Immigration News Weekly

July 17 - 23

U.S. Immigration Shutdown Looms As Congress Ponders What’s Next
Forbes | Andy J. Semotiuk | July 24
“Could the U.S. immigration system come to a grinding halt shortly? There are concerns that’s exactly what could happen due to a budgetary crisis that has arisen at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The full impact of a shortage of money and a shut down of service is hard to imagine, but it is likely to be huge. Congressional wrangling over what to include in the next major bipartisan pandemic response legislation – assuming Republicans and Democrats in Washington are able to eventually reach agreement - does not seem to include any reference to the USCIS problem so far.”

More than 300,000 Immigrants May Not Become Citizens in Time to Vote as COVID-19 Stalls Process
USA Today | Daniel Gonzalez (Arizona Republic) | July 21
“Alex Beric, a 44-year-old immigrant from England, applied for naturalization in May 2019. He was hoping to become a U.S. citizen in time to vote in the presidential election this November. But now he is one of more than 300,000 immigrants at risk of not becoming citizens in time to cast ballots after the federal agency in charge of processing naturalization applications suspended in-person interviews and oath ceremonies this spring amid the coronavirus pandemic.”

Trump Signs Order Targeting Undocumented Immigrants in the US Census
CNN | Kevin Liptak, Maegan Vazquez, Ariane de Vogue, and Catherine E. Shoichet | July 21
“President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Tuesday that would exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted in congressional districts when district lines are redrawn next year. The memorandum marks the Trump administration's latest effort to change the way US populations are counted and advance the President's immigration agenda. And like previous efforts, the issue will end up in court. "I have accordingly determined that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President's discretion under the law," the order states.”