New from the Center for Immigration Studies, 4/11/22

Share Tweet Share Reports Estimating the Illegal Immigrant Population Using the Current Population Survey Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler, March 29, 2022 Excerpt: This analysis represents our first attempt to estimate the illegal immigrant population, also referred to as the unauthorized or undocumented, using the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) or "household survey".  We estimate that in January 2022 there were 11.35 million illegal immigrants in the country — a 1.13 million increase over the 10.22 million in January 2021. Our preliminary estimate for February of this year is 11.46 million. Reforming the EB-5 Investor Green Card Program: The agony and the ecstasy By George Fishman, April 5, 2022 Excerpt: On March 9 and 10, the U.S. House and Senate passed legislation funding the federal government that contains a provision reauthorizing the "regional center" driver of the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program through FY 2027 after an 8-month lapse. This brings closure to a 7-plus-year effort to reform the "corrupt, scandal-clad program" (in the words of Sen. Chuck Grassley). Commentary The Illegal-Immigrant Population Increased Dramatically in Biden's First Year In a very real sense, America has lost control of its borders By Steven A. Camarota National Review, April 5, 2022 Excerpt: Given the ongoing crisis at our southern border, it seems almost certain that the illegal-immigrant population in the U.S. has been growing — but by how much, exactly? Our latest research shows that the number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. actually declined during the pandemic year of 2020, but then it rebounded sharply in 2021 with an increase of over one million in the last year.  The White House Does, in Fact, Have a Post–Title 42 Plan By Mark Krikorian National Review, March 31, 2022 Excerpt: The White House plan for dealing with the surge of new illegal immigration — which will come on top of the existing historic surge of illegal immigration – is not to halt the surge but to launder it by granting asylum immediately to virtually all those who jump the border. Cesar Chavez Belonged to a Vanishing Breed: The Pro-Borders Left By Mark Krikorian National Review, March 31, 2022 Excerpt: In a 1974 interview, Chavez said, "There's an awful lot of illegals coming in. . . . They're coming in by the thousands, it's just unbelievable. See, they're coming in with the consent of the immigration service." Today's landscape bears striking similarities to Chavez's, with a few key differences . . . Why lifting Title 42 could cause a 'mass migration event' at the border By Mark Krikorian NY Post, March 30, 2022 Excerpt: The chief of the Border Patrol says his agency is on track to make 2 million arrests of illegal immigrants this fiscal year, up 20% from the year before. That's not counting the estimated 40,000 "gotaways" who elude the Border Patrol each month. A Border Patrol overwhelmed with the "processing" of illegal migrants turning themselves in (knowing they'll be released) is powerless to stop drug smuggling, which has also surged under Biden. And things may be about to get much worse. Podcast The Need for a More Merit-Based H-1B Selection Process Moderator: Mark Krikorian Guest: Robert Law  Parsing Immigration Policy, Episode 48 Illegal Immigrant Population Increases More Than 1 Million in Last Year Moderator: Mark Krikorian Guest: Steven A. Camarota  Parsing Immigration Policy, Episode 47 Featured Blog Posts Biden Moves to Cut ICE Detention By Andrew R. Arthur The White House request for fewer detention beds this fiscal year and its ongoing litigation against "Remain in Mexico" reveal that the Biden administration doesn't care about border control. Rather, it shows Biden is simply attempting to dismantle enforcement, thereby demolishing Congress's limits on immigration. Who Will Be in Charge of Asylum? By George Fishman The very same asylum officer corps that spent four years zealously endeavoring to undermine Trump administration efforts to secure our southern border will be given the keys to the kingdom, an almost unfettered ability to convert the coming surge of illegal border crossers into refugees (technically, "asylees").   USCIS Announces Plan to More Quickly Rubber-Stamp Approvals By Robert Law In response to complaints from immigration attorneys and the business community that the Biden administration has largely ignored their asks in favor of the humanitarian side of the loose-borders coalition, USCIS has announced a series of steps that cater to business lobbyists' demands. Title 42 Reportedly to End May 23 By Andrew R. Arthur This will be great for the upward of 18,000 aliens who will enter the United States daily after Title 42 ends. For you? Not so much. That assumes, however, that the president is allowed to get away with this plan — and that verdict will be handed down in the federal courts, and ultimately in the court of public opinion. More Blog Posts Decisions Made by Those with Many Options in the Immigration Field Illegal Migrant Surge — 60 Miles from the Border Administration Fears Post-Title 42 Onslaught at the Southwest Border A Bit of Forgotten History Related to Migration: the Russians and the Finns Mayorkas More than Doubles the Cheap Labor Pipeline Contrasting Views of Immigrants and the Native-Born A 'Silent Mariel' Airlift from Cuba Underway Just in Time for Massive Phase II of the Biden Border Crisis USCIS Runs H-1B Lottery Biden Expands H-2B and a CNMI Casino Shows Why the Program Should Shrink House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up 'Independent' Immigration Court Bill 'Golden Parachutes' Viewed Differently on Other Side of the Pond Biden Official Who Believes ICE Is 'Out of Control' Tells Agency's Lawyers to Tank 'Nonpriority' Cases USCIS Director Wants American Taxpayers to Pay for Illegal Alien Work Permits Courts Split on Phony Universities Created by ICE DHS Wants Demoralized ICE Agents to Find Aliens It Forced Them to Release Texas Governor's Ideas May Impact Mexican Enforcement of Mass Migration Why Isn't Anyone Talking About the Most Important Border Law? Why the Trump Administration Weakened Its Own Public Charge Rule Homeland Security Report on Graduate Alien Workers Hides the Truth Donate

Where Are All the Biden Immigration Regulations?

Axing Trump policies an easier lift than offering its own vision 

Share Tweet Share Where Are All the Biden Immigration Regulations? Axing Trump policies an easier lift than offering its own vision By Robert Law on April 18, 2022 The Biden administration entered office laser-focused on undoing every immigration policy issued by President Trump. They wasted no time, moving swiftly to end policies that had successfully deterred illegal immigration and restored order at the southern border. Most notable was President Biden's dissolution of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP, commonly known as Remain in Mexico), arguably the Trump administration's most effective policy at preventing economic migrants from exploiting the asylum system as a means of gaining entry to the interior. Career Border Patrol agents warned the Biden transition team of the need to keep MPP in place, advice that was ignored. Predictably, this opened the floodgates of illegal aliens trying to cross the southern border, resulting in an all-time record of 1.659 million encounters in fiscal year 2021. The Biden administration also moved quickly to undo Trump-era immigration regulations through a new side-door process that circumvents the time-consuming requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). While it is an administration's prerogative to change regulations, they are supposed to be bound by the same developmental steps that its predecessor followed. Instead, the Biden administration has refused to defend regulations in lawsuits brought by advocacy groups, teeing them up for friendly judges to simply ax the regulations. Having successfully cleared the deck, you would think Biden's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be churning out new immigration regulations. Except that isn't exactly the case. While the most recent Unified Agenda indicates that DHS is working on a number of immigration regulations, mostly through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), very few proposals have actually come out through the Biden administration's first 15 months. With the notable exception of an illegal final rule that will allow USCIS asylum officers instead of immigration judges to hear asylum claims at the border, the agency has little to show to date. Currently, there is only one immigration regulation under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), a rule that has to do with automatically extending work permits that does not even appear in the unified agenda. Having led the USCIS policy office at the end of the Trump administration, I am well aware of how difficult the rulemaking process can be. That said, when you have a clear vision — as I did when in that role — you can expedite the development of regulations. It seems like other than being "anti-Trump", the Biden political team is struggling to affirmatively articulate its immigration policies that require regulations to implement. Visit Website Donate