On May 23, 2017, President Donald Trump submitted his fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget proposal to Congress. The budget proposal includes the Trump Administration’s funding requests for the federal government. For immigration purposes, the most important component is President Trump’s requests relating to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS released a document titled “FY 2018 Budget in Brief,” which overviewed President Trump’s budget requests for the DHS. In this article, we will review the budget requests for DHS as they relate to immigration (note that DHS has many other functions that do not relate directly to immigration).
May 24, 2017, marked Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day in English. The annual Israeli holiday marks the historic reunification of Israel’s eternal capital in 1967. The 2017 edition of the holiday was special in that it marked the fiftieth anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification. For the special occasion, I would like to share some videos and remarks with readers.
The USCIS assisted in an investigation that led to two individuals being convicted for conspiracy, making false statements in immigration applications and petitions, and mail fraud. The two individuals, Rosa Cingari and Domenico Cingari, were sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison and 8 years and 1 month in federal prison, respectively.
On May 25, 2017, the full United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a district court-issued injunction against section 2(c) President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13780. Notably, the decision blocks enforcement of the provision of the Executive Order that imposed a 90-day suspension of entry on the nationals of six countries. On May 25, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice would appeal the adverse Fourth Circuit decision to the Supreme Court of the United States.
On May 22, 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a Memorandum regarding the implantation of Executive Order 13768, President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on interior enforcement. Specifically, Attorney General Sessions’ Memorandum addresses scenarios in which federal grants may be withheld from “sanctuary jurisdictions,” that is, jurisdictions that do not comply with 8 U.S.C. 1373.
On May 22, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its Fiscal Year 2016 Entry/Exit Overstay Report. The report contains information regarding the number of individuals who overstayed their nonimmigrant visas in fiscal year 2016, with detailed breakdowns by category and by country of nationality. In this article, we will examine the statistics and what they mean for future immigration policy debates.
On May 9, 2017, the United States Department of State (DOS) released the June 2017 Visa Bulletin. The June 2017 Visa Bulletin contains dates for filing and application final action dates for the family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visa preference categories. On May 15, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined that those seeking adjustment of status based upon an approved preference petition in the family-sponsored or employment-based preferences must rely on the application final action dates in June 2017. In this article, we will reproduce the relevant charts for those waiting to adjust status in the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories.
On May 8, 2017, Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein of California and Dick Durbin of Illinois issued a harshly critical response to the decision of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to restrict the circumstances in which it will grant stays of removal to alien beneficiaries of private bills submitted by Congress.
On May 18, 2017, the United States Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, notified Congress that President Donald Trump intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Office of the United States Trade Representative states that negotiations will begin no earlier than August 16, 2017. The Office will post a notice to the Federal Register “requesting public input on the direction, focus, and content of the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations.”
On May 11, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed Robert Lighthizer as the new United States Trade Representative by a vote of 82-14. He was sworn into office as United States Trade Representative on May 15, 2017. Ambassador Lighthizer will take a leading role in re-negotiating trade agreements – notably the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
