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President Donald Trump signed a bill into law on Wednesday that gives his immigration and deportation agenda a nearly USD 70 billion boost for the rest of his time in the White House. The bill provides USD 38 billion for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and USD 26 billion for the Border Patrol. An additional USD 5 billion would cover unforeseen costs, according to the White House. Trump signed the legislation in the Oval Office a day after House Republicans pushed the measure through by a 214-212 vote over the objections of Democrats. His signature ended a nearly six-month fight over Department of Homeland Security funding that began with shooting deaths of deaths of two US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in January during federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Democrats began demanding changes to immigration enforcement after the shootings, creating an impasse - and resulting in the longest agency in history - that ultimately led Republicans to go it
A bill to provide nearly USD 70 billion for immigration enforcement narrowly passed the House on Tuesday and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, fueling the administration's deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House. Republicans used their majority to get the bill over the finish line, funding a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years. The bill passed by a vote of 214-212, over the objections of Democrats. The White House says the bill will provide USD 38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), USD 26 billion for the Border Patrol and another USD 5 billion to cover unforeseen costs. It front-loads routine annual funding, ensuring a virtually uninterrupted flow of money as the Trump administration seeks to deport some 1 million people per year. Speaker Mike Johnson needed near-perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action. The legislation got sidetracked over USD 1 billion for ..
A hardline Republican lawmaker has introduced a draft legislation in the US Congress seeking an overhaul of the H-1B visa programme, including ending its use as a pathway to permanent residency in the United States. Congressman Chip Roy introduced the American White-Collar Worker Jobs Act on Thursday. The proposed legislation also seeks to scrap the optional practical training (OPT) programme, which allows foreign students to work in the US for a limited period after graduation. "For its nearly forty-year history, the H-1B visa has been abused, allowing employers to routinely sideline American STEM workers in favour of cheap foreign labour, while masking layoffs and wage suppression as 'shortages.' "It's time to end this lottery-based pipeline and replace it with a system that prioritises merit, enforces real wage standards, and puts American white-collar workers first," said Roy, who represents the 21st district of Texas in Congress. The bill is backed by US Tech Workers, the ...
US lawmakers and immigration advocates have criticised sharply as "reckless and wrong," the Trump administration's new policy that requires green card seekers to make their applications from their home country. Democratic lawmakers said they will pursue every avenue to fight against the "reprehensible" decision of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and push for its reversal. The USCIS did not spell out which groups would be exempted, only suggesting that the policy may not apply to persons seeking asylum. In a statement late on Friday, USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said that people who "provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest will likely be able to continue on their current path." It was not immediately clear whether these exceptions would extend to skilled foreign workers on H-1B visas. "This puts 1.2 million Indian Americans and their families in limbo after they followed every law, paid taxes and waited legally for decades," Ajay
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it has identified 10,000 foreign students, including several from India, who claim to be working for highly suspect employers by misusing the Optional Practical Training (OPT) component of their visas. OPT allows foreign nationals who enter the United States on a student visa to work in the US for 12, or in some cases 24, months. It also allows students to transition to an H-1B visa sponsored by employers. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons said the OPT component of the student visa programme has "become a magnet for fraud" and has been the subject of many investigations by the Department of Homeland Security. "We've encountered cases involving espionage, biological threats, intellectual property theft, visa and employment fraud, and even scams targeting elderly Americans, all perpetrated by individuals abusing their status as students," Lyons said. "Our nation will not tolerate security
President Donald Trump's border czar has threatened to "flood the zone" with immigration agents if New York passes bills to limit local coordination with the federal government's crackdown. New York seems ready to do so anyway. "I don't take well to threats," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday. "We're going to pass what we think is important to protect New Yorkers." Tensions are escalating as Democrats attempt to place guardrails around the Trump administration's immigration agenda following the Republican's often chaotic and violent deportation efforts. The proposals, which are not yet finalised, would bar state and local law enforcement from entering into agreements with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or acting as civil immigration agents, and deny ICE from entering sensitive locations such as schools or hospitals without a judicial warrant. The governor, a Democrat, is also moving to ban federal, state and local law enforcement from wearing masks while on duty, al