Week of February 15–21, 2023

The Supreme Court case of United States v. Hansen involves a statute that makes it a federal crime to "encourage or induce" an unauthorized immigrant to enter or remain in the United States, punishable by up to five years in prison. The clause is being challenged by Hansen as overly broad, and therefore likely to deter First Amendment protected speech of others. The Biden administration appealed the decision to the Supreme Court after the clause was found unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. While the simplest option for the Supreme Court is to declare the law unenforceable because of its intrusion on the First Amendment, other provisions of immigration law already prohibit bringing unauthorized immigrants into the US, concealing them, and aiding or abetting those offenses. The court could instead interpret the law as a ban on "solicitation" of crime, a category of speech that lacks First Amendment protection, but that requires closer alignment between the speaker and the potential lawbreaker than mere encouragement. Whatever the court decides, it is important to maintain the Constitution's key mechanisms such as free speech and due process, and to avoid constitutional erosion that can accumulate over time.

US Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, met with four Senate Latino Democrats to discuss immigration policy as the Biden administration prepares to lift pandemic-related border restrictions later this year. The meeting included the Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who chairs the Judiciary Committee’s immigration panel, and Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico. The senators expressed concerns about the pandemic border expulsion policy, known as Title 42, as well as a forthcoming policy proposal that would limit asylum eligibility for migrants who passed through another country en route to the U.S.-Mexico border. Mayorkas is also facing criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over the Biden administration's policies at the US-Mexico border, which have seen record-high levels of migration.

The US Supreme Court has canceled arguments in a challenge to ending a pandemic-era immigration measure known as Title 42, indicating that it may dismiss the case. Title 42, introduced by the Trump administration in March 2020, has allowed even migrants who might otherwise qualify for asylum to be swiftly expelled at the southern border. The policy has been used to expel migrants about 2.5 million times. Last week, Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, a lawyer for the administration, filed a brief saying the case would soon be moot due to the Biden administration’s announcement that the health emergency would end in May. The administration has acknowledged that ending Title 42 would have consequences, including a likely temporary increase in unlawful border crossings. Humanitarian organizations have said the policy prevents migrants fleeing violence and persecution from obtaining a safe harbor required by U.S. and international law.

Senator Chuck Grassley has reintroduced the Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2023 to curb the abuse of immigration parole by the executive branch. Immigration parole allows individuals to temporarily enter the US on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. However, several presidential administrations have abused this authority to admit entire categories of individuals in circumvention of congressionally-established pathways. Grassley’s bill seeks to clarify what qualifies as an “urgent humanitarian reason” or “significant public benefit” and provide clarity on the timing and extension of immigration parole. It would also ensure that parole may not be granted according to criteria that describes entire categories of potential parolees. The bill is cosponsored by several Republican senators who accuse the Biden administration of abusing the parole system and artificially decreasing the number of apprehensions at the border.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a new policy update that could protect children of temporary work visa holders from having to leave the country while their parents wait for their green cards to be processed. If a child “ages out” and turns 21 while the parent is still on a temporary work visa or waiting for a green card, the child loses their legal status. The Child Protection Act, passed in 2002, allowed children to “freeze” their age while their parent’s green card application was being processed. However, USCIS calculated a child’s age based on the “final action date” chart in the Visa Bulletin, which led to some children losing their legal status. The new update will allow applicants to apply for a green card using the earlier date in the “dates for filing” chart. Children who were previously denied green cards because of their age may also appeal the decision.

New York State is to expand its Professional Pathways for High-Skilled Immigrants Program with an injection of $4.38m in state-funded grants to support professional training and job placement efforts. The move is aimed at helping new immigrants find jobs in their area of expertise. The grants will be awarded over three years and are administered by the state's Office for New Americans. The program launched in 2021, with candidates receiving training and/or re-credentialing, and job placement opportunities were offered. It has already successfully placed 88 immigrants in professional-level positions in fields including architecture, engineering, information technology, education, social work, economics, business management and journalism. The program expansion builds on Governor Kathy Hochul’s commitment to strengthen the state’s workforce development programming for immigrants.

Japan will introduce two new immigration pathways to attract high-income earners and graduates of top foreign universities to the country. The Japan System for Special Highly Skilled Professionals (J-Skip) and the Japan System for Future Creation Individual Visa (J-Find) will come into effect in April 2023. The J-Find visa will allow graduates of top 100 foreign universities to stay in Japan for up to two years to find employment, as opposed to 90 days currently. Graduates must have at least ¥200,000 ($1,480) upon arrival and be able to show proof of graduation from one of the top universities designated by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Meanwhile, J-Skip will enable researchers, engineers, and high-level managers to bypass the current point-based system and automatically be considered for a highly skilled professional visa if they meet specific income and work experience requirements.

The US administration has announced policies to allow up to 20,000 refugees from Latin America and the Caribbean to settle in the country over the next two years. The Biden Administration will also expand the parole process for immigrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba, permitting up to 30,000 people from these countries into the US if they have a sponsor and pass background checks. They will be able to work for two years with a work authorization. Meanwhile, lawmakers are calling for significant immigration reform, as the US faces labor shortages, particularly in Iowa, and ongoing issues with the southern border. However, it has been decades since Congress adopted any significant immigration reform. US Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa highlights the issue as a bipartisan one.

A collaborative project between the University of Arizona, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and Salvavision, DETAINED: Voices from the Migrant Incarceration System, is to launch a public archive containing the stories of asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants incarcerated in Arizona. The archive grew out of Professor of Art David Taylor's decades-long focus on the nature and changing circumstances of the borderlands. Taylor, alongside other academics and staff from the Florence Project, interviewed a dozen former detainees of the detention centers in Florence and Eloy, and collected images of artwork and memorabilia provided by detainees. The archive aims to create awareness and understanding of detention facilities, which are the most underreported and least understood facet of border enforcement. A Digital Borderlands Grant of nearly $60,000 was awarded for the establishment of the DETAINED archive.

According to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada welcomed 226,450 Indian students in 2022, making India the top source of international students in the country. The data shows a continuous increase in the number of students going to Canada, with 551,405 international students from 184 countries entering the country in 2022. China and the Philippines followed India, with 52,165 and 23,380 students respectively. The IRCC reports that most new study permits are now being processed within the 60-day service standard in Canada. The country remains a top destination for Indian students due to the standard of education, lower costs, obtaining work, and immigration opportunities post-graduation. Foreign students contribute more than $15.3 billion annually to the Canadian economy, according to the Canadian government.