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Greetings and welcome to the newest installment of the NawLaw Report! Immerse yourself in this week's immigration updates and firm announcements as we provide essential insights and crucial information to help you stay ahead in the dynamic realm of immigration law. Your ultimate destination for staying informed on the latest developments and benefiting from expert analysis—let's navigate this journey together. 🌍📰

States Thought Fast Work Permits Would Solve Their Migrant Problems. It Hasn’t.

In an attempt to help get migrants off of government support and obtain independence, the Biden administration, and various states, have been banking on an expansion of short-term legal residency and work authorization. This patchwork solution, however, has proven to be slow going, as the process for securing work permits for asylum seekers can often take a year or more. As a result, tensions between the Biden administration and Democratic leaders have grown, leaving migrants caught in the middle. The article expands on various Democratic leaders’ perspectives on the situation, as well as the perspective of various interviewed migrants.

Immigration Talks Collapse, Threatening to Sink Aid to Israel and Ukraine

The collapse of Senate immigration negotiations poses a threat to President Biden's national security package, which includes aid to Israel and Ukraine. Republicans are set to filibuster the aid package unless Democrats agree to tighten U.S. asylum and parole laws. Bipartisan negotiations on a border policy deal, led by Senators James Lankford and Chris Murphy, have faltered; Democrats have proposed measures to streamline asylum processing, but Republicans are pushing for what Democrats consider "extreme policies" that would significantly alter asylum procedures and grant expansive powers to shut down the border. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer accuses Republicans of injecting hard-right immigration measures, causing a deadlock on the security supplemental, while Republicans insist on border security compromises in exchange for aid. Republican Senator John Cornyn stated “This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border. This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental.” The negotiations' outcome remains uncertain.

Appeals Court Orders Texas to Remove Buoy Barrier on the Rio Grande River

Last friday in a 2-1 ruling, a federal appeals court (5th Circuit) ordered Texas to remove a floating barrier used to deter illegal migrant crossings, upholding a lower court’s finding that the barriers were illegal. The court’s decision is the latest chapter in the legal battle between Texas and the Biden administration, which began in July after the initial installment of the buoy barriers. The judges agreed with the Justice Department, who argued that Gov. Abbott violated a federal law that prohibits creating any obstruction to the navigable capacity of the country’s waters without authorization when he ordered the installation of the barrier. Attorneys for Texas argued that the U.S. Constitution afforded the state the power to “repel invasions,” including the illegal entry of thousands of migrants. Texas Governor Abbot responded to the ruling on X, stating that he would “seek an immediate rehearing by the entire court”, and would go to the Supreme Court if need be in order to “protect Texas from Biden’s open border policies”.

Florida Grand Jury Calls for New Tax to Curb Illegal Immigration

A statewide grand jury put into place by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to investigate migrant-related issues called on state legislators to impose new restrictions on immigration. Among the grand jury’s recommendations is a tax on all overseas wire transfers, as well as additional restrictions on businesses, including requiring all employers to check the names of prospective employees against a federal immigration database. The grand jury describes the overseas wire transfer tax as a “modest fee” of a round 1.5% of the transfer, the revenue of which could be used to fund enforcement efforts, education opportunities, or help state agencies accommodate unaccompanied migrant children. The full report released by the grand jury is 146 pages, and not only presents recommendations and incite on the state’s current immigration situation, but criticizes both the Biden administration in general and various non-government agencies who refused to comply with the grand jury’s investigation.

What Potential Asylum Changes Could Actually Mean for Migrants

With the recent Republican move in Congress to tighten immigration policies, and more specifically clamp down on asylum claims. Most notably mentioned are the updating of the “credible fear” standard for asylum seekers, restricting the government’s ability to “parole” people, and reinstating in some form the “Safe Third Country Agreements”, which requires asylum seekers to demonstrate they first sought asylum elsewhere on their journey to the U.S. The rest of the excerpt from the interview expands on the details of the credible fear asylum interview and the consequences of having/not having the parole policy, as well as Benach’s personal perspective on the immigration debate at large.

Judge Rejects Texas Bid to Stop Agents Cutting Border Razor Wire

Last Thursday a federal judge blocked Texas’ lawmakers attempts to stop Biden administration officials from removing razor wire fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses, who previously granted Texas officials a temporary restraining order but denied Texas’ request to stop Border Patrol agents from cutting the fencing due to insufficient evidence that this was against the law. Judge Moses left open the possibility for Texas to prove it’s case in the future, adding that while the law favors the Biden administration in this instance, it “does not excuse their culpable and duplicitous conduct.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated that he is going to appeal the ruling.

Voter’s Want Control of the Border, but Do They Want Trump Immigrant Roundups and Detention Camps?

Amid concerns about the border situation on both sides of the aisle, and increasingly harsh rhetoric from former President Trump, NBC news turns to recent poll data to estimate where the hearts and minds of the general population reside on immigration. While many Americans still believe immigration is good for the country (68% according to a June Gallup poll), the recent migrant surge and subsequent struggle in response by the various levels of government has led to the widespread adoption of a “strict, but humane and fair” attitude. This is indicated by a recent NBC poll that found 3 in 4 registered voters favored Congressional spending to increase security at the border. The attitude has concerned various immigration advocates that the populace may gain sympathy for Trump’s harshest proposed immigration policies (or other similar proposed policies) or at the very least, may be allured by the promise of border security and blindsided by ultimately cruel and undesirable policies.

Texas Legislature Sends $1.54 Billion Bill for Border Barriers to Gov. Abbot

Last friday, the Texas Senate approved Senate Bill 3 (SB3), which appropriates $1.54 billion to continue building a barrier along the Mexico border and to help fund immigration enforcement efforts. This comes in the wake of the passing of Senate Bill 4 (SB4), which makes crossing into the state illegally a crime state police can arrest migrants for. $40 million of the $1.54 billion in SB3 is expected to fund state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development near Houston far-right publications claim is a magnet for undocumented immigrants. SB3 is also expected to cover the costs incurred by various municipalities for enforcing SB4. Both bills have not been signed in to law yet, but Texas Governor Abbot has expressed that he is going to do so.

Mexico Halts Deportations and Migrant Transfers Citing Lack of Funds

Amid a lack of funds and a record-setting year for migration the Director of Mexico’s Immigration Agency Francisco Gardũno has ordered the stoppage of various agency activities, including outright deportations and migrant transportation. The lack of funds is due to “end of year budget adjustments” by Mexico’s finance ministry. Mexico has seen more migrants enter/pass through its territory this year than the past two years (590,000 compared to 440,000 and 310,000), but has deported fewer migrants this year than the previous two (51,000 compared to 122,000 and 130,000) due to the ripple effect of a fire at a migrant detention center in April, causing various detention centers to close down and throwing immigration system in to chaos. Immigration analyst Adam Isacson noted that Mexico will likely lean on its National Guard for migration management, and that migrant apprehensions will likely see a sharp decrease in December, resulting in an uptick of migrant arrivals at the U.S. southern border.

Firm Announcements

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Pet of the Month

This month's Pet of the Month is the delightful companion of our receptionist, Brieann. Topper, a charismatic 2-year-old pup, brings boundless joy with his infectious energy and heartwarming antics. 🐶✨

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