U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would give priority under the H-1B visa cap to foreign students with advanced degrees from U.S. universities or colleges. The measure would increase the likelihood that visa holders are better educated and decrease the chances that outsourcing companies can obtain visas for foreign-educated workers.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government is considering reducing its annual legal immigration cap from 190,000 to 160,000, a 16 percent reduction. Morrison said “Australians in our biggest cities are concerned about population. They are saying: enough, enough, enough. The roads are clogged, the buses and trains are full. The schools are taking no more enrollments. I hear what you are saying. I hear you loud and clear.”
NBC News reported on a survey conducted by El Universal, a popular Mexican newspaper, that found about seven in 10 Mexicans have a negative view about Central American caravan migrants. It also found that 52 percent of Mexicans oppose giving work permits to the migrants, 52 percent want those without legal documents blocked from entering Mexico and 55 percent support cracking down on future caravans.
During a Monday phone call for reporters, Homeland Security officials said about 6,000 Central American migrants have already reached the border at Tijuana, and between 8,500 and 10,500 are still trekking north in at least three separate caravans. San Diego’s San Ysidro Port of Entry can process only about 100 asylum seekers per day, so the thousands waiting and still traveling will have to be handled over a period of many months.
San Francisco District Judge Jon Tigar temporarily blocked President Trump’s new rule which prevents illegal border crossers from requesting asylum. The judge ruled that federal law allows any foreign national who reaches U.S. soil to request asylum. The ruling is a setback for the Administration’s attempt to cope with the Central American caravan now arriving at the southwest border.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recently announced the results from a six-month pilot program designed to increase law enforcement presence on certain Interior lands along the US-Mexico border. During the last six months Interior officers apprehended 4,010 illegal aliens -- a 4,000 percent increase over a comparable period in 2016 -- and induced 224 foreign nationals to not enter the U.S., i.e., turn back.
Border patrol agents in Arizona apprehended 654 illegal aliens in just two days this week in Arizona’s Yuma Sector. The migrants, mostly family units or unaccompanied alien children from Guatemala, are not believed to be associated with the Central American caravan. Apprehensions in the Yuma Sector in October (3,600) are up over 150% compared to last year.
Reports indicate splinter groups from Central American caravan reached Tijuana over the weekend. Yesterday some identified as caravan members by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) climbed the fence and sat on top of it. Others jumped to the ground or crawled through fence openings but returned to Mexican soil when Agents approached.
President Trump today issued a presidential proclamation that requires migrants over the next 90 days to "lawfully present themselves" at a port of entry in order to apply for asylum. During that period, those crossing the border illegally will not be allowed to apply for asylum. He said he is taking immediate action “to protect the national interest, and to maintain the effectiveness of the asylum system.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled today the Trump Administration must continue accepting applications to renew Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, which provides work permits and a temporary stay of deportation to certain minors who came to the U.S. illegally. The ruling keeps in place for now a nationwide injunction blocking the Administration from ending the 2012 Obama program.