Update: Today, President Trump signed an executive order ending the Administration’s policy of separating families at the border when parents face criminal charges under the ‘zero-tolerance’ prosecution policy for irregular border crossers. The ‘zero-tolerance’ prosecution policy itself remains unchanged.
Impact on Legislation: The policy of family separation had been seen as a tactic to force Congress to act on immigration legislation, with the President asserting that family separation was mandated by law and that ending this policy required a legislative solution. Under that pressure, two bills were set for votes tomorrow in the House, but with the policy’s cessation by executive order, the pressure to pass immigration legislation has decreased. Both bills in the House are now expected to fail.
Analysis: These current and hotly-debated immigration topics are focused on humanitarian immigration and border security, rather than U.S. business immigration. Policies affecting those requesting humanitarian-based immigration benefits such as Asylum and Cancellation of Removal are quickly changing, while potential legislative action that could impact business immigration has stalled.