Make Public Comments For Immigration Justice

As the country faces a consequential election, political forces use immigration issues to stir up their bases rather than passing legislation to solve important challenges. (See Faith-Based Groups That Assist Migrants Become Targets of Extremists, NYT.) While most helpful legislation is stalled, certain issues are being approached through administrative actions—some to good effect, others less so.

Here, we offer two ways to help, through public comments, to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — the first in support of a rule change, the second to oppose a rule change.

#1 Support Work Permits for Immigrants

Migrants, whether they are Afghan ally refugees, asylum seekers, Dreamers, or others, are currently limited in their ability to obtain jobs to support their families (and help build our economy) by complicated work authorization rules. The administration can help.

You can make a positive difference for such refugees and asylees by commenting in support of the recent rule automatically extending the Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) period for certain renewal applicants from 180 days to 540 days or longer.  

• Review our summary and comment guidance here. We offer some questions to help you prepare a unique comment.
• Your comment does not have to be long or complex. Comments are due before midnight Eastern time on June 7, 2024. 

#2 Oppose a Subjective Asylum Process

The Biden administration is proposing changes to the asylum process that will allow asylum officers to consider “bars” to asylum during fear screenings. These changes would permit the rejection of some asylum seekers earlier in the process since these bars to asylum are currently reviewed only in a full hearing by an immigration judge. These changes would be optional, leaving the decision to individual asylum officers. We feel this will make the asylum process more arbitrary and complex than it currently is. UUSJ opposes this change.

You can help defend a fair and equitable asylum process by commenting on opposition to the proposed DHS rule for the Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings.  

• Review our summary and comment guidance here. We offer talking points and issue highlights to help you prepare a unique comment.
• Your comment does not have to be long or complex. Comments are due before midnight Eastern time on June 12, 2024.

Ask Your House Member to Support and Cosponsor H.R. 598
Take Action and use our poster for tabling after services.
View a short video about the Earth Bill

The Earth Act to Stop Climate Pollution by 2030 (H.R.598), popularly known as the “Earth Bill,” focuses on electricity, cars, and food as industries in which Americans support change–most Americans agree that our electricity should be renewable, our cars electric, and our food should be produced using healthy practices.

Let’s make noteworthy progress toward sustainability by 2030. As the Center for Biological Diversity finds in its report Out Polluting Progress, if we continue with the status quo approach, it won’t happen.

Freedom Over Fascism Movement Briefing
Hosted by the Research Collaborative

Thursday, June 13, 2024
3:00 p.m. ET • 2:00 p.m. CT • 1:00 p.m. MT • 12:00 p.m. PT
RSVP: Online

Amid Supreme Court rulings, it’ll be imperative to show voters the real-world effects of a conservative majority Supreme Court and make clear how right-leaning Justices are taking away our freedoms and moving our country backward. Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director for United for Democracy, will discuss how we can mobilize voters this November to hold the right-leaning Justices and the Republicans who support them accountable at the ballot box.

Articles:

• Are Our Oligarchs Going to Drag Us Into Civil War?, New Republic
• Small Donors to Campaigns Are Not the Problem, Brennan Center

Supreme Court Weakens Voting Rights

On Thursday, May 23, the Supreme Court dealt a blow to voting rights in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. They ruled that South Carolina’s Congressional map had not been racially gerrymandered, reversing a lower court decision. 

According to Slate, “The result is a new, nearly insurmountable bar for victims of racial gerrymandering: It will be virtually impossible for any plaintiff to prove that lawmakers targeted them because of their race rather than their assumed political beliefs. Legislatures may now aggressively dilute the voting power of Black communities by shifting them into districts where their votes will matter least.”

Other media: Leah Aden, PBS Newshour Interview, Tona Boyd, MSNBC Interview, and Janai Nelson, MSNBC Interview.

Knowing we cannot count on the courts, we must work together to fight voter suppression and build a multiracial, inclusive democracy where every eligible vote counts. We need a pro-democracy movement.

No Kings in our Constitution

Increasingly, the Supreme Court seems disconnected from the values of the broad middle of our citizenry and perhaps willing to contradict legal precedent and the Constitution. In addition to a pivotal role in determining Presidential powers, the court is also ruling on abortion rights, climate change, and gun laws. 

The Brennan Center for Justice finds that “a majority of Americans understand and agree that a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court confers far too much public power on a single individual. An 18-year term limit is one of the few solutions with bipartisan support.”

• Send a message to Congress with the Brenan Center, demanding term limits for Supreme Court justices. 
• Then, take UUSJ’s action, telling Congress to require binding ethics rules for Supreme Court Justice. 

If you forgot why this is important, see CNN’s Alito tells lawmakers he will not recuse from Supreme Court cases despite flag controversy. The NYT Inside the Clash that Prompted Alitos’ Upside-Down Flag, and Samuel Alito has decided that Samuel Alito is sufficiently impartial, Washington Post.

A Push Toward Ranked Choice Voting

On Monday, May 20, Democracy Action Team (DAT) members and constituents of Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-8) met with senior staff on his soon-to-be-introduced Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) bill. Raskin focuses on ranked choice voting because it is relatively easy for voters to understand the benefits and is already used in Alaska state-wide elections. 

In RCV, voters rank candidates in order of preference (1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice). Votes count toward another candidate if your 1st choice candidate receives the fewest votes. The senior staffer, whose portfolio includes all Judiciary Committee issues, hopes Raskin’s bill will get a hearing early in the next Congress. DAT will visit House Administration and Judiciary members in the coming months.

“Our democracy is on the line – that’s what motivates [Raskin] daily,” the staffer said.

Rally for EXIM to Stop Funding the Climate Crisis
Organized by The Climate Reality Project

Thursday, June 6
8:00 a.m. ET 
Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC
RSVP: In-person, or send an online message

In 2022, the US pledged to end support for unabated fossil fuels projects abroad. Yet, the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) continues to spend millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars each year to fund fossil fuel expansion in countries worldwide. Many climate activists have never heard of the EXIM, but they play a major role in expanding fossil fuel use in other countries. We have a chance next week to push them to shift from that to investing in projects that would help the clean energy transition.

Join the rally outside this year's Export-Import conference to deliver the clear message: EXIM must stop funding fossil fuels.

At Odds, The House and Senate Farm Bill Proposals

In May, the House Agriculture Committee released its long-awaited Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 (FFNSA). The 942-page draft arrived several days before the Committee markup on May 23. Due to substantive policy and logistical factors, when and whether the Farm Bill will be brought to the House floor for a vote is unclear. With a markedly different Senate proposal, what reconciliation might yield also remains unclear.

UUSJ feels the House proposal pits nutrition and climate policies against each other and has withheld its support as we reiterate calls for a Faithful Farm Bill that simultaneously holds harmless and strengthens hunger programs while also drawing a “green line” to side with improving policies and programs that address climate change.

Nevertheless, Big Agriculture was pleased with the House proposal. The National Corn Growers Association praised many of the programs in the House farm bill and highlighted its bipartisan support. The American Soybean Association, National Sorghum Producers, Corn Refiners Association, Almond Alliance, and the U.S. Dairy Export Council signaled approval for the bill’s farm safety net, crop insurance, trade promotion, and conservation programs.

In contrast, the Democrat-led Senate Committee on Agriculture indicated appreciation that the process was finally moving forward but declined to support Chairman Thompson’s approach. Our friends and allies, MAZON, a Jewish response to hunger, called for a clear “No Vote” on the House bill while celebrating a ‘Visionary’ Senate Farm Bill Proposal. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition said the House Farm Bill Misses Opportunity to Move Agriculture Forward.

Six Largest Private Fossil Fuel Firms Made $2.4 Trillion

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-5) have reintroduced the End Polluter Welfare Act to eliminate the estimated $17 billion in annual direct federal subsidies to fossil fuel companies, reports Common Dreams. Sanders's and Omar's Proposal Would 'End Absurd Corporate Welfare' for Fossil Fuel Giants.

Their legislation moves to end what they characterize as a system in which American families have been forced to “pad the profits” of an industry that has heightened their risk of facing climate disasters, and in response to a February report from Swiss Re which estimates “climate change is currently costing the U.S. roughly $97 billion per year.”

Reforms to the Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Program

For Politico’s Green Wire, Heather Richards reports that Biden boosted the cost of drilling on public lands and covered a related victory. The Biden administration increased federal royalty rates for oil companies that drill on public lands and aimed to decrease the footprint of the U.S. oil program. 

Also, the Biden rule hikes fees for oil projects on public lands, and Oil and gas companies must pay more to drill on federal lands under new Biden administration rule, AP.

Dreamers Demand Automatic DACA Extensions

UUSJ is a member of the Work Permit Coalition. In May, the Coalition noted that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA") recipients are experiencing processing delays when renewing their DACA and work authorizations. 

Hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients across the U.S. face delays in their renewal process. These delays have severe consequences: causing job losses, jeopardizing access to healthcare, and fueling constant fear of deportation. To prevent DACA recipients from experiencing a gap in their work authorization and DACA grants, the Coalition asks the administration to (1) issue consecutive grants, (2) publish more data about processing times, and (3) include DACA recipients in the work permit extension.

Sign the petition now to urge the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take immediate steps to address this crisis.

Support for Refugees in the FY 2025 Appropriations Bill

In early May, the Immigration Action Team joined the Interfaith Immigration Coalition to urge key Senate Democrats to sign Senator Blumenthal’s Dear Colleague letter supporting robust funding for refugee protection, resettlement, and related accounts for Fiscal Year 2025. 

The funding would support the refugee admissions program, provide overseas humanitarian assistance to displaced people, and bolster integration programs for refugees, asylees, unaccompanied children, Ukrainian and Afghan parolees, and others

Easier Access to Jobs for Asylum Seekers, Dreamers, and Others 

In May, UUSJ submitted a comment in response to the proposed DHS rule titled “Temporary Increase of the Automatic Extension Period of Employment Authorization and Documentation for Certain Employment Authorization Document Renewal Applicants.” 

• Make your own comment by midnight Eastern time on June 7, 2024. 
• Review our summary and comment guidance here. We offer questions to guide you in preparing a unique comment. 

UUSJ’s comment noted that we believe that no asylum seekers or immigrants should lose their jobs because of government processing delays. We called on the government to:

1. Issue a longer and permanent automatic work permit extension period that covers all eligible workers; and, 
2. Ensure that it can process work permit renewal applications for other immigrants in danger of losing their jobs, including DACA recipients.
3. We also suggested other changes before finalizing the rule in order to keep immigrant workers in the formal workforce.

Related to Immigrant Work:

• Rep. Chellie Pingree: Let asylum seekers work, Portland Press Herald
• Economic Benefits of Immigration Legal Services, NYC Comptrollers Office
• Accounting for Asylum Seeker Services, NYC Comptrollers Office
• Facts, Not Fear: How Welcoming Immigrants Benefits New York City, NYC Comptrollers Office
• New Immigrants Arriving in the New York City: Economic Projections, Immigration Research Initiative

Meanwhile, on April 29, the Department of Labor published a new rule aimed at protecting migrant workers on temporary H-2A visas and strengthening the agency’s oversight of their employers.

A More Complicated and Subjective Asylum Process in the Making

With the DHS rule “Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings,” the Biden administration is proposing changes to the asylum process that will allow asylum officers to consider “bars” to asylum during fear screenings.

UUSJ opposed this change. See our comment here.

The bars to asylum are some of the most obscure and complicated aspects of immigration law. In a related piece, Immigration Impact reports, “Advocates have long complained that the expedited removal process lacks transparency. It will be difficult to determine exactly how this new policy will be implemented.”

Related questions have decades of case law attached to them. It is inappropriate to ask asylum officers to render such decisions.

• Make your comment by midnight Eastern time on June 12, 2024.
• Please review our summary and comment guidance here. We offer talking points and issue highlights to help you prepare a unique comment.

UUSJ’s comment noted that this proposed rule is troubling and should not be adopted. We cautioned the U.S. government that:

1. Deciding whether a person is subject to a bar that automatically disqualifies them from being granted asylum requires careful investigation and legal analysis, not an interview without the aid of legal counsel. 
2. The process will not be transparent, and there will be no way to assess whether it leads to erroneous removal of migrants who qualify for asylum.

Summit on Housing Supply Solutions
Hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center

Tuesday, June 11
9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET
Attend in person or watch virtually

Join BPC’s J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy as they bring together experts and thought leaders from government, business, philanthropy, and more to explore meaningful, bipartisan solutions to the acute shortage of affordable homes. The summit will offer insights from industry experts on boosting affordable housing preservation and construction, discussions on aiding Americans struggling with high rents and mortgage payments, and networking. See the speaker list on the RSVP.

Confronting the Housing Affordability Crisis 

Take Action Alert, and after services, use our Poster for tabling.

Housing insecurity is deepening in the United States. Our public housing system, marred by decades of neglect and racial injustice, is crumbling under a staggering $70 billion maintenance backlog. Residents face severe health risks from mold, lead, poor air quality, and dangerous temperatures. The financial strain on families in public housing is profound. Today, 11.3 million households spend over half their income on housing. Review a Data for Progress Report.

The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act (Bill Summary) proposes spending $234 billion over the next decade renovating public housing into zero-carbon, energy-efficient homes. 

Trump Tax Law 101, Anyone

Sarah Christopherson, Senior Advisor to Progressive Non-Profits, SCGC Consulting, wrote this (reasonably short) overview to provide advocates who want to engage in the tax fight with an entry point for getting up to speed on the basics.

It is an excellent Trump tax cut, 101-style, resource to inform the 2025 tax fight that does not attempt to duplicate previous excellent work and reporting.  

Sarah’s 101 supplements great information that has been put out about the Trump tax law:

• How it overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy and corporations, 
• How it has cost thus far, 
• How much it would cost to extend the law in the future, 
• What it did to explode billionaire wealth,
• How little it did to help the average worker or family and 
• How it exacerbated “greedflation.”

Tax and Debt Reports that Inform the 2024 Presidential Election

The Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) has just released several new reports that are relevant to the upcoming 2024 Presidential election:

• Extending President Trump’s Tax Policy and Jobs Act: This paper analyzes former President Trump's main fiscal policy plan, which involves permanently extending the expiring provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. 
• President Biden’s FY 2025 Budget: This paper analyzes President Biden's main fiscal policy plan, as outlined in his FY 2025 budget.
• Policy Options for Reducing the Federal Debt: Spring, 2024: In this brief, they analyze the budgetary and economic effects of three illustrative policy bundles that reduce federal budget deficits over time without shrinking the economy relative to current law with rising debt.
• Immigration: This report examines the budgetary impact of removing 1 million immigrants from the U.S. economy over the next decade and finds that the impacts depend on the skill distribution of the immigrant reduction. 

Tax Policy Articles:

• Mr. Biden, Tear Down This Debt Ceiling!, TAP
• Direct File, Free File, And Tax Sentiment, TPC
• Five takeaways from POLITICO’s ‘Election 2024: The Future of Taxation’ event, Politico
• Your total tax burden would probably go up under Trump. Yes, up, WaPo 
• 'Grave Mistake': Yellen Under Fire for Opposing Global Billionaires Tax, Common Dreams
• US Not Sold On A Global Tax On Billionaires, TPC
• Are Billionaire Taxes Falling? That Depends On Who You Think Pays Corporate Taxes, TPC