JCIRA Website Updates
We have updated our website to highlight the new JCIRA Multicultural Center. We will be sending updates as this work progresses. See new information on the site on how to get involved and check out the new Founder's page here. |
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Status of Federal Immigration Legislation
January 2023
If you have questions about immigration legislation or other immigration issues, send them to jcirawa@gmail.com with the word “Question” in the subject line. We will try to answer questions either by return email or in this newsletter.
The 118th United States Congress convened on January 3, 2023. With the start of a new Congress all previously pending legislation is wiped away. There is a legislative fresh start.
For the past three weeks Congress has been primarily concerned with organizational issues. As of this date, no immigration related bills have been introduced in the Senate and only eight have been introduced in the House. Seven of these are aimed, directly or indirectly, at either keeping immigrants out of the U.S. or removing unauthorized immigrants. The other bill is intended to facilitate granting of family separation visas.
Major issues that need to be addressed by legislation and for which legislation failed to pass in the previous Congress include:
- Comprehensive Immigration Reform - A total rewrite of U.S. immigration law that since 1965 almost everyone says is needed, although with differing objectives, but nothing happens.
- A Path to Citizenship for DACA Residents and a possible opening for new DACA applicants.
- Farm Workforce Modification Act - Provides for entry of migrants and immigrants needed to fill vacant jobs in the agricultural industry.
- Afghan Adjustment Act - Grants permanent resident status to Afghan refugees who are present in the U.S. under Humanitarian Parole which currently has a two year limit. Many of these persons were promised protection in return for service to the U.S. military or government. If no action is taken, as many as 75,000 persons could be subject to deportation as soon as August of this year. For many deportation would be a death sentence.
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Students at Chimacum Middle/High School want after-school tutoring in math, writing, science, social studies, and more. Sessions will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:20 p.m. to 3:15 pm at the school. Tutors should have experience working effectively with young people, and appropriate topical knowledge and skills. Your application will include giving permission for a background check. The goal is to start in February following an orientation. Contact Doug Edelstein for more information at daedelstein2@gmail.com. |
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Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center (KIAC) has information on a new tax credit for 2023. People can file tax credit applications at any time during 2023, including after the traditional April 15 tax filing deadline. It is based on earnings and family size in 2022. The Tax credit (up to $1200) is available to all adult residents with either a Social Security Number or ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number - ITIN), regardless of immigration status. Applications will be available February 1.
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News from the JCIRA Treasurer
Tax statements will be mailed out or emailed to donors by the end of January, the method determined by what contact info we have for each donor.
Immigrant Assistance is Free Speech
Supreme Court will hear a case this spring on the constitutionality of a law that makes it a crime to “encourage” unauthorized immigrants to come to or stay in the US. They heard a similar case which pits the law against free speech concerns. At that time, several justices suggested that the law violates the First Amendment by turning commonplace statements into felonies. See more information here.
Afghan Refugees in Limbo
With respect to the status of the Afghan Adjustment Act, HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield wrote, “There was solid precedent for the Afghan Adjustment Act. Congress has in the past provided paths to permanent residency for Cubans fleeing the Castro regime, for Vietnamese and other refugees after the wars in Southeast Asia, and for Iraqis after Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today, sadly, the United States Congress failed to rise to its obligation to stand with the Afghans who stood with us.”
Washington State Immigrant Programs
Washington State currently funds three programs that support services to immigrant and refugee communities in this area: the Washington New Americans program and the DSHS Naturalization program support people who are lawful permanent residents seeking to obtain U.S. citizenship; and the Legal Support and Community Safety program in the Department of Commerce supports immigration legal assistance to individuals who are not lawful permanent residents but can obtain permanent immigration status in the U.S.
1332 Waiver Approved
The federal government has approved Washington’s 1332 waiver application — a decision that lays the groundwork for many in Washington’s immigrant communities to finally access needed health care coverage.
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1. In 2022 state legislatures around the US adopted 79 bills having a positive impact on immigrants, as reported in the Catholic Legal Immigration Network's 2022 State Immigration Legislation & Policies Annual Report.
2. Wisconsin legal community rallies to aid Afghan immigration, read more here.
3. Nearly 1 million immigrants became U.S. citizens in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a hiatus in processing. It was the highest number of naturalizations in 15 years, showing the growing importance of immigrants with regard to who lives, works and votes in the U.S., according to a Pew Research analysis and the NY Times.
4. When Delia Ramirez speaks of providing solutions to the shortfalls of the U.S. immigration system, the new member of Congress speaks from experience. Her mother was pregnant with her when crossing the Rio Grande. Now she is fighting to keep DACA recipients, including her husband, from being deported. Read more on this story here.
5. The State Department launches a new way for ordinary Americans to resettle refugees, story from NPR.
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January 26: JCIRA General Meeting (5:00)
February 4: Mamond baby shower
February 7: Clallam Resilience Project Meeting (see below)
February 16: WAISN Advocacy Day
February 16: Reconnect Luncheon (Dove House)
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The Clallam Resilience Project will host a Zoom meeting on the adversity and trauma faced by many immigrant families on Tuesday February 7th, 2023, from 10:00 – 11:30am. Participants will learn about adversity and trauma faced by many immigrant families, how families acculturate to living in the United States and ways to foster resilience as families navigate acculturation in their new communities. For more information see here: Clallam Resilience Project: Immigrant families – experiences from adversity to resilience (clallamcountybar.com)
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