Policy Updates: Sept.-Oct. 2022
The Hello Neighbor Network will be posting occasional ‘Policy Updates,’ within which we will present a digestible summary of the most important refugee/immigrant-related policy news from the past several weeks. Welcome to our inaugural edition!
The Biden Administration admits 25,000 refugees during FY22 — 100,000 short of the possible ceiling.
Between October 2021 and September 2022, the Biden Administration welcomed approximately 25,400 refugees. This number was 20% of the 125,000 ceiling set for the year. Not included in this 25,000 are (a) most of the 80,000+ Afghans admitted under Operation Allies Welcome, and (b) most of the 100,000+ Ukrainians admitted under Uniting for Ukraine. (Many of these Afghan and Ukrainians entered the US as ‘parolees’).
As explanation for FY22’s low numbers, the Administration points to COVID-19 and the slow ‘return to normal’ following President Trump’s dismantling of the US refugee resettlement program.
Biden announced an equivalent refugee ceiling of 125,000 for FY2023.
The Biden Administration will offer 24,000 eligible Venezuelans the option of humanitarian parole.
This number is smaller than admissions from Ukraine and Afghanistan (as referenced above), and coincides with an expansion of the COVID/Trump-era Title 42, enabling the expulsion of undocumented Venezuelans to Mexico.
Human rights groups welcomed the option of humanitarian parole, but pushed back against the reinvigoration of Title 42. The on-the-ground impact of Title 42 has begun, with Venezuelan asylum seekers being turned back at the southern border (versus initiated into the asylum-seeking process, as is their legal right).
Record-breaking numbers of Venezuelan citizens arrived at the US border in the latter months of FY22. In August, that number was 25,000, second only to the number of Mexican migrants. It’s estimated that 200,000 Venezuelans will have traveled through Panama’s Darien Gap by the end of this year.
Shifting gears on Afghan resettlement, the Biden Administration announces Operation Enduring Welcome.
Operation Enduring Welcome will refocus Afghan programming from port-of-entry humanitarian parole to longer-term resettlement.
The US will halt almost all Afghan admittances under humanitarian parole, and will instead pivot towards longer term resettlement of Afghans who (a) hold green cards, (b) are immediate family members of US citizens, and/or (c) are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) because of previous employment with the US government and/or US government affiliates.
Other policy and policy-adjacent news…
- The Biden Administration restores pre-2019 interpretations of ‘public charge,’ stating that potential use of non-cash benefits — such as Medicaid or food assistance — are not grounds for ‘public charge’ inadmissibility.
- In collaboration with other governments, the U.S. will administer $240 million in humanitarian and security support for migrants across the Western Hemisphere.
- Ethiopian nationals living in the US are now eligible for temporary protected status (TPS), a designation that will last for 18 months.
- USCIS “shorten[s] and simplifie[s]” Form N-648. The form is used by individuals with disabilities when requesting exemptions for the English and civic test portions of the naturalization process.
- President Biden signs the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act, mandating an exploration of employment-related barriers experienced by immigrants and refugees who hold professional degrees/credentials from outside of the US.
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