Week of September 1–7, 2022

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency is seeking feedback and questions from the public regarding a proposed $500 million biometric services contract. The agency plans to hold a virtual conference on September 28 to discuss the contract and address concerns from potential bidders. The current contract is held by Amentum and involves 130 Application Support Center offices in the United States and U.S. territories. The offices collect biometric information, such as fingerprints and photos of faces, from people applying for immigration benefits. The information is used to create various ID documents, including permanent resident cards, employment authorization documents, re-entry documents, and naturalization certificates. The new contract includes managing the collection of biometrics from six applicants per hour on each scanner, identity document scanning, and expanding the biometric modalities used by USCIS. Additionally, Dignari recently announced a $29 million contract for digital identity and access management with federal agencies, including USCIS.

The Australian government has announced an increase in its permanent immigration intake from 160,000 to 195,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, to address the country's skill and labor shortages. The decision was made during a two-day summit, which brought together representatives from governments, trade unions, businesses, and industry to address the issue exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said that the impact of COVID has been so severe that even if every other possibility was exhausted, there would still be many thousands of workers short, at least in the short term. The government has also established a panel to rebuild its immigration program, which O’Neil described as "fiendishly complex" with over 70 unique visa programs.

The Biden administration and Republican Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, are in a dispute over immigration enforcement on the southern border. A Texan pecan farm, nearly the size of Disneyland, has become embroiled in the argument. The state installed a new chain-link fence on the Heavenly Farms property earlier this year as part of Abbott’s multibillion-dollar crackdown on border crossings along the Rio Grande. The Urbinas, who bought the farm in April, initially welcomed the fence but found the main gate locked by Texas authorities who have been arresting thousands of migrants on trespassing charges on private land. The U.S. Border Patrol found that the lock impeded its own immigration enforcement and had it removed. The clash between agencies is a result of Texas’ challenge to the federal government’s authority on the border.

People-trafficking criminal networks are using jet skis to smuggle migrants into Spain. In some cases, traffickers offer migrants the chance to cross the Strait of Gibraltar on a jet ski for between €800 and €1,200 ($950-$1,420), or to carry a bundle of drugs and make the journey for free. If the drugs reach their destination, the migrants do not have to pay any debt to the traffickers, but if the bundle is in danger, the traffickers will throw the migrants into the sea. The gangs use up to 20 jet skis at a time, piloted by traffickers at 80-100 km per hour, with one migrant on each. The gangs refer to the migrants as "lifeguards," as they push them into the water if cornered, causing security forces to focus on rescue rather than drug seizures.

Republican U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales of San Antonio has been accused of spreading disinformation by labeling the city a "sanctuary city" in a Fox News appearance on August 24. Gonzales also accused Mayor Ron Nirenberg of using the San Antonio Fire Department to run a Migrant Resource Center, which was allegedly misplaced. Fox News, meanwhile, used misleading video footage of migrants queuing in Eagle Pass as Gonzales spoke about the San Antonio center and urged viewers to storm the mayor’s office with complaints. Gonzales and Fox News neglected to inform viewers that the Migrant Resource Center was run by the city and participating nonprofits, and that firefighters were emergency responders and thus appropriately assigned to help staff the location. City officials and their nonprofit partners have received national praise for their humane and efficient treatment of migrants stopping in San Antonio on their journey north from the border.

The Australian immigration detention system is being criticized as overcrowded, dangerous and unsafe for asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, as conditions deteriorate in the country's centers. Detainees claim that drug abuse and violence are common and several have been seriously injured, with some left with permanent scars, while four have died, four escaped, 22 major disturbances have taken place, 34 sexual assaults have been reported and 195 acts of self-harm have been recorded. The Australian Department of Home Affairs' most recent annual report stated that 83.8% of the 1,492 people in detention have a criminal history, creating a "criminal and prison-like culture". Australian lawmaker Andrew Wilkie has reintroduced a bill that would outlaw indefinite detention, which has been criticised as immoral and unlawful.

Poland has constructed a five-meter-high wall along roughly half of its border with Belarus to stop the flow of illegal migrants. The 187-kilometer barrier, which runs through forests, swamps, and meadows that are home to many species of animals and plants, has raised concerns from scientists, non-governmental organizations, and the European Parliament's environmental committee about its environmental impact and compliance with EU directives. Protected under national and European law, the Biebrza Marshes and the forests of Biaowiea, Knyszyn, and Augustów could be impacted by the barrier, obstructing ecological corridors and preventing animal movement. Scientists and non-governmental organizations have petitioned the European Commission to intervene, cautioning that the wall poses a permanent barrier to the connectivity of Natura 2000 ecological corridors on a national and European level. However, Polish government officials have refuted that the barrier poses any environmental risk.

As the midterm elections approach, many political candidates and TV ads are promoting false and misleading information about immigration, and a large number of Americans believe these inaccuracies. The NPR/Ipsos poll asked approximately 1,000 adults in the US about various claims about immigration, including whether there was an invasion at the southern border and whether most of the fentanyl entering the US was smuggled in by migrants crossing the border illegally. The southern border is not open, as a combination of physical barriers, surveillance technology and Border Patrol agents helps to limit what comes into the United States. Many immigrants cross the border and turn themselves into Border Patrol agents on purpose to ask for asylum. A majority of fentanyl and other illegal drugs coming from Mexico are smuggled through official ports of entry in large trucks or cars, and immigrants are not more likely to commit crimes than people born in the US.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the overall annual limit for employment-based immigrant visas in fiscal year 2022 is approximately twice as high as usual, due to consular closures abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of State (DOS) has determined that the fiscal year 2022 employment-based annual limit is 281,507, slightly more than double the typical annual total. USCIS said it is dedicated to ensuring that it uses as many available employment-based visas as possible in FY 2022. However, despite agency efforts, 66,781 immigrant visas went unused at the end of FY 2021. Through July 31, 2022, the two agencies have combined to use 210,593 employment-based immigrant visas. USCIS approved more than 10,000 employment-based adjustment of status applications in the week ending August 14, 2022. USCIS has also recommended that if a visa is available but a valid Form I-693 (Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record) is not present, a civil surgeon should be visited.

The New Zealand government is examining immigration rules for chefs after claims were made that Michelin-starred chefs were unable to enter the country to fill much-needed job vacancies. Hospitality New Zealand CEO Julie White said businesses were "at breaking point" and "literally cannot open their businesses without these chefs." Under current immigration rules, even world-renowned celebrity chef Jamie Oliver would struggle to get a job in New Zealand, according to immigration advisor Katy Armstrong. Armstrong said the hospitality industry was being stopped by a technicality requiring chefs to have a level four certificate, and even if a chef did meet the standards, it could take the New Zealand Qualifications Authority two to three months to certify their qualifications before they could start working. Opposition party leader Christopher Luxon said the immigration settings were "completely wrong," and there needed to be changes.