Ponder the News January 30, 2022

Today's News

The Treasury Department is planning on scaling back on Emergency Rental Assistance, in spite of the fact that less than two-thirds of the $46 billion of rental aid has been disbursed or allocated over a year after the program launched. (Source)

Apparently, there is currently a lawsuit, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that is challenging the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA). (Source)

North Dakota's Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has passed away. (Source)

Apparently, the Biden Administration has been flying illegal immigrants into the U.S. in the dead of night, on the taxpayers' dime, according to leaked video footage showing federal contractors flying illegal immigrants into New York. This has prompted U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA, 1st) to introduce the "Stop the Betrayal Act", legislation that would prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding secret charter flights transporting illegal immigrants into the interior of the U.S..

Immigration

Today's News from the Lawmakers

Pascrell Applauds McAllister Decision
Source: Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ, 9th)
April 26, 2019
“The decision by the Homeland Security Department to allow Mr. McAllister to remain in America is terrific news. Mr. McAllister and his family have set roots in our community. America is where he belongs. I thank Secretary McAleenan for granting a stay. Common sense and human dignity prevailed in his decision. We have fought for decades and will continue to fight and use this time to work towards a permanent resolution for this case.”

Read more...

Trump to allow Malachy McAllister to stay
Source: Irish Central
April 26, 2019
Kevin McAleenan, President Trump’s newly-appointed acting secretary of Homeland Security, has granted a request from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to stay the deportation of McAllister, the Washington Examiner reports.

Read more...

Udall, Heinrich Statement on Militia Group Illegally Operating in New Mexico

by: Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Washington, D.C. - April 23, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) issued the following statement in response to reports of a militia group illegally detaining migrant families and asylum seekers at the border in New Mexico:

“Reports of a militia group illegally operating in New Mexico and intimidating asylum seekers must be immediately investigated by the proper authorities. Vigilante groups attempting to utilize authorities reserved for law enforcement cannot be tolerated. Threatening innocent children and families fleeing violence and seeking asylum is unacceptable and flies in the face of our values as a state and a nation. We will closely monitor this situation and work with local and federal authorities to ensure a full investigation, and that public safety and the rule of law is upheld.”

UnidosUS: HUD’s Latest Rule Could Impact Millions of U.S. Citizen Children

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by: UnidosUS

Washington, D.C. - April 22, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed rule, which would bar individuals from mixed-status families access to public housing assistance:

“This is really a broader story about how the long-term cost of president’s whimsical immigration policies—here masked under a proposed HUD regulation—will be borne largely by the nearly six million U.S. citizen children that live in a mixed status household. Make no mistake, this is part of an intentionally cruel, misguided and wasteful immigration enforcement strategy hatched by Stephen Miller and his allies. And, it is an effort that is also desperately tone deaf. Our leaders at the highest levels of government should not be engaging in dog whistle politics at a time when there is a real and actionable humanitarian crisis along our southern border that needs to be addressed,” said Carlos Guevara, Senior Policy Advisor at UnidosUS.

UnidosUS, previously known as NCLR (National Council of La Raza), is the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Through its unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, UnidosUS simultaneously challenges the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos at the national and local levels. For more than 50 years, UnidosUS has united communities and different groups seeking common ground through collaboration, and that share a desire to make our country stronger.

WICKER, HYDE-SMITH COSPONSOR LEGISLATION TO PROTECT MEDICAID FROM FUNDING HEALTH CARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Washington, D.C. - January 21, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., have helped introduce the Protect Medicaid Act (S.131), which would prevent states from using federal resources to expand Medicaid services to illegal immigrants.

Wicker and Hyde-Smith are original cosponsors of the legislation (S.131), which was authored by Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.).

“American taxpayers should not be responsible for providing health care to those who are in our country illegally,” Wicker said. “If states like New York or California want to provide their own funds to support unauthorized immigrants, they should shoulder the full administrative cost of providing these services.”

“The law is the law, and this bill would stop states from circumventing the law to offer Medicaid benefits to illegal immigrants,” Hyde-Smith said. “This is a matter of fairness to states, like Mississippi, that follow the law and dedicate Medicaid resources to their citizens.”

Federal law already bars illegal immigrants from receiving Medicaid, but states like New York and California have attracted attention in recent months for using state funds to expand Medicaid coverage to unauthorized immigrants. These states effectively subsidize their programs with federal dollars by not counting the high administrative costs of providing Medicaid to millions of additional individuals who would not otherwise be eligible for support.

The legislation also requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to produce a report addressing:

Whether states that provide Medicaid services to illegal immigrants separate federal and state dollars;

Whether states providing health benefits to illegal immigrants use methods of financing their state programs that would violate federal law; and

The extent to which unauthorized immigrants benefit from covered outpatient drugs purchased under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and the 340B program, and whether this impacts the prices American citizens pay.

Related Information

Emergency Medicaid For Illegal Immigrants
Emergency Medicaid

Graham Backs Trump Birthright Citizenship Effort

Source: Senator Lindsey Graham (R - SC)

Washington, D.C. - October 30, 2018 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on reports that President Trump plans to issue an executive order eliminating birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants on American soil.

“Finally, a president willing to take on this absurd policy of birthright citizenship.

“I’ve always supported comprehensive immigration reform – and at the same time – the elimination of birthright citizenship.

“The United States is one of two developed countries in the world who grant citizenship based on location of birth. This policy is a magnet for illegal immigration, out of the mainstream of the developed world, and needs to come to an end.

“In addition, I plan to introduce legislation along the same lines as the proposed executive order from President Trump.”

Departments of Justice and Homeland Security Release Data on Incarcerated Aliens—94 Percent of All Confirmed Aliens in DOJ Custody Are Unlawfully Present

By Department of Justice



Washington, D.C. - December 21, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- President Trump’s Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports on data collection efforts. On Dec. 18, 2017, DOJ and DHS released the FY 2017 4th Quarter Alien Incarceration Report, complying with this order.[1] The report found that more than one-in-five of all persons in Bureau of Prisons custody were foreign born, and that 94 percent of confirmed aliens in custody were unlawfully present.

"The American people deserve a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest," Attorney General Sessions said. "But at the border and in communities across America, our citizens are being victimized by illegal aliens who commit crimes. Nearly 95 percent of confirmed aliens in our federal prisons are here illegally. We know based on sentencing data that non-citizens commit a substantially disproportionate number of drug-related offenses, which contributes to our national drug abuse crisis. The simple fact is that any offense committed by a criminal alien is ultimately preventable. One victim is too many. It's time for Congress to enact the President's immigration reform agenda so that we start welcoming the best and brightest while turning away drug dealers, gang members, and other criminals."

“While the administration is working diligently to remove dangerous criminal aliens from our streets, this report highlights the fact that more must be done,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. “We will continue to pursue President Trump’s immigration priorities, including securing the border, enhancing interior enforcement, and pursuing a merit-based immigration system, but Congress must act immediately to adopt obvious solutions to strengthen DHS and DOJ efforts to confront dangerous criminal aliens.”

Section 16 of the Executive Order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to collect relevant data and provide quarterly reports regarding: (a) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; (b) the immigration status of all aliens incarcerated as federal pretrial detainees under the supervision of the United States Marshals Service; and (c) the immigration status of all convicted aliens in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the United States.

A total of 58,766 known or suspected aliens were in in DOJ custody at the end of FY 2017, including 39,455 persons in BOP custody and 19,311 in USMS custody. Of this total, 37,557 people had been confirmed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be aliens (i.e., non-citizens and non-nationals), while 21,209 foreign-born people were still under investigation by ICE to determine alienage and/or removability

Among the 37,557 confirmed aliens, 35,334 people (94 percent) were unlawfully present. These numbers include a 92 percent unlawful rate among 24,476 confirmed aliens in BOP custody and a 97 percent unlawful rate among 13,081 confirmed aliens in USMS custody.

This report does not include data on the foreign-born or alien populations in state prisons and local jails because state and local facilities do not routinely provide DHS or DOJ with comprehensive information about their inmates and detainees—which account for approximately 90 percent of the total U.S. incarcerated population.

Information Regarding Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated Under the Supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has an operational process for maintaining data regarding foreign-born inmates in its custody. On a quarterly basis, BOP supplies this information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, in turn, analyzes that information to determine the immigration status of each inmate and provides that information back to BOP.

Out of the 185,507 inmates in BOP custody, 39,455 (21 percent) were reported by BOP as foreign-born. Further details regarding these 39,455 foreign-born inmates are as follows:

20,240 (51 percent) were unauthorized aliens who are subject to a final order of removal;

14,979 (38 percent) remain under ICE investigation;

2,374 (6 percent) were unlawfully present and now in removal proceedings;

1,852 (less than 5 percent) were lawfully present aliens but are now in removal proceedings; and

10 were aliens who have been granted relief or protection from removal.

Information Regarding the Immigration Status of Aliens Incarcerated as Federal Pretrial Detainees

USMS identified 19,311 aliens and foreign-born inmates under ICE investigation detained at USMS facilities. Further details regarding these 19,311 foreign-born inmates are as follows:

11,459 (59 percent) were aliens who are subject to a final order of removal;

6,230 (32 percent) remain under ICE investigation;

1,261 (6.5 percent) were unlawfully present and now in removal proceedings;

358 (less than 2 percent) were lawfully present but are now in removal proceedings; and

3 were aliens who have been granted relief or protection from removal.

Immigration Status of All Convicted Aliens Incarcerated in State Prisons and Local Detention Centers Throughout the United States

The Departments continue to progress towards establishing data collection of the immigration status of convicted aliens incarcerated in state prisons and local detention centers through the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics.


See more headlines at The Ponder News Web Site

Chicago City Council Votes To Continue Legal Protection Fund

Washington, D.C. - November 27, 2017  (The Ponder News) -- Last week, Chicago City Council voted to continue to allocate funding for the Chicago Legal Protection Fund in 2018.

That budget vote meant that several organizations will have the opportunity to continue providing legal education and representation for Chicago immigrants who are living under increasing threat of deportation by the Trump administration.

To date in 2017, the Legal Protection Fund has allowed the National Immigrant Justice Center to provide legal consultations to about 1,700 Chicagoans and legal representation in nearly 900 cases to help immigrants apply for affirmative forms of relief or defend themselves against deportation. The Resurrection Project  and Community Navigator organizations have reached over 22,000 Chicagoans through “know your rights” presentations and other community education efforts.

“The Legal Protection Fund has been critical this year to helping us get information to communities about how they can defend their rights and understand their legal options,” said Ruth Lopez McCarthy, the Fund’s managing attorney at NIJC. “Thanks to the Fund, we have been able to educate thousands of Chicagoans about their rights and provide legal representation to help them navigate the system. We are grateful for this continued support from the City of Chicago and City Council to ensure we can continue to provide legal services for another year.”

“Continuing funds for the Legal Protection Fund demonstrates Chicago’s commitment to its immigrant community,” said Raul Raymundo, chief executive officer of TRP. “The Fund allows us and our partner organizations to reach thousands of Chicagoans to protect our families from deportation by arming them with their rights, showing up with them at court and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins, and connecting them to legal counsel.”

Since the Fund launched in January 2017, the Trump administration has stripped legal status from nearly one million immigrants nationwide with the termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has significantly increased its presence in Chicago neighborhoods, and the administration has been explicit in its intentions of placing any undocumented immigrant its agents encounter into deportation proceedings.

In the first nine months of 2017, with support from the Fund, NIJC was able to provide legal services to 90 percent more Chicagoans than during the same period in 2016. To read more about the Fund’s accomplishments, read NIJC and TRP’s October 2017 report.

The National Immigrant Justice Center is a nongovernmental organization dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through a unique combination of direct services, policy reform, impact litigation and public education.

The Resurrection Project is a multifaceted organization that seamlessly blends community development, community organizing, human service delivery, and advocacy to build healthier and engaged communities. Since its founding in 1990 with an initial seed capital of $30,000, TRP has leveraged more than $431 million in community reinvestment through homes for ownership, rental housing, small businesses and community facilities. To date TRP has developed 733 units of affordable housing, and created over 264,000 square feet of community commercial space, creating vibrant, healthier and involved communities.

Lofgren & Conyers: detention of 10-year-old disabled child unjust and inhumane

Source: Zoe Lofgren (D-CA, 19th)



Washington, D.C. - October 27, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Following reports that a ten-year-old disabled child was taken into custody by Border Patrol agents immediately after emergency surgery at the Driscoll’s Children hospital in Corpus Christi, U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) wrote to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke today raising concerns that the child’s detention is unjust, inhumane, and will create community-wide fear resulting in immigrants not seeking medical care, even for their children.

According to news reports, Rosamaria Hernandez was brought to the United States as a three-month-old baby. She suffers from cerebral palsy, and was detained after her ambulance crossed a Border Patrol checkpoint traveling from Laredo to Corpus Chirsti. Border Patrol agents followed her to the hospital and waited outside her hospital room.

The letter reads:

“The Trump Administration has repeatedly told the American people that DHS enforcement efforts regarding immigration detention and deportation would focus on the “bad hombres” and the “gang members.” Rosamaria Hernandez is neither. She is a vulnerable, disabled child who recently underwent a surgical operation. She needs to be with her family and not in immigration custody.

“This is yet another example of the Trump Administration failing to follow DHS Sensitive Locations guidelines. The DHS Sensitive Location memo states that enforcement actions shall not occur at hospitals unless there are exigent circumstances. These exigent circumstances include national security, terrorism, an imminent risk of death, violence or physical harm, or an imminent danger to public safety.

“In this case, this vulnerable child presented no risk of terrorism, danger to the community, nor to the public safety. On the contrary, DHS’s decision to detain a 10-year-old child with cerebral palsy who just received emergency surgery only risks the child’s life and her well-being. It increases her risk of post-operative infection and medical complications.”

A link to the full letter is here.

Zoe Lofgren is the Senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. John Conyers Jr. is the Senior Democrat on the full House Judiciary Committee.

News Bytes to Ponder...(horses, water, firearms, guns, maternity, outsourcing, Medicaid, illegal immigrants, )

A coalition of leading animal welfare groups has endorsed bipartisan legislation introduced by Congressman Vern Buchanan to permanently ban the killing of horses for human consumption in America and end the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses.

The SAFE Act (Safeguard American Food Exports) is co-sponsored by Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M.

Congressman Ken Buck (CO-04) introduced H.R. 519, the Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2017 (WATER Act), a key legislative priority that Buck shepherded through committee last year and hopes to see on the House Floor in the 115th Congress. The legislation permits mutual water and storage delivery companies to retain their non-profit status even if they receive more than 15% of their revenue from non-member sources. The additional non-member revenue raised under the act must be used for maintenance, operations, and infrastructure improvements. By allowing these companies to raise additional revenue from non-members, they can invest in infrastructure improvements that allow them to offer more affordable water resources to their members.

Freshman Representative Ted Budd co-sponsored the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. This bill provides law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits the legal protection to carry in other states that recognize their own residents’ right to concealed carry.

The House of Representatives passed the Improving Access to Maternity Care Act (H.R. 315), introduced by Congressman Michael C. Burgess M.D. (R-TX), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). The Improving Access to Maternity Care Act would increase data collection by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help place maternity care health professionals working in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) throughout geographic regions experiencing a health professional shortage.


Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) introduced her first piece of legislation in the 115th Congress, continuing her focus on growing our economy and boosting our region’s manufacturing industry. She also held a press conference with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and colleagues from the industrial heartland to discuss the legislation.

The Overseas Outsourcing Accountability Act would require President-elect Donald Trump to develop a national strategy to stop outsourcing and allow Congress to measure its success through a review every two years. This legislation does not require Trump to follow a prescribed path; however, it would rein in his inconsistent behavior by requiring him to put a real strategy down on paper for working families to evaluate.

U.S. Representatives G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), David E. Price (NC-04), and Alma Adams (NC-12), the Democratic members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation, sent a letter to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in strong support of a State Plan Amendment to expand Medicaid in the State of North Carolina.

Medicaid expansion is a core provision of the Affordable Care Act. Under North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s proposal, North Carolina will receive $4 billion in federal funding while saving over $330 million in uncompensated care. Studies have shown that expanding Medicaid in North Carolina will provide access to care for over half a million state residents, streamline care delivery, and create tens of thousands of new jobs.

Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) reintroduced legislation aimed at preventing criminal illegal immigrants from being released from custody. The Help Ensure Legal Detainers (HELD) Act, H.R. 514, would require localities to adhere to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers.

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and U.S. Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, R-Ga.-01, introduced legislation in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to expand and protect Fort Frederica National Monument located on St. Simons Island, Ga.

Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03) along with Rep. John Carter (TX-31) introduced a bill to cut through the red tape on owning firearm suppressors. The Duncan-Carter Hearing Protection Act will remove suppressors from the scope of the National Firearms Act (NFA), replacing the outdated federal transfer process with an instantaneous National Instant Criminal Background Check )NICS). The bill also includes a provision to refund the $200 transfer tax to applicants who purchase a suppressor after October 22, 2015, which was the original date of introduction. In stark contrast, many countries in Europe place no regulations on their purchase, possession, or use.