Week of August 8–14, 2022

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is calling for an investigation into Texas Governor Greg Abbott's policy authorizing state law enforcement officers to transport migrants to ports of entry. The governor’s executive order, issued on July 7, gave few details on how and under what authority the migrants were being detained. Immigration law enforcement is typically a federal responsibility, and the order is encroaching on that authority. Abbott’s order authorizes Texas Department of Public Safety officers to drive migrants to the border ports of entry where immigration authorities can more easily process them. The ACLU is asking the Biden administration to investigate the practice, warning of civil rights violations and discrimination. The group is also calling on the federal government to stop taking migrants transported by state authorities into their custody.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to terminate dozens of cooperation agreements with local law enforcement agencies with records of civil rights violations, bad jails or prisons, and other issues. The ACLU's letter asked for the end of the 287(g) agreements with 54 local law enforcement agencies, or roughly one-third of all agreements, which allow local police officers to conduct certain federal immigration enforcement actions. Critics of the program say it encourages racial profiling and engenders distrust of police within immigrant communities. The ACLU found more than half of the sheriffs participating in the program have records of making anti-immigrant comments, and almost two-thirds of participating law enforcement agencies have a pattern of civil rights violations or racial profiling.

The US may be facing a labour supply shortage as a result of a muddled immigration policy. While unemployment has been at 3.6% since March 2019, around 5.9 million people remain unemployed, yet there are 11 million jobs available. The US labour force was ageing long before the pandemic, with falling birth rates and declining immigration leading to the slowest population growth in a century. Immigrants currently make up significant proportions of workers in most major categories of employment, including 16% in healthcare, which is one of the fastest growing occupations. However, foreign students and immigrants are declining. The matriculation rate for foreign students dropped by nearly 25% between 2019 and 2021, and foreign national graduate student attendance fell by over 20% over the same period. The US immigration system is antiquated and completely disconnected from business needs. The quotas for employment-based immigrant visas, such as H-1B and H-2B, were created in 1990 and have not been updated since. Any significant change in laws that would make it easier for immigrants to get work visas is unlikely.

Six U.S. Senators introduced bipartisan legislation, the Afghan Adjustment Act, to help Afghan refugees living in the U.S. The bill would enable Afghans with temporary status to apply for lawful permanent residence and seek a path to citizenship. The move comes after the U.S. allowed over 76,000 Afghan evacuees to enter the country, but many are still waiting for visas, and those already in the U.S. face uncertainty about their status. Afghans admitted on temporary humanitarian status can only obtain permanent legal status through the asylum system or Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process, which have significant backlogs and lengthy processing times. The TPS program, which provides protection from deportation for Afghans who were already in the U.S. during the Taliban takeover, has shortcomings in providing long-term immigration solutions.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is exerting unprecedented control over the search for the CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s power grid operator. Abbott, who is facing a potentially tight re-election race and criticism over the grid’s collapse in 2021, is also controlling the data ERCOT releases. Meanwhile, President Biden has announced the end of the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols, known as “Remain in Mexico,” which forces migrants seeking asylum to stay in Mexico while awaiting a decision on their application for US protections. Over 5,000 children were separated from their parents at the border under this policy. A lengthy investigation by The Atlantic has looked at the policy’s origins and its impact. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to determine if changes to the permitting process for concrete batch plants in low-income neighborhoods violated civil rights protections. Housing prices, meanwhile, continue to climb, putting a particular burden on veterans.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has called for a federal solution to the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern US border after Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent migrants and asylum seekers to New York City. The issue has become a political flashpoint, with Republicans accusing New York of incentivising undocumented immigration through policies such as providing driver's licenses. Hochul refused to engage in this debate and instead emphasised the need for a federal response. She also stated that New York's laws benefiting undocumented residents were unlikely to be a significant draw for migrants and asylum seekers at the border. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has criticised the strain on resources caused by Texas sending migrants north and suggested that he would campaign against Abbott in his upcoming re-election bid.

Senate and House Democrats have passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a bill that addresses climate change, tax and healthcare issues. The Senate passed the bill on August 7 by a vote of 50-51, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. The House approved the bill on September 10 with a 220-207 vote, and the bill has now been sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. The IRA invests in domestic energy production and manufacturing to tackle climate change, pays down the national deficit by about $300bn, lowers the cost of prescription drugs, and reduces carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. During the vote-a-rama, a step of the budget reconciliation process during which Senators can offer a virtually unlimited number of amendments to the bill, Republicans failed to pass anti-immigrant amendments.

The Biden administration's open borders policy has contributed to an increase in preventable crimes, according to a Heritage Foundation op-ed. In September 2021, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a memo stating that resources would no longer be spent on "removing those who do not pose a threat." This memo, the author argues, has resulted in more than 200,000 monthly apprehensions on the border and up to 70% of border agents being diverted from patrol to desk and social service jobs. This policy has made it easier for illegal immigrants to enter the United States, many of whom have committed preventable crimes, such as rape and murder. The author argues that the Biden administration's open borders policy has made Americans less safe and that these preventable crimes could have been avoided with better border enforcement.

The National Pastoral Migratoria Institute, which trains Catholics working with immigrants in dioceses across the United States, recently held a two-day conference focused on hope. The event was hosted by the Archdiocese of Chicago's Immigration Ministry and featured best practices in immigrant leadership ministry. Participants from dioceses with existing pastoral migratoria programs attended virtually, while the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of San Bernardino attended in person. Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich and Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, who is chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Migration, shared video messages of support. The event's goal was to encourage leaders to be signs of hope and to reenergize the ministries on a parish level.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s recent decision to transport illegal immigrants to cities like New York and Washington D.C. is an example of the difference between being nice and being kind. While it may not be a nice move, it is a necessary step towards addressing the crisis at the border. For decades, the US has had a policy of being nice to illegal immigrants, but this has led to a permanent underclass of long-term US residents who are exploited and have no legal rights. Illegal immigration has also created downward pressure on wages and has made immigrants vulnerable to crime and exploitation. While illegal immigration may raise the real wages of native-born workers, it also lowers the wages of recent immigrants. The US needs to implement policies that prioritize its economic, political, and cultural interests while taking a prudently charitable attitude towards refugees, asylum-seekers, and the ordinary poor driven from their homes by poverty and danger. Abbott’s move may not be nice, but it may ultimately do some real good by highlighting the need for immigration reform.