Week of February 1–7, 2022

The Biden administration has introduced policies aimed at attracting international graduates specialising in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to study in the US. The changes include expanding the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme to permit international graduates from US colleges and universities to spend an additional three years training with domestic employers. The Department of Homeland Security will add 22 new fields of study, from data visualisation to forestry and cloud computing, to the OPT programme. The move aims to ensure top STEM talent does not bypass the US due to immigration-related difficulties. The announcement contrasts with prior policies under the Trump administration, which increased scrutiny of the H-1B programme, arguing it limited jobs for US applicants.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is making strides towards becoming a data-driven agency in a bid to process immigration cases more efficiently. In a recent interview with GovCIO Media & Research, ICE CIO Rachelle Henderson said she wants to see the transformation of ICE into a digitally nimble, data-first organisation that is able to process cases quickly and humanely. Henderson is particularly keen on modernising ICE's business by transforming the paper-based "A-File" – the files shared between Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to document full immigration proceedings – to fully electronic. The paper-based system has also made it difficult for ICE, USCIS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to transfer data back and forth, leading to gaps in data flow. Henderson hopes the use of technology and data will allow for a more efficient, accurate and streamlined immigration process for non-citizens and the agents who manage their cases.

The U.S. Immigration Court system is currently facing logistical, technical, and communication problems, causing major backlogs and delays in proceedings. Attorneys say that these problems are affecting cases in courts across the country and are impacting clients' cases, leaving them vulnerable to deportation. The reopening of the immigration courts in July 2021 has been chaotic following the pandemic shutdown. While some court proceedings are taking place in-person, others are still being held remotely, leading to miscommunications and mix-ups. In addition to these issues, there have been delays in obtaining motions for Individual Hearings, which have remained unresolved for several months in some cases. As a result, attorneys are finding it challenging to represent their clients adequately, and the delays are creating backlogs, further extending the waiting time for immigration cases.

Starting February 11, 2022, immigration attorneys, accredited representatives, and Department of Homeland Security lawyers will be required to electronically file immigration court paperwork in new immigration cases. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which houses immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), launched an electronic filing pilot program in the San Diego immigration court in 2018. The program, called the EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS), has expanded to all 66 immigration courts and the BIA in the past four years. Although there is no mechanism for unrepresented people to file electronically, mandatory electronic filing will provide necessary efficiencies for those who appear in immigration court and for the struggling court system itself. The immigration court system, which currently has a backlog of over 1.5 million cases, can more efficiently process new cases, gather necessary records, and transfer cases to new immigration courts as necessary. However, the ECAS is not accessible to people in deportation proceedings who do not have a lawyer. EOIR must expand ECAS and make it accessible to all unrepresented people, including those in detention.

The United States has a long history of racism, with racist language embedded in its foundation. While there is reasonable debate on appropriate levels of immigration, there is a need to refute racist scapegoating and dehumanization tactics. The ongoing surge in hate speech is an alarming reversal from decades in which overt racism was rejected. Immigrants, including the undocumented, are more law-abiding than native-born Americans. The illusion of an immigration surge was largely created by the Trump administration's illegal order to incarcerate asylum seekers. Nativists accuse immigrants of taking jobs and driving up taxes, but immigrants start new businesses at double the rate of native-born Americans, creating many new working-class job opportunities. Embracing and welcoming refugees whose lives are at risk is not only the humane thing to do, but it benefits the whole nation. We must refute racist scapegoating and tactics of dehumanization to have a substantive debate on immigration.

The House of Representatives has passed the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (America COMPETES Act of 2022) to boost US competitiveness with China in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The bill contains several reforms to US immigration law, including the creation of new, non-immigrant visa categories for non-US citizens who are the owners or essential employees of start-up companies. The bill also provides a direct path to permanent residence for immigrants who earn a Ph.D. in specified fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics, from a qualified US research institution or equivalent foreign institution. This provision could benefit several thousand non-resident immigrant Ph.D. graduates who complete their doctorates each year at accredited US research universities. The bill would also create a new requirement that non-citizens seeking to be classified as “W-1 non-immigrants, immigrant entrepreneurs, or immigrant STEM doctoral recipients” pay a supplemental fee of $1,000, which would fund STEM scholarships for low-income US students.

M&T Bank's plan to transform 100 branches into multicultural centers is a smart move and could serve as an example for how to turn Buffalo's 2020 population growth into an economic engine, according to an op-ed in The Buffalo News. Buffalo was the only upstate metro to experience population growth in 2020, thanks to the presence of thousands of refugees and immigrants. They represent the only growing population in the US and are workers, entrepreneurs, homeowners, and taxpayers. Western New York must attract and support the success of immigrants to grow its economy, the piece said. The author suggested five steps, including including refugees and immigrants in tourism, workforce and economic development strategies, increasing support for immigrant entrepreneurs, and improving access for limited English speakers.

Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would establish an independent immigration court system in the US, which they say would help alleviate the current backlog of 1.6 million immigration cases. The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 would take courts out of the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and give them their own rules and budget. The proposed legislation would give judges more power over their dockets, allowing them to decide which cases should be delayed. Judges would also be able to put aside cases in which applicants are waiting on government processing of a permanent residency card or other legal permits that would allow them to remain in the country. Republican lawmakers are said to oppose the legislation.

Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has called on immigration authorities to expedite visa processing for nearly 2,000 migrants seeking asylum in the US and Mexico. Many Latin American refugees have been stranded in the Mexican city of Tapachula while waiting for receiving countries to process their visa applications, making them targets for recent security raids. Last week, Mexican immigration agents raided migrant shelters in Tapachula, seeking to detain people with “irregular status,” which is typically prohibited. The commission has asked immigration authorities to urgently provide humanitarian assistance and create working groups to speed up migratory regularization procedures or refugee status recognition. Facing pressure from the US to slow the flow of migrants into the country, Mexico’s INM has told protestors that “there is no need for marches or demonstrations” for migrants to complete their paperwork.

The America COMPETES Act, a bill that includes immigration provisions, was passed by the US House of Representatives in February 2022. These provisions will create an immigrant start-up visa, fund additional scholarships for US students in STEM fields, and allow those with a Ph.D. in STEM to be exempt from annual green card limits. The measures aim to attract and retain foreign-born talent, which is necessary for innovation in the US. More than 70% of full-time graduate students at US universities in certain engineering and computer science fields are foreign nationals. The provisions could become the most significant on legal immigration to pass Congress in over 30 years, if they are retained during negotiations with the Senate. An amendment sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC) added health professions and related programs to the STEM fields, which are eligible for exemption from the annual limit on employment-based green cards. However, the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called for the removal of the provision to bring more Ph.D.s in STEM fields to the US, which aligns with the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership’s position on immigration.