The House of Represen -tatives passed H.R. 8428, the Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act, that would grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to nationals from Hong Kong living in the United States at the time of enactment. The bill would also ensure that Hong Kong nationals facing persecution from the Chinese government can be considered for refugee resettlement in the United States.
The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced publication of a final rule this week aimed at barring certain criminal aliens from claiming asylum in the United States. The rule would go into effect in late November.
The Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral arguments on a challenge to the Trump Administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols. Announced at the height of last year’s border surge, the Migrant Protection Protocols require inadmissible aliens who claim asylum to remain in Mexico until their asylum hearing occurs.
Another 2.1 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, according to new data released by the Department of Labor earlier today. Last week's claims bring total unemployment claims over the last 10 weeks as a result of government shutdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic to 40.8 million.
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 6800, the Heroes Act, on Friday night by a narrow margin, 208-to-199. The bill would grant deferred action and work authorization to illegal aliens, working in "critical infrastructure" occupations, until 90 days after the end of the declared national emergency. The bill would also extend the expiration dates for nonimmigrant visas and work permits, fast-track the importation of foreign health care workers, and allow stimulus checks from the CARES Act to be issued to illegal aliens.
House Democrats unveiled their wish list Tuesday for Covid-19 relief in the form of the HEROES Act, H.R. 6800. The bill will likely receive a floor vote on Friday and is expected to pass. But even House Democrats acknowledge that the bill is more about messaging and has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate.
Border Patrol officers apprehended only 16,789 illegal border crossers in April. It's the lowest number of apprehensions since April 2017 just a few months after Pres. Trump took office. The rapid decline in apprehensions is attributed to both the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic situation.
A tax filing error has led to thousands of foreign students who performed work in the United States to receive $1,200 stimulus checks. Many of stimulus recipients are no longer in the United States, but performed work in the U.S. while in the country on either an F-1 student visa or a J-1 cultural exchange visa.
Pres. Trump signed an Executive Order on Wednesday night that had been built up as an immigration moratorium. But the actual order does nothing to pause the hundreds of thousands of nonimmigrant visas issued each year and only delays the granting of a limited number of green cards.