National & State Immigration Issues Nora Skelly Acting Director for Advocacy

LIRS Advocacy Work Engage Congress and the Administration – Educate staff on issues – Develop and maintain relationships – Urge them to take targeted actions Work with NGOs, Lutheran church partners, and constituents – Coalitions – Stand for Welcome campaign – Support targeted actions – Advocacy gatherings

Broken Immigration System  11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S  In 2011, 396,906 migrants were deported, the largest number in history  Estimated 100,000 parents of U.S. citizen children  Countless families separated  5,100 children in foster care  Billions of dollars spent on immigration enforcement and detention  Immigrants waiting for a family visa wait years, even decades to reunite  Passage of misguided state laws

National issues - Congress House of Representatives – Republican majority – Trying to advance bills that add more enforcement measures (mandatory employer verification, increased detention, etc.) and restrict legal immigration to the United States Senate – Democrat majority – Passage of modest bills, seek to stall objectionable bills passed by the House 2012 elections likely to stall progress in remainder of year

National issues - Congress Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act SSI assistance for refugees Religious worker visas Violence Against Women Act Child tax credit Harmful detention proposals

Violence Against Women Act  Senate version: o Increases visas available for victims of serious crimes who collaborate w/ law enforcement  House version: o Deny vulnerable immigrants many protections originally created by VAWA o Deter victims from cooperating with law enforcement o Hold victims of abuse to a higher standard than other applicants for immigration benefits  Two versions of VAWA have been passed and now need to be reconciled before the bill can be passed into law, but no plans yet announced to do so

Child Tax Credit  Additional Child Tax Credit = families with children to receive approx $1,800 for taxpayers earning $21,240/year  Individualized Tax Identification Number users = People without Social Security numbers, such as undocumented immigrants  Proposals revoking ITIN eligibility for ACTC: - way to offset costs of other proposals -Independent legislation by Sens. Vitter (R-LA) and Rubio (R-FL)  Legislation has the potential to harm 1.3 million children

Harmful Enforcement Proposals Keep Our Communities Safe Act – Remove judicial review and prolong detention – Harmful impacts for asylum seekers, stateless individuals and other vulnerable migrants Spending for Department of Homeland Security – Increase in detention spending – Increased collaboration between federal and state law enforcement – Prohibiting funds for family unity waiver or prosecutorial discretion

National issues - Administration President Obama – Supports comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act and has criticized Arizona and Alabama state laws – Has devoted limited political capital to build public support and advance legislation Department of Homeland Security – Deports ~400,000 immigrants per year – Announced immigration detention reforms, though little progress – Continues to expand Secure Communities nationwide – Announced a review process to allow the government to suspend the deportations of certain immigrants – Announced policy to protect DREAMers from deportation Department of Justice – Suing Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina and Utah – Cooperating with deportation review

National issues - Administration  Prosecutorial Discretion -Case-by-case review  Stateside processing for family unity waiver  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - “Live” on August 15

Prosecutorial Discretion  Prosecutorial discretion = the long-established authority of law enforcement to decide what charges to bring and how to pursue each case.  In August 2011 DHS announced a new process to utilize prosecutorial discretion in a nationwide review of 300,000 cases of migrants currently in deportation proceedings and close cases of migrants who are a “low enforcement priority:”  strong ties to the United States  have made significant contributions  have not committed any serious crimes.  Administrative closure = Migrants are allowed to remain in the United States. They are not be provided legal status, a work permit, or a guarantee that their case will not be reopened at a later date.

Prosecutorial Discretion in Practice  As of May 29, ICE attorneys had found 20,648 cases eligible for administrative closure, or approximately 7.2% of those reviewed.  Offers of administrative closure were accepted in 4,363 cases and rejected in 3,998 cases, for an acceptance rate of 52.2%.  In 3,000 cases, these migrants may be eligible for a more permanent form of relief

Family Unity Waiver Waiver for undocumented immigrants to reunify with U.S. citizen parent/spouse in cases of extreme hardship Current process means leaving the country and risk short- or long-term separation Proposed change: – Begin process within United States – Shorten separation – Increase transparency and likelihood people will come forward Administration has announced a proposed change, solicited public comment, and could make change operational in a few months

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals  Announcement of relief from deportation and work authorization for DREAMers on June 15  Guidelines announced for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on August 3 o Be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012; o Have come to the United States before reaching the age of 16; o Be currently enrolled in or completed high school; o Not have been convicted of certain crimes  Application process began August 15

State Issues – Arizona v. United States  The Department of Justice challenged the constitutionality of SB  In June 2012, U.S. Supreme Court invalidated three out of four of the law’s challenged provisions: o Making it a crime for immigrants without work permits to seek employment o Making it a crime for immigrants to fail to carry registration documents o Authorizing police to arrest without a warrant any immigrant they believe has committed a deportable offense  Court suggested an openness to considering the remaining provision in the future: o “Papers please” - allows police to verify the immigration status of anyone they detain if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is without proper documentation

State Issues - Legislation Harmful SB 1070 “copycat” legislation – AL, GA, SC, UT, IN – Many being litigated or amended Tuition equity or state “DREAM Act” – CA, CT, MD, RI CA Trust Act -Pushing back on Secure Communities Photo credit: Wingchi Poon

State Responses to Deferred Action  Eligibility for state benefits  AZ, NE – no state benefits or driver’s licenses  TX – no state benefits  CA – driver’s licenses will be issued  Some reiteration of existing law, others new policy

What about comprehensive immigration reform?

History of Comprehensive Immigration Reform 2005/2006: House and Senate pass different CIR bills, but unable to agree on final bill 2007/2008: Senate rejects CIR and then the DREAM Act on the Senate floor 2009/2010: Bipartisan work on Senate CIR proposal begins but negotiations break down 2009/2010: House of Representatives passes DREAM Act, but it falls 5 votes short in Senate

Future of Comprehensive Immigration Reform Priority elements for LIRS: o Earned pathway to citizenship o Protection for families and speedy family reunification o Humane enforcement and alternatives to detention o Protections for migrant and U.S. citizen workers o Protection for refugees, children and vulnerable migrants Congress and the Administration need to hear from YOU that immigration reform is a TOP priority and that YOU EXPECT them to support fair and humane policies

Questions? Nora Skelly Acting Director for Advocacy (202)