Congressional Updates
P.L. 116-6: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019
2/13/19
AILA Doc. No. 19021470.
On 2/15/19, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 to fund the government through the end of FY2019. Below are a few of the immigration related provisions included in the Act:
- The bill provides limited cap relief to H-2B employers who need temporary foreign workers to supplement their workforces during FY2019. For more information, read AILA's Practice Alert: Omnibus Spending Bill Provides Limited H-2B Cap Relief for FY2019
- The bill increases funding for immigration detention by at least 12 percent and includes $1.375 billion for 55 new miles of border fencing. Read AILA's statement expressing concern about the increased funding the bill provides for border security enforcement.
- The bill authorized an additional 4,000 Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghan interpreters, translators, and partners in the spending bill funding the federal government for the remainder of FY2019. The measure, which supports the Afghan SIV program, will help protect Afghan allies who served alongside U.S. service members and diplomatic personnel as translators, interpreters and other support staff during the U.S. missions in Afghanistan and face threats because of their service. An estimated 10,955 Afghan applicants and 12,067 family members have applied for an SIV visa and are currently waiting for the backlog to clear.
On 2/14/19, the Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 on an 83-16 vote. The House approved the measure on a 300-128 vote later the same day.
On 2/13/19, the bipartisan Senate and House conferees released the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.J.Res. 31) which would fund the government through the end of FY2019 and avert a partial government shutdown on 2/15/19.
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 19021470.