Newsletter Week of July 24

Judge Knocks Down Biden’s Asylum Policy as Illegal Border Crossings Dip 

A federal judge Tuesday blocked the Biden administration’s new regulation restricting asylum-seekers, one that contributed to a severe drop in crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border over the past few months. The decision jeopardizes the administration’s strictest deterrence measure to date and comes as illegal border crossings have plunged to their lowest level since President Joe Biden’s first full month in office. Biden’s “asylum ban,” released in May and set to expire in two years, bars some migrants from applying for humanitarian protection if they cross the border illegally or fail to first apply for safe harbor while crossing through another country on the way to the U.S. The rule is not applied to certain migrants, including unaccompanied children, asylum-seekers who enter at a legal port of entry or those fleeing “imminent” harm. 

USCIS Will Conduct Second Random Selection from Previously Submitted FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registrations 

In March 2023, USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. Only those petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2024 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. They recently determined that they would need to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2024 numerical allocations. Soon, they will select additional registrations from previously submitted electronic registrations using a random selection process. 

Texas is Using Disaster Declarations to Install Buoys and Razor Wire on the US-Mexico Border 

The Justice Department on Monday filed a lawsuit against Texas and its Republican governor for placing buoys in the Rio Grande as part of the state's effort to deter migrants from crossing into the United States. The civil suit said Gov. Greg Abbott violated federal law by installing the barrier and asked a judge to order the defendants to "promptly remove the unauthorized obstruction" at their own expense. Abbott has used disaster declarations as the legal bedrock for some measures. However, legal officials state that Abbott bypassed both local and federal authorities.