of a memo having the city join the mayoral amicus expected to be filed at the 5th Circuit.