Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the Trump Administration’s appeal on its travel ban during its next session.
The court also allowed a part of the ban to go forward. The court ruled individuals without bona find relationships with people or entities in the United Stated could be barred from entry; those with relationships with organizations or individuals will be allowed to enter the country.
The order becomes effective within 72 hours.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing this morning on the issue of “free speech” on college campuses. The Judiciary Committee is one of three Senate committees– with Judiciary and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees being the other two– planning to hold hearings on the issue.
More information about the hearing, including a link to the video, is available here.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the block on the second version of the Administration travel ban. A federal judge in Maryland originally blocked the ban from going into effect earlier this year. The Fourth Circuit covers the following states: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on a similar block issued by a judge in Hawaii.
As promised, President Trump on Tuesday signed his “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, aimed partly at purported abuses in the H-1B visa program. The order reads, in part:
(a) In order to advance the policy outlined in section 2(b) of this order, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, as soon as practicable, and consistent with applicable law, propose new rules and issue new guidance, to supersede or revise previous rules and guidance if appropriate, to protect the interests of United States workers in the administration of our immigration system, including through the prevention of fraud or abuse.
(b) In order to promote the proper functioning of the H-1B visa program, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, as soon as practicable, suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.
The entirety of the executive order is available here.
OMB Director Mick Mulvaney is pushing House lawmakers to include language in the FY2017 omnibus appropriations bill to restrict federal funding grants for cities that do not enforce federal immigration policies. The goal is to bring the House Freedom Caucus on board with a government funding bill.
Such a provision, known as a rider, would put the already delicate negotiations under further strain, as Congressional Republicans already struggle to deal with the Administration’s supplemental request to begin building a border wall. A rider prohibiting federal funds from going to sanctuary cities would guarantee zero Democratic support.
Despite recent changes to the Senate rules regarding confirming Supreme Court Justices, the Senate will need 60 votes to move forward with any appropriations bill and Senate Republicans are only 52 votes.
When Congress returns on April 25th from its two-week recess for Passover and Easter, it will have 4 legislative days to pass some vehicle (an omnibus or another CR) for FY2017 funding or risk a shutdown.
Stay tuned.