Week of December 22–31, 2021

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents and officers in Houston, New York, and Newark, New Jersey, will now wear body-worn cameras in pre-planned operations as part of a pilot program. Immigration advocates have welcomed the move, although they have cautioned that the program needs additional refinement to be effective. The footage from the body cameras would be encrypted onto the camera and later uploaded to an ICE-owned evidence site, according to an ICE privacy impact statement. While body cameras provide transparency, immigration advocates say they could be used to surveil immigrants. ICE director Tae D. Johnson said the pilot program is part of an ICE initiative to increase accountability.

The Biden administration has announced progress in its efforts to reunite children with parents separated under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance border policy. The Department of Homeland Security reported that 100 children, mostly from Central America, had been reunited with their families, and that around 350 more were in the process of being reunited, following the implementation of measures to enhance the programme. Around 5,500 children were separated from their parents under Trump, mostly in 2018, with many now facing obstacles including a lack of records or the remoteness of the communities in which their parents reside. The Family Reunification Task Force was established by President Biden in his first executive order to reunite families, with some 1,150 children still believed to be unaccounted for. Reunited families are being granted humanitarian parole to remain in the US for at least three years and may pursue permanent status.

The UK government has announced it will recruit thousands of care workers from abroad to address the severe staff shortages in the sector, following the departure of more than 40,000 social care staff over the past six months. The move comes after the Migration Advisory Committee recommended that immigration rules be relaxed for care workers and other roles, such as care assistants and home care workers, who will be added to the Home Office’s shortage occupation list. Care workers arriving on 12-month health and care visas must receive a minimum annual salary of £20,480 and will be entitled to bring dependents. The new measures are expected to come into effect early next year. Meanwhile, the Home Office has extended a visa scheme allowing seasonal horticultural workers to enter the UK until the end of 2024. However, the government has stated that it wishes to see plans to reduce the reliance on foreign labour in the sector.

Democrats have not been able to realize many of their legislative goals this year despite having control of the White House and Congress. The Build Back Better Act, which included several legislative priorities of President Joe Biden, was killed by moderate Senator Joe Manchin in December, and voting rights legislation has stalled as it requires 60 votes in the Senate to pass, and lawmakers have also resisted a filibuster carveout that would enable it to be approved with a simple majority. Police reform has floundered as Democrats and Republicans have repeatedly failed to agree on a compromise. Democrats have thin majorities, and some want to keep the Senate's current supermajority rules intact, making it difficult to pass many bills. However, the party has had success this year too, passing a $1.9tn stimulus bill and a $550bn infrastructure bill. There are major bills that remain unfinished, and there is concern that failing to pass bills on issues such as police reform, voting rights, and immigration will affect enthusiasm and turnout in the next election cycle.

Detained immigrants in the US are at increased risk of contracting Covid-19 due to the ongoing pandemic and the emergence of the omicron variant. According to Vox, ICE facilities have reported more than 31,000 cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, and cases peaked in May 2021 with around 2,000 cases at a given time. While this number has since dropped to 300 active cases among 21,000 people in detention, advocates are concerned about the risk of the omicron variant spreading throughout ICE facilities. Access to vaccinations and booster shots is also limited, with detainees being offered only the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is less effective than the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Detained individuals who are medically vulnerable are particularly at risk, with some being refused access to booster shots. Advocates are calling for a release of detained immigrants and better access to Covid-19 vaccines to prevent further outbreaks in detention facilities.

Travel restrictions on eight southern African nations ended on December 31, 2021

The Biden administration has announced it will lift travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals who have been in one of eight southern African countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi, as of December 31. The restrictions were implemented in November in response to the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The decision to lift the travel ban was recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), following scientific study of the virus variant and its interaction with existing vaccines. The ban had been criticised by the World Health Organization, southern African leaders, and immigration attorneys as ineffective and unfairly damaging to local economies. US public health agencies had recommended lifting the Omicron and other Covid travel restrictions as they would not have a meaningful impact on case numbers in the US, given how widespread the variant already is within the US, and because existing vaccines and booster shots are highly effective against the variant.

The Center for Immigration Studies has obtained a “Be on the Lookout” (BOLO) bulletin warning that a Yemeni migrant, who was on the FBI’s terrorist watch list, has been released by the Mexican government and is suspected of planning to enter the US illegally. The bulletin states that the Mexican authorities deported the individual in April 2021 but he returned to northern Mexico by July. He was then apprehended by Mexican immigration and detained for around four months until November 20, when he was released and ordered to report weekly to the authorities. The Mexican authorities released the individual on the self-reporting honor system without informing American homeland security agencies that normally work closely with Mexico on all suspected migrant jihadists. Agencies have issued a BOLO to capture the individual.

The US Department of State has announced that it will temporarily waive in-person interviews for certain nonimmigrant visas to expedite visa issuance as the pandemic continues. Until the end of 2022, individuals applying for L-1, H-1, H-3, P-1, O-1, and Q visas (and their dependents) will not be required to appear for in-person interviews at US consular posts abroad. The policy aims to address the reduced staffing capacity at US consulates globally and the unpredictability of visa processing times. Consular officers can waive the interview requirement for those who have been previously issued any type of visa. However, the E visa category is not exempted from interview waivers. On December 24, President Biden lifted the travel ban from eight African countries, including South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, after findings that existing COVID vaccines are effective against the Omicron variant. These countries will now be subject to standard protocols for entry into the US.

Australia is planning to increase its net overseas migration to 180,000 people in 2022-23, almost double the previous estimate, according to the country's mid-year economic update. The government has already introduced a number of visa changes to retain highly skilled migrants in critical sectors, such as health and hospitality, as part of its economic recovery. Temporary Skill Shortage visa holders who were previously restricted to a two-year stay without a pathway to permanent residency will now be eligible for it, as well as visa holders of the now-discontinued Temporary Work Skilled visa who no longer meet the age requirement. Additionally, certain Hong Kong nationals will be offered access to new specialised pathways to permanent residency from March 2022.

A landmark ruling by the Tokyo High Court has recognized the right of access to courts for foreigners without residency status, a departure from the 1978 decision by the Supreme Court on the McLean case, which denied human rights for those without status. The ruling allows two Sri Lankan men deported before they could sue the government for rejecting their refugee applications the right to legal recourse. The decision violates the right of access to courts under Article 32 of the Constitution, according to the ruling. Lawyers for the Sri Lankans hope the ruling will prompt changes in Japan’s judicial decisions and administrative practices towards foreign nationals. They are calling on the Justice Ministry to investigate other cases where foreign nationals were denied legal recourse and allow the two men to re-enter Japan.