Senate Plans Vote on Bipartisan Immigration Deal This Week

The Senate is expected to hold an initial vote tomorrow on a $118 billion border security and international aid supplemental legislation, which includes the bipartisan immigration agreement led by Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and James Lankford (R-OK). While the bill contains modest improvements in immigration reforms that Argentum has advanced to help with the workforce shortage crisis, it is unlikely the bill has enough support to advance in either the House or Senate.

Unfortunately, the package does not adequately address the critical need of health care and direct care workers in the United States, as Argentum identified in a report issued last year (Workforce Projections for Senior Care), which shows a current shortage of more than 400,000 workers in long-term care that is projected to grow to more than 20 million workers by 2040. Argentum has pushed for common-senses policy solutions to address these workforce needs through our foreign-born worker task force and with the Tent Partnership for Refugees.

The package would allow for expedited deportation of undocumented migrants, tighten asylum application requirements, and increase funding for border security personnel. Major provisions of the Senate legislation include:

• Work Authorization Programs. Provides immediate work authorizations for applicants who receive a positive protection determination (Section 240D); provides work authorization for family members of certain visa holders; authorizes issuance of 50,000 new employment and family-based visas per year for five years.
• Protections for Children of Foreign Workers. Ensures children dependents of foreign workers will not “age out” of their legal status at 21 under their parent’s employment visa.
• Creation of a new removal authority. This would process migrants’ protection claims and appeals so they are adjudicated within six months by USCIS asylum officers rather than the immigration court system, thereby reducing the immigration court case backlog.
• Implementation of new Asylum Standards. Increases the asylum screening standard to ensure only migrants with legitimate asylum claims are allowed to remain in the country, through a new Protection Determination Interview.
• Afghan Adjustment Act. Establishes a path to permanent legal status for Afghan nationals who were evacuated to the U.S. in August 2021.
• End of “Catch and Release.” This would require detention or mandatory supervision of all migrants processed at the border; it also closes the 212 Parole and 236 Parole loopholes.

In addition to the immigration provisions, the package also includes substantial foreign relief funding, including: $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $10 billion in humanitarian relief for Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine and other conflict zones.

The Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC), of which Argentum is a member, released a statement urging the Senate and House to move forward with consideration of the package and additionally called on Congress to:

1. Prioritize eliminating work authorization delays: Address administrative backlogs and expedite processing times for work authorization documents for immigrants legally residing in the U.S., such as through S. 255/H.R. 1325, the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act. This prevents unnecessary hardships and reduces the potential that these immigrants legally residing in the U.S. will resort to unauthorized work.
2. Expand legal temporary worker visa programs: Create year-round programs tailored to different skill levels and industry needs, ensuring a flexible and responsive legal immigration system, such as H.R. 3734, the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act.
3. Streamline the visa application process: Reduce bureaucratic hurdles and simplify procedures for employers and workers, fostering greater utilization of legal channels.

While the White House has endorsed the bill, it is unclear whether the package can pass the Senate let alone receive the 60 votes that are needed for cloture and to consider it on the floor. Several members of Senate Republican leadership, including Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), have announced they plan to vote no on tomorrow's cloture vote, indicating that there will not be enough votes to proceed with consideration of the bill.

Further, House Speaker Mike Johnson has called the bill “dead on arrival,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has said definitively that the House would not vote on this measure and former President Trump has come out in strong opposition to the bipartisan border negotiations, threatening support among Republicans.