Here’s how the spending bill affects immigration. . .

The 116th Congress has officially adjourned, ending attempts by some lawmakers to undermine American workers and taxpayers.

But the massive federal spending and Covid relief package passed by Congress late last night was far from perfect.

Here’s what is and isn’t in the bill…

ATTEMPTS TO LIFT PER-COUNTRY CAPS DEAD FOR NOW – Earlier this month, the Senate passed an amended version of H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act. The bill was passed by the House in 2019. H.R. 1044 would have lifted per-country caps for certain visa categories, among other things.

While the House-passed version had no numerical impact, it would have ensured that tech workers from India and China would receive a disproportionately high number of employment-based visas, having an adverse affect on American tech workers and their wages.

Since the Senate-passed version contained changes, the House would have had to agree to the Senate changes – or – the two chambers would have had to iron out the differences.

There was some threat that a compromise version of H.R. 1044 would make its way into yesterday’s legislation, but it didn’t, killing the proposal for another Congress.

DEFUNDING ICE – Finally, the bill reduced funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by $431 million from 2020 levels. This reduction in funding will make American communities less safe as ICE will be forced to roll back efforts to identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens.

The 117th Congress is scheduled to convene on January 3, 2021.

CHRIS CHMIELENSKI is the Deputy Director for NumbersUSA