More precisely: The 7th Circuit has affirmed a lower court's prior decision (Oct 2019) to enjoin the DHS #PublicCharge rule throughout Illinois.
But this probably won't change anything immediately, because of a very odd SCOTUS order (Feb 2020)...
Here's the whole thing. Even though DHS just lost in the 7th Circuit, SCOTUS has guaranteed that its #PublicCharge rule will stay in effect until either:
(a) gov't appeals to SCOTUS & is denied cert; or
(b) SCOTUS grants cert & rules against DHS.
Same deal in the 2nd Circuit, which could soon affirm a New York district judge's *nationwide* injunction of the #PublicCharge rule—but this terrible policy grinds on until SCOTUS has the last word.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
🚨The Biden administration just released its Interagency Strategy on Naturalization, a whole-of-government effort to remove obstacles facing immigrants eligible for US citizenship.
The agency responsible for naturalization, @USCIS, is methodically removing barriers to US citizenship for eligible immigrants, including oath ceremonies by video for overseas US military families. An important step in the right direction...
Coming out of the Covid crisis & Trump-era policies, @USCIS has now "return[ed] to pre-pandemic levels when it comes to completing naturalization applications."
That's good news, but there's now a nearly million-application backlog looming.
President Biden's immigration bill includes not only a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, smart border policies, & humane treatment of refugees—it also promises major & long-overdue improvements to our skills-based immigration system...
Let's start with the broken status quo: Lots of talented people want to be in the US—not as temporary workers, but as permanent residents with green cards, & ultimately US citizens.
But there aren't enough employment-based green cards.
The official cap is 140,000/year, but…
2/
…people have families, turns out, so ~70k green cards go to employer-sponsored workers, & ~70k go to their spouses & children.
This compels many future Americans to use a somewhat-less-scarce *temporary* work visa, like the H-1B, while waiting for a green card.
3/
The argument is rooted in demographics: America's "Old Age Dependency Ratio" (# working-age vs. retirement-age adults) is plummeting, which is very bad news for future economic growth, Social Security solvency, etc.
To stay at par (3.5 ratio) by 2060, we need more immigrants. 2/
Specifically, 37% more immigrants—a total of ~1.37M/year.
Consider that Canada & Australia already welcome *200-300%* more immigrants than America does, adjusted for population.
America's immigration policy is among the stingiest in the @OECD.
For expert commentary on the impact of this order, see @IRAP@RCUSA_DC@RESCUEorg@HIASrefugees@LIRSorg & many more groups that have done the hard work of protecting refugees during the dark recent times.
I just want to point out some elements for the tech community...
2/
Important call for more efficient collection & sharing of biometric data, along with interviews via teleconferencing—these are tech-driven opportunities to streamline the whole system & put the President's goal of 125,000 annual refugee admissions within reach.
How does DHS justify delaying the effective date without notice & comment?
"USCIS will not have adequate time to complete system development, thoroughly test the modifications, train staff,
& conduct public outreach needed to ensure an effective & orderly implementation."
2/
Also:
"During the delay, while USCIS works through the issues associated with implementation, DHS leadership will also evaluate [Trump's] January 8th rule & its associated policies, as is typical of agencies at the beginning of a new Administration."