New from the Center for Immigration Studies

What's Happening at the Center In a recent report, Preston Huennekens evaluates the H-2A visa program, which allows farmers to employ an unlimited number of foreign agricultural workers. H-2A visa issuances have tripled since 2007 and the workers are paid less than the average nationwide wage. Huennekens notes that the program was designed with no numerical caps to reduce the number of foreigners working illegally in agriculture jobs, but that clearly has not been the case. Report 1. Endangered at the Border: Animal trafficking closely tied to drug, human trafficking 2. Unlimited Cheap Farm Labor: Evaluating H-2A Disclosure Data Blog Posts 3. Venezuelan Migration Continues to Grow 4. Refugee Resettlement Is Costly 5. An EB-5 Dispute, with Something Old and Something New 6. DHS Is Increasing Foreign Student Fees — But Not by Enough 7. Lawsuit Seeks to Require Federal Contractor to Break Immigration Laws 8. 2018 New Green Card Data Shows Slight Quarter-to-Quarter Decline 9. Refugee Resettlement – Lifeline or Foreign Policy Tool? 10. Section 266 of the INA: A Forgotten Immigration Crime 11. Could TPS Be Back on the Table for Nicaragua? Television 12. Andrew Arthur Discusses Court Ruling on Constitutional Protections 13. Peter Nunez Discusses Prosecutor Caseload 1. Endangered at the Border:Animal trafficking closely tied to drug, human trafficking By Matthew Sussis CIS Report, August 10, 2018 https://cis.org/Report/Endangered-Border Excerpt: Closely tied to the criminal networks involved in illegal immigration and drug smuggling across the U.S. border is illegal wildlife trafficking, a $10 billion industry that harms vulnerable animal populations and brings various endangered species closer to extinction. When Americans picture illegal animal smuggling, they may imagine black markets in distant, underdeveloped nations, but the reality hits closer to home. The United States is one of the top destinations for illegally trafficked animal goods, and every year thousands of illicit animal products are smuggled across both the northern and southern border and into various American ports. Return to Top ******** ******** 2. Unlimited Cheap Farm Labor: Evaluating H-2A Disclosure Data By Preston Huennekens CIS Report, August 6, 2018 https://www.cis.org/Report/Unlimited-Cheap-Farm-Labor-Evaluating-H2A-Disclosure-Data Excerpt: The H-2A visa is uncapped to encourage as many farmers as possible to legally hire their workers. In a February 2018 Successful Farming article, the author remarked that "the 'elephant in the room' is that many farmworkers are not legally employed in the United States. More than half of all farmworkers are unauthorized to work in the United States, according to a National Agricultural Worker Survey." The H-2A program in theory should reduce the number of foreigners working illegally in agriculture jobs, but that clearly has not been the case. A closer look at the H-2A program reveals interesting details. Return to Top ******** ******** 3. Venezuelan Migration Continues to Grow By Kausha Luna CIS Blog, August 10, 2018 https://cis.org/Luna/Venezuelan-Migration-Continues-Grow Excerpt: Countries hosting Venezuelans have been relatively generous, keeping their borders open and offering various forms of protection. Colombia, which has received the majority of Venezuelan migrants, initially granted Venezuelans a Special Stay Permit allowing temporary residence. Later, the Colombian government began to issue Border Mobility Cards. As of February 2018, however, the government stopped granting both of these cards. Argentina and Uruguay, under the Mercosur Residency Agreement, have given Venezuelans unrestricted visas that allow them to live and work in those countries for a renewable period of two years. Return to Top ******** ******** 4. Refugee Resettlement Is Costly By Jason Richwine CIS Blog, August 10, 2018 https://www.cis.org/Richwine/Refugee-Resettlement-Costly Excerpt: The purpose of refugee policy is primarily humanitarian, and policymakers need to determine how best to help refugees given limited resources and possible disruption to host nations. However, advocates for expanding the number of refugees admitted to the United States have lately portrayed their position as a win-win — not only is refugee resettlement a moral imperative, it is also in our nation's economic self-interest! Last fall, a leaked (and apparently unfinished) report from the Department Health and Human Services claimed that refugees pay more in taxes than they receive in services. A less comprehensive NBER working paper came to the same conclusion last summer. Return to Top ******** ******** 5. An EB-5 Dispute, with Something Old and Something New By David North CIS Blog, August 9, 2018 https://www.cis.org/North/EB5-Dispute-Something-Old-and-Something-New Excerpt: It should be noted that this is a civil, not a criminal matter. The case was brought by the investor and not by the Securities and Exchange Commission that so often acts as the cop in other EB-5 disputes. It will be interesting to see — perhaps years in the future — what happens to this case, but in the meantime the filing (although intended to rescue Zhan's money) is a searing indictment of the entire EB-5 program. Return to Top ******** ******** 6. DHS Is Increasing Foreign Student Fees — But Not by Enough By David North CIS Blog, August 8, 2018 https://www.cis.org/North/DHS-Increasing-Foreign-Student-Fees-Not-Enough Excerpt: Last month, the Department of Homeland Security proposed — for the first time in 14 years — to increase its fee for newly arrived foreign students by $150. It will be $350 per student, up from $200. DHS also proposed that new certifications for institutions wanting foreign students would be raised from a ridiculously low $1,700 to a still unrealistic $3,000. Return to Top ******** ******** 7. Lawsuit Seeks to Require Federal Contractor to Break Immigration Laws By Dan Cadman CIS Blog, August 8, 2018 https://www.cis.org/Cadman/Lawsuit-Seeks-Require-Federal-Contractor-Break-Immigration-Laws Excerpt: Superficially, this suit doesn't have anything to do with immigration, it has to do with labor laws. But strip away the thin veneer and it's easy to see that it is just one more effort using "lawfare" to dismantle effective immigration enforcement. Return to Top ******** ******** 8. 2018 New Green Card Data Shows Slight Quarter-to-Quarter Decline By Preston Huennekens CIS Blog, August 8, 2018 https://www.cis.org/Huennekens/2018-New-Green-Card-Data-Shows-Slight-QuartertoQuarter-Decline Excerpt:One quarter's worth of data is not enough to draw conclusions about the remaining nine months in any fiscal year. However, reports indicate that the Trump administration may publish a proposal that would bar individuals on green cards (and future applicants) from naturalization if they or their dependents used certain social safety net programs. Return to Top ******** ******** 9. Refugee Resettlement – Lifeline or Foreign Policy Tool? By Nayla Rush CIS Blog, August 7, 2018 https://www.cis.org/Rush/Refugee-Resettlement-Lifeline-or-Foreign-Policy-Tool Excerpt: Even as the resettlement ceiling was lowered, President Trump has always been an advocate for proximity help, as he told Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri last year: "Our approach, supporting the humanitarian needs of displaced Syrian citizens as close to their home country as possible, is the best way to help most people." Return to Top ******** ******** 10. Section 266 of the INA: A Forgotten Immigration Crime By Andrew Arthur CIS Blog, AUgust 5, 2018 https://www.cis.org/Arthur/Section-266-INA-Forgotten-Immigration-Crime Excerpt: To eliminate any issues, however, ICE could publish a public notice informing all aliens who have entered illegally that they have 30 days to register under section 262 of the INA. After that 30-day period, any alien apprehended in the United States who has been in this country for more than 30 days and has failed to register in accordance with section 262(a) of the INA could be prosecuted under section 266(a) of the INA. The president has vowed to use all tools available to him to enforce the immigration laws. Sections 262 and 266 of the INA, which impose criminal penalties upon aliens who have failed to register and be fingerprinted in the United States, provide a powerful incentive for those here illegally to either depart the United States or identify themselves to ICE. The agency should use them. Return to Top ******** ******** 11. Could TPS Be Back on the Table for Nicaragua? By Kausha Luna CIS Blog, August 5, 2018 https://www.cis.org/Luna/Could-TPS-Be-Back-Table-Nicaragua Excerpt: In recent months the number of asylum applications by Nicaraguans in neighboring Costa Rica and other countries has increased dramatically. Currently, an average of 200 asylum applications are being lodged daily in Costa Rica. Per Costa Rican authorities, nearly 8,000 asylum claims by Nicaraguan nationals have been registered since April, and some 15,000 more have been given appointments for later registration as the national processing capacities have been overwhelmed. Arriving Nicaraguans are being hosted by an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Nicaraguan families living already in Costar Rica. Panama, Mexico, and the United States have also recorded a growing trend of asylum claims by Nicaraguans during the first half of 2018, with a significant peak in June. However, the numbers in these countries remain in the low hundreds. Return to Top ******** ******** 12. Andrew Arthur Discusses Court Ruling on Constitutional Protections Fox News, August 9, 2018 Video: https://www.cis.org/Andrew-Arthur-Discusses-Court-Ruling-Constitutional-Protections Return to Top ******** ******** 13. Peter Nunez Discusses Prosecutor Caseload Fox News, August 8, 2018 Video: https://www.cis.org/Peter-Nunez-Discusses-Prosecutor-Caseload Return to Top Edit this box and replace what's in it with html for your e-mal Visit Website