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.
The Supreme Court reinstated Pres. Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy today after a lower court issued an injunction against the program last month. The MPP, more commonly known as the Remain in Mexico policy, has been the single most effective action taken by the Trump Administration to discourage surges along the Southern border.
The White House issued a veto threat yesterday for H.R. 2214 – National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act. The bill would limit the President's authority under section 1182(f) of title 8 to restrict admissions if the admissions would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States."
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's decision today that will allow the Trump Administration to withhold certain funds from jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ruling allows the Justice Department to withhold Byrne JAG federal grants from hundreds of local governments across the country if they continue to protect criminal illegal aliens.
Mexican officials have reportedly begun to break up a new caravan that left Honduras last week in hopes of reaching the United States. According to reports, Mexican officials have stopped much of the caravan and have been processing the unauthorized migrants to be possibly returned to their home countries. The effort by Mexico is part of an agreement it has with the U.S. to help stop large caravans in order to prevent economic tariffs.