December refugee admissions
December saw a total of 6,964 refugees admitted into the U.S. The monthly average of 7,250 arrivals continues to be promising, but remains short of the average of 10,400 arrivals needed in order to reach the fiscal year 2024 refugee admissions cap of 125,000.
The number of illegal entries at the border dropped after Mexico increases enforcement
Mexico has recently resumed flights and bus routes that transport migrants from its northern border to the southern part of the country. The Mexican government has also started flying some Venezuelans back to their country. This has resulted in a lower number of irregular migrant crossings into the U.S. with arrests falling to about 2,500 on Monday, down from around 10,000 arrests per day on several days in December.
This report comes as Congress and the White House continue negotiations on border policies this week and as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited the border at Eagle Pass, TX. “Our immigration system is outdated and broken and in need of reform for decades,” Mayorkas said during a press conference. We couldn’t agree more with that statement! Follow this link to our webpage to learn more and contact your legislators to tell them to work together to enact proactive and humane immigration policies.
Immigration policy discussions broaden to include other topics beyond border security
According to a source familiar with the closed door Senate immigration-related negotiations, discussions have widened to include a potential deal on the Afghan Adjustment Act, protections for children of H1-B visa holders, and work permits for migrants who pass their preliminary asylum interviews.
Previous talks have only centered on restricting access to asylum. Congress and the Biden administration have acknowledged that there has been progress in their negotiations in recent weeks, but have not reached a deal on any border security policy, which Republicans have said is necessary in order for them to support providing more military aid to Ukraine.