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There has been a groundswell of public debate on the nations immigration control and refugee management system.

The core question has been how to ensure appropriate treatment of foreign nationals illegally staying in Japan by the immigration authorities.

The Diet should not try to bring a premature conclusion to the debate.

The Lower House is now considering a bill to revise the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law to improve the rules concerning the detention and deportation of foreign nationals staying in Japan without a proper visa.

The ruling coalition and some opposition parties are poised to pass the bill after some minor changes.

What is at issue is what should be done to prevent unreasonably prolonged detention of such foreigners at immigration facilities. But the bill submitted by the government offers no legal measure to allow independent reviews of decisions concerning detention such as judicial judgment.

That means the immigration authorities will continue to have broad and strong discretion over these decisions.

The bill also provides for an exception to the ban on deporting asylum seekers while their applications are being processed. This provision could lead to deportations of people who desperately need protection to countries where they can be persecuted.

The legislation should not be enacted without fundamental amendments.

But bipartisan talks for revisions to the bill among the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the LDPs junior coalition partner, Komeito, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the conservative opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) failed to address such fundamental issues.

Have they forgot the fact that the legislative initiative to revise the law was prompted by a disturbing incident in 2019 in which a Nigerian male detainee in a detention center in Nagasaki Prefecture died from starvation after he refused to eat in protest against his prolonged detention?

Two years ago, when a similar bill was introduced, only to be scrapped after it was roundly criticized, Wishma Sandamali, a Sri Lankan woman who overstayed her visa, died from ill health following six and a half months of detention at a state facility in Nagoya.

We still have fresh memories of how these incidents provoked a wave of criticism about the inhumane treatment of immigration detainees that spread across the nation through social media and protest rallies.

In the face of these protests, the ruling and opposition parties began talks to revise the former bill with the shared recognition of the need to institutionalize effective measures to prevent unreasonable detention. But the bill was killed after the talks failed to produce an agreement.

The basic framework of the aborted bill has been carried over to the new one. Passing it with only minor revisions would be inconsistent with why and how the previous bill was discarded.

During the latest round of talks over the bill, lawmakers discussed adding a supplementary provision calling for consideration of entrusting an independent institution with the responsibility to process applications for refugee status.

This proposal should be realized before debate on the content of the bill.

It has long been pointed out that administrative work for protecting asylum seekers, which is based on the Refugee Convention and other international human rights norms, should be independent of the immigration inspection and residency management systems.

The Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council this month sent a letter to the Japanese government stating the proposed amendments to the law appeared to fall short of international human rights standards in several aspects of the protection of the human rights of migrants.

The Special Rapporteur delivered the same verdict on the former amendment bill introduced two years ago.

Justice Minister Ken Saito has downplayed the importance of the letter, which he said was not legally binding, and protested the unilateral publication of the opinion. But this is a matter that has a direct bearing on the human rights of foreign nationals in Japan.

It is impossible to create an immigration control system that is supported internationally without heeding the voices of the international community.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 28

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EDITORIAL: More safeguards needed in weak immigration reform ... -

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Georgia 12th District, has introduced legislation now known as the BARN Act, intended to improve farmers ability to hire guest workers from other countries, five times now, in five different sessions of Congress. He says this legislation should have a place in broader immigration reform.

Highly critical of President Joe Bidens actions on immigration, Allen wants any reform to include greatly increased border security but does say that reform is needed. The BARN Act was one of two more-or-less farming-related issues he talked about in a phone interview last week.

The BARN in BARN Act stands for Better Agriculture Resources Now. The legislation, which Allen reintroduced in March as House Resolution 1778, would transfer responsibility for certifying the eligibility of agricultural employers to participate in the H-2A visa program from the U.S. Department of Labor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It would also make other changes in the agricultural guestworker program, such as changing the deadlines for applications and approval.

Ive introduced this in every congress, and over the past few years Americans have become increasingly aware of the importance of an abundant food supply and an efficient and affordable food supply because its a national security issue, he said.

By every congress, he means he has introduced the same or similar legislation in each two-year session since he first took office at the beginning of 2015.

The Department of Labor was instituted to employ domestic workers, Allen said. Frankly, I think they see that as their major responsibility, so theyre not entirely cooperative when it comes to bringing in the necessary labor to harvest our crops, and we have a lot of that, obviously, particularly with our Vidalia onions.

If enacted, the bill would also extend greater flexibility to applicants, enact strong reforms to combat visa overstays and fraud, and establish clear housing requirements for those H-2A workers, he said.

The legislation would also remove the word temporary from the description of the kind of agricultural jobs for which H-2A workers are eligible. But an initial H-2A visa would remain valid for only one year, extendable for a second year, after which a worker would have to leave the United States for at least two months and reapply for a visa.

Georgia Farm Bureau and the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association sought and expressed support for the legislation.

Obviously, the bill hasnt passed to become law in the previous four sessions, but Allen suggested that a renewed drive for immigration reform could create an opening.

The president has called for us to pass meaningful immigration reform in this congress, and frankly, that should be bipartisan, and were ready to open those negotiations, Allen said. This thing needs to be fixed at the border. Its horrible.

Immigration reform bills were moving through committees as of last week, he said.

I would hope we could come to some agreement on, again, securing the border, and then how many people do we want to allow each year to go through the citizenship process, and get rid of what we term illegal immigration. , Allen said. Its sad that they have to live in the shadows.

Mentioning his February trip to the Mexican border near McAllen, Texas, the Georgia congressman from Augusta said undocumented immigrants become indentured servants to cartels responsible for smuggling people as well as illegal drugs across the border.

The cartels own the border on both sides; we dont. And somethings got to be done about them, he said.

The other issue Allen talked about as of interest to 12th District farmers was a recent congressional effort, which Biden vetoed, to block the Environmental Protection Agencys latest interpretation of the WOTUS rule. This defines what streams and other bodies of water constitute the Waters of the United States for enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

By a vote of 227-198, the House passed a Congressional Review Act resolution March 9 to roll back the EPAs definition. The Senate adopted the resolution by a 53-43 vote before Biden vetoed the joint resolution on April 6. Only a simple majority vote in each chamber is required to strike down a regulation under the Congressional Review Act, but the resolutions are still subject to presidential veto, and a two-thirds majority vote is then required to override a veto.

A House override attempt then failed April 18. The vote was 227-196, or almost 54% in favor. Those voting for the resolution included all but one of the Republicans present and 10 Democrats.

Obviously, it was under the Congressional Review Act, it was overwhelmingly bipartisan, and the president vetoed it, Allen said. The EPA under this rule has the authority if they GPS and a mud puddle appears on your property, all of a sudden you cant use that property if they determine and they can determine it is a navigable waterway. How absurd is that.

Supporters of the rule would call the puddle example an overstatement, he acknowledged. But Allen says the navigable waters of the United States should be defined by Congress and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in terms of what is truly navigable, and not left to the EPA to decide.

My interest in this, as well as the districts interest in this, is that, you know, agriculture is our largest industry, and this could particularly impose a burden on our farmers and their ability to produce the food required by our district, our state and this nation.

Allen has been talking about WOTUS off and on again since he was first elected. He also took part in Republican-led efforts to block the EPAs interpretation of the rule during former President Barack Obamas second term.

The last time we were able to stop this through the courts, where we got an injunction against it, and then the next administration (former President Donald Trumps) went back to the legislation as Congress wrote it, and now the Biden administration is paying no attention to the peoples will, Allen said.

But the EPA on its website, particularly the page http://www.epa.gov/wotus and its links, traces the complex history of the rule from the 1970s to the continuing court challenges.

In his veto statement, Biden said the resolution would have left Americans without a clear definition of Waters of the United States. The EPA definition, the president argues, actually clarifies matters.

The increased uncertainty caused by H.J. Res. 27 would threaten economic growth, including for agriculture, local economies, and downstream communities, Biden said in the statement. Farmers would be left wondering whether artificially irrigated areas remain excluded or not. Construction crews would be left wondering whether their waterfilled gravel pits remain excluded or not.

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Allen: BARN Act provisions should be part of larger immigration reform - Statesboro Herald

Today, the Department of State (State) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are announcing sweeping new measures to further reduce unlawful migration across the Western Hemisphere, significantly expand lawful pathways for protection, and facilitate the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants.

Like many other COVID-era public health measures, the CDCs temporary Title 42 public health order will also come to an end. But the lifting of the Title 42 order does not mean the border is open. When the Title 42 order lifts at 11:59 PM on May 11, the United States will return to using Title 8 immigration authorities to expeditiously process and remove individuals who arrive at the U.S. border unlawfully. These decades-old authorities carry steep consequences for unlawful entry, including at least a five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution for repeated attempts to enter unlawfully. The return to processing under Title 8 is expected to reduce the number of repeat border crossings over time, which increased significantly under Title 42.Individuals who cross into the United States at the southwest border without authorization or having used a lawful pathway, and without having scheduled a time to arrive at a port of entry, would be presumed ineligible for asylum under a new proposed regulation, absent an applicable exception.

The measures announced today will be implemented in close coordination with regional partners, including the governments of Mexico, Canada, Spain, Colombia, and Guatemala. They draw on the success of recent processes that have significantly reduced unlawful border crossings through a combination of expanded lawful pathways and swift removal of those who fail to use those lawful pathways.

Importantly, these measures do not supplant the need for congressional action. Only Congress can provide the reforms and resources necessary to fully manage the regional migration challenge. Since taking office, President Biden has continually called on Congress to pass legislation to update and reform our outdated immigration system. State and DHS are taking action with the tools and resources available under current law, but Congresss failure to pass and fund the Presidents plan will increase the challenge at the southwest border.

The measures announced today include:

The transition back to Title 8 processing for all individuals encountered at the border will be effective immediately when the Title 42 order lifts. Individuals who unlawfully cross the U.S. Southwest border:

To avoid these consequences, individuals are encouraged to use the many lawful pathways the United States has expanded over the past two years. Today, the United States is announcing additional lawful pathways, including:

In addition, the United States will continue to accept up to 30,000 individuals per month from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti as part of the expanded parole processes announced earlier this year. Encounters at the border for these nationalities plummeted when DHS expanded the parole programs. The United States will also continue to utilize available authorities to continue to strengthen and expand additional lawful pathways.

A border-only approach to managing migration is insufficient. From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has approached migration as a regional challenge rebuilding relationships with key partners across the Western Hemisphere, bringing 20 world leaders together through the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection to jointly manage migration flows, and securing commitments from across the Western Hemisphere to expand lawful pathways, address root causes, and step up enforcement.

Building on these efforts, the United States is joining forces with partners across the Western Hemisphere to:

The measures announced today aim to change the incentive structure that drives individuals to flee their countries and seek unlawful immigration pathways. They facilitate safe and orderly access to lawful pathways throughout the Western Hemisphere so that fewer migrants are putting their lives at risk to arrive directly at the Southwest border.

To facilitate the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants who arrive at the Southwest border, the United States will:

The Biden-Harris Administration has been preparing for the eventual lifting of the Title 42 public health order for well over a year. In addition to working to combat misinformation and coordinating with local communities and NGOs, DHS began contingency planning efforts to prepare for the eventual lifting of Title 42. In February 2022, DHS formally stood up the Southwest Border Coordination Center, which leads the planning and coordinating of a whole of government response to the anticipated increase in border encounters. In April 2022, Secretary Mayorkas issued the DHS Plan for Southwest Border Security and Preparedness, laying out a six-pillar plan to manage an increase in encounters once Title 42 is no longer in effect, and updated the plan in December 2022.

Notwithstanding these efforts, we expect the days following the end of Title 42 public health order will be challenging and that encounters will increase for a time, as smugglers will seek to spread disinformation to capitalize on this change. Through the approach described above and the work of our outstanding personnel, the Biden-Harris Administration will do everything within its authority to manage this challenge, but until and unless Congress delivers on the immigration reform measures President Biden requested on his first day in office, the United States immigration system will remain broken.

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Fact Sheet: U.S. Government Announces Sweeping New Actions to ... - Homeland Security

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SALT LAKE CITY Gov. Spencer Cox says that immigration reform is a vital step in strengthening the U.S. economy.

The governor's comments during his monthly PBS news conference Thursday were the latest he has made in support of immigration reform an issue he has repeatedly characterized as "the one controversial issue that most Americans agree on."

"Our economy is demanding that we need more workforce and we just can't find more workforce here," he said. "So this isn't about taking jobs away from Americans; it's about helping create new jobs and more jobs and helping our economy to continue to grow."

Cox also applauded SB35, which will take effect in May. The law allows immigrants with professional licensing and training from foreign countries to become licensed in Utah. It comes on the heels of a similar law passed in 2022 that made the same allowances for a different set of professions. Cox encouraged immigrants applying for those licenses to be patient as the state navigates the new process.

"We have businesses that are desperate for these types of employees. We can't fill these jobs fast enough, so it makes sense. It's very logical, and I'm proud that we're one of the first states in the nation to be able to find pathways for those citizens to get licensed here without having to start from scratch," he said.

The comments echoed arguments Cox has made previously, including in a joint op-ed written with Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb in February calling for states to sponsor immigrants to fill labor shortages. Cox's moderate approach has won support from some, such as his remarks telling Dreamers, children who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, that they belong in the U.S. However, he has also received criticism for moves like signing a bill into law that advocates said exclude undocumented students from sports.

Cox has repeatedly called out Washington, D.C., politicians for their failure to act on immigration reform. However, on Thursday Cox said that he's "cautiously optimistic" that Congress will soon take action on the issue.

"The problem is the politicians, and it's politicians who get elected by dividing us on this issue on both the left and the right. And we've been very close to consensus before," Cox said, adding that immigration reform was within reach in both the Bush and Obama administrations. "I have my eyes wide open on this one. I recognize that it's been tried before and failed before, but I'm always optimistic and hopeful that we can get something done with this Congress."

Sydnee Gonzalez is a multicultural reporter for KSL.com covering the diversity of Utah's people and communities. Se habla espaol. You can find Sydnee at @sydnee_gonzalez on Twitter.

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'This isn't about taking jobs away': Cox again calls for immigration ... - KSL.com

Government that maintains the trust of the governed has long been a hallmark of a vibrant and healthy democracy. But if youre feeling lately that government is not leveling with you or acting in the best interests of the people, rest assured youre not alone. For example, for years, Americans have listened to lawmakers peddle hollow public interest arguments advancing legislated or de facto sanctuary policies at the state and local level, while to no ones surprise, the only beneficiaries have been illegal aliens and their specialinterests.

Very few enacted or proposed public policies are as consequential, deceptively marketed with flawed logic, or as cloaked in ulterior motives, as those dealing with immigration. While all of these have been pitched with numerous empty arguments, some Hall-of-Shame howlers arenotable.

Sanctuary policiesgenerally referring to municipalities (or even entire states) refusing to cooperate with federal immigration law enforcementexist in at least 564 jurisdictions around the country One common refrain is these policies heighten trust and information sharing between the immigrant community and local police. Thats hooey with no empirical basis. Virtually all police have the discretion to ignore the immigration status of a witness to a crime, and virtually all do. There is simply no documented evidence indicating that an illegal alien was ever deported as a result of reporting a crime or volunteering information to the police. The greater bond of trust between the immigrant community and police occurs when criminal aliens are not allowed to roam free in immigrant communities as a result of sanctuarypolicies.

Drivers licenses for illegal aliens are now issued in 19 states including the District of Columbia. One of many laughable arguments for doing so is that having a drivers license enables illegal aliens to get to their jobsthat is, to the jobs theyre not legally entitled to have. Enhancing public safety is another argument because, of course, theyll all take Drivers Ed. The 9/11 Commission may have to puzzle that one over given that one of their most important recommendation for public safety was tightening license issuingstandards.

Noncitizen voting is a growing trend and ispresently allowed in 15 municipalities. Advocates claim non-citizens are disenfranchised if they cant vote. Huh? Disenfranchisement means someone is denied a legal right. There is no legal right for noncitizens, especially illegal aliens, to vote. This is circular logic. Its worth mentioning that allowing enfranchisement of foreign citizens devalues the vote of American citizens and strips away the incentive for legal immigrants to pursue U.S.citizenship.

Similar efforts are emerging in every state, but be on guard for the Next Generation of bills that are not ostensibly immigration-related but certainly partly the result of immigration. Local jurisdictions are reversing single family zoning and pushing for higher density, multiple family dwellings. This effort is sold with more subterfuge; the missing middle have a right to housing in good neighborhoods but inventory is scarce and expensive so the solution is an apartment building next door to you. Its enlightening to note that all the areas where this phenomenon is underway have sanctuary policies that fueled illegal immigration and contributed to rapidly increased population and demand for housing. Thus, these zoning changes are promoted as solutions to problems that the jurisdictions helped create in the first place. For most, it is also an egregious violation of the most sacrosanct of all covenants at the local level; the understanding that ones home and land will not be tamperedwith.

Of course, the litany of hollow arguments to accommodate mass immigration goes on and on, more whoppers than youll find at Burger King. The ulterior motives common to all these initiatives are voter expansion for the left, taxpayer-subsidized labor for business, and the systematic assimilation of illegal aliens into every facet of societythe Were Here, Were Settled, Were Not Leaving, Deal with Usargument that advocates use to rationalizeamnesty.

Weve all been around the block a few times (FAIR has been around since 1979), thus after decades of being lied to by the elites, skepticism is now our natural and necessary nature. It is also the catalyst for asking clarifying questions that expose layers of deceit when immigration policy is beingproposed.

Patrick Henry advised, Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect all who approach that jewel. Suspicion is a virtue as long as its object is the public good. The tyranny of King George III may be gone, but the American tradition of healthy scrutiny of government is just as vital during this modern-day fight against the new elites duplicitously promoting immigration policies that serve only to reward and incentivize unlawfulbehavior.

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Local Public Officials Have Earned our Skepticism - Federation for American Immigration Reform