Washington Policy Update: Border Security Deployments, Military Impact, and Key Immigration Legal Battles

As policymakers and advocates return to Capitol Hill, the landscape of U.S. immigration policy continues to be shaped by high-stakes battles across the federal, judicial, and state levels. From congressional scrutiny over military construction funding redirected for border security to ongoing legal challenges surrounding the administration’s "Remain in Mexico" policy and a record-breaking population in immigration detention, Washington remains deeply divided over immigration and border enforcement strategies.

BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED

Legislative activity regarding immigration was notably quiet during the week of Monday, March 18, 2019. No immigration-related bills were introduced or considered on the floors of either chamber during this period, as lawmakers largely turned their attention toward upcoming budget hearings, oversight responsibilities, and ongoing debates over executive actions.

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR

Looking ahead to the final week of March, both chambers of Congress are preparing for active floor schedules. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to be in session throughout the week beginning Monday, March 25, 2019. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives will be in session from Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, 2019, with members facing critical votes, including an anticipated veto override attempt regarding the national emergency declaration at the southern border.

UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS

Department of State Budget Request for FY 2020

The House Committee on Appropriations will convene a hearing to examine the Department of State’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2020. The session will encompass discussions surrounding critical funding allocations, including resources for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and other international humanitarian and refugee-related initiatives. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. in room 2359 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The sole invited witness for the session is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

FY 2020 Budget Hearing – U.S. Customs and Border Protection

In a related appropriations focus, the House Committee on Appropriations will hold a dedicated budget hearing for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to review the agency’s fiscal year 2020 funding requests and operational strategies. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. in room 2008 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The witness scheduled to testify before the committee is CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan.

THEMES IN WASHINGTON THIS WEEK

Federal

Pentagon Releases List of Military Projects Potentially Affected by Trump’s Emergency Declaration as Border Deployments Face Scrutiny

The U.S. Defense Department has released a comprehensive list of military construction projects that could potentially be delayed or stripped of funding to redirect nearly $13 billion toward the construction of a barrier along the U.S.-southern border. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan fulfilled requests from congressional lawmakers by providing the records, which outline initiatives that had previously been approved and funded by Congress but had not yet been formally awarded under contract by the Pentagon. Shanahan pledged that the list would explicitly exclude projects involving military housing.

The affected projects span a wide range of facilities essential to military operations, training, and base infrastructure. Among them are updates affecting daily life at military installations, as well as operational enhancements such as firing ranges, flight simulation facilities, schools, and childcare centers utilized by military families. Major infrastructure projects supporting U.S. installations in Puerto Rico and security programs benefiting European allies also face the prospect of significant funding cuts.

The release of the list follows the Senate’s March 14 passage of a joint resolution terminating the national emergency declaration, a move that was swiftly vetoed by President Trump. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a veto override on March 26, though observers note that securing the necessary two-thirds majority in support will face steep hurdles due to partisan divides. However, the publication of specific military projects at risk in individual congressional districts could influence lawmakers as they weigh the local impacts on their constituents.

Simultaneously, the administration’s border enforcement policies are drawing internal criticism from military leadership. According to internal Marine Corps memos from Commandant Robert Neller, the unbudgeted and unplanned deployment of active-duty troops to the southern border has placed an unacceptable strain on combat readiness and solvency. Neller warned that shifting financial resources toward border security and hurricane recovery efforts forced the postponement of essential base repairs and the cancellation or downsizing of key military exercises in regions including Australia, South Korea, Mongolia, Scotland, and Indonesia.

Asylum Seekers Claim Fear over Returning to Mexico, as Administration Further Expands “Remain in Mexico” Policy

The administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), informally known as the "Remain in Mexico" policy, is encountering mounting procedural hurdles and legal challenges. During recent immigration court hearings in San Diego, several Central American asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico while awaiting their proceedings expressed explicit fears regarding their safety upon being returned across the border to Tijuana.

These safety concerns compound logistical complications surrounding the rollout of the policy. Just a week prior, scheduling errors prevented two of the first three asylum subjects from entering the U.S. for their scheduled court dates. The presiding immigration judge declined to order the absent individuals deported and voiced significant concerns regarding the implementation of the program.

The policy is also facing direct scrutiny in federal court. Civil rights organizations have filed lawsuits arguing that MPP violates federal law by failing to properly evaluate the dangers migrants encounter upon being sent back to Mexican territory. A federal judge in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, scheduled a hearing to weigh whether to issue an injunction halting the policy entirely. Despite these legal and operational challenges, the administration has proceeded with expanding MPP from its initial pilot implementation at the San Ysidro port of entry near San Diego to additional crossings in Calexico, California, and El Paso, Texas.

Trump Administration to Release Migrant Families En Masse, Citing ICE Detention Constraints

Border Patrol officials have begun releasing hundreds of migrant families apprehended at the southern border directly into communities rather than transferring them into long-term Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. According to reports, the policy shift was prompted by severe capacity constraints within ICE’s three dedicated family detention facilities, which hold a combined total of only a few thousand individuals and are currently operating at or near capacity.

Under the new operational approach, families who cannot be accommodated within detention facilities are processed by Border Patrol and released with notices to appear at future immigration court hearings. This resulted in the release of at least 250 individuals in a two-day span, with hundreds more anticipated. Previous mass releases have frequently involved families being dropped off at local bus stations with minimal resources, placing a heavy burden on municipal and non-profit organizations tasked with providing humanitarian aid.

While the administration attributes the releases to an escalating volume of migrant family arrivals fleeing poverty and violence in Central America—noting that Border Patrol apprehensions reached 66,450 in February 2019 compared to roughly 27,000 in February 2018—immigration advocates have questioned the timing and framing of the strategy. Critics have characterized the releases as a manufactured crisis designed to reinforce the narrative of a national emergency at the border.

Concurrently, ICE data indicates that the agency is maintaining a record population of approximately 50,000 individuals in immigration detention nationwide. Advocates have pointed out that the demographic makeup of detained individuals has shifted, with the proportion of detainees possessing criminal records declining from roughly 82 percent in December 2016 to 63.5 percent in December 2018, reflecting the broader scope of enforcement priorities under executive directives issued in January 2017.

Legal

Supreme Court Rules that Federal Government Can Hold Immigrants Indefinitely in Mandatory Detention for Prior Offenses

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government possesses the authority to subject immigrants to mandatory, indefinite detention based on past criminal offenses, even if those offenses occurred years prior and the individuals had long since re-entered civilian life. Writing for the conservative majority in Nielsen v. Preap, Justice Samuel Alito interpreted a 1996 statutory provision governing mandatory detention to require the incarceration of immigrants picked up "when they are released" from criminal custody, regardless of the time elapsed between their release and their subsequent apprehension by immigration authorities.

The litigation was brought by a group of lawful permanent residents who challenged their prolonged detention without bond hearings, arguing that the statute applied only when the transfer from criminal to immigration custody occurred immediately upon release. The court’s liberal minority dissented, with Justice Stephen Breyer warning of the implications of denying bail opportunities to individuals who had long since served their sentences and integrated back into society. The ruling builds upon the court’s previous decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez, which determined that detained immigrants held under mandatory provisions lack the right to periodic bond hearings.

New York Federal Judge Rules against Trump Administration Halting Protections for Abused and Abandoned Young Immigrants

A federal judge in New York ruled against a Department of Homeland Security policy that systematically denied immigration protections to vulnerable, abused, neglected, and abandoned undocumented minors. Under long-standing federal guidelines established in 1990, eligible undocumented youths under the age of 21 could apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Status, providing protection from deportation and a pathway to lawful permanent residency. However, internal guidance issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in February 2018 abruptly barred SIJ applicants over the age of 18 from receiving these protections.

U.S. District Judge John Koeltl ruled in favor of the plaintiff class of immigrant youths, granting class-action status and holding that the administration’s restrictions directly violated the letter and intent of federal immigration law.

State and Local

Gov. Northam Vetoes Virginia Bills Targeting Sanctuary Jurisdictions

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam vetoed two state bills, Senate Bill 1156 and House/Bill 2270, which sought to penalize and restrict so-called sanctuary jurisdictions within the commonwealth. SB 1156 would have barred localities from adopting policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities and mandated that local law enforcement notify federal agents when taking undocumented individuals into custody. HB 2270 would have required local correctional facilities to notify federal authorities of the scheduled release dates of undocumented inmates.

In his veto messages, Northam argued that the legislation imposed unnecessary, divisive mandates that compelled local agencies to expend limited municipal resources performing federal responsibilities. He further cautioned that the measures would send a chilling effect through immigrant communities and undermine local public safety initiatives. The bills had previously cleared both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly along narrow, party-line votes, despite advocates noting the absence of any formal sanctuary cities within the state. Northam had previously vetoed similar anti-sanctuary proposals in 2018.

ACLU: ICE Issued 420 Detainer Requests for U.S. Citizens in the Miami-Dade Area

An investigative report released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement mistakenly issued 420 immigration detainer requests targeting U.S. citizens in Miami-Dade County, Florida, between February 2017 and February 2019. Immigration detainers are federal requests asking local law enforcement agencies to maintain custody of individuals suspected of lacking lawful status.

Upon discovering that numerous requests erroneously targeted American citizens, ICE rescinded 83 of the 420 detainers. However, the remaining 337 requests remained active, resulting in U.S. citizens continuing to be held in custody, with at least two individuals nearly facing deportation. The findings highlight persistent administrative errors within the detainer system and underscore the potential civil liability faced by local jurisdictions that honor flawed federal requests. The ACLU previously filed a lawsuit against Miami-Dade County in 2017 on behalf of a U.S. citizen wrongfully detained under an ICE detainer.

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

Government Accountability Office (GAO): HOMELAND SECURITY: Research & Development Coordination Has Improved, but Additional Actions Needed to Track and Evaluate Projects

A report released by the GAO reviews the Department of Homeland Security’s research and development efforts, evaluating fund obligations, project typologies, and the effectiveness of the Science and Technology Directorate in coordinating initiatives across DHS components.

Government Accountability Office (GAO): BORDER SECURITY: DHS Should Improve the Quality of Unlawful Border Entry Information and Other Metric Reporting

The GAO published an assessment examining the extent to which DHS reported reliable metrics concerning unlawful border entries as mandated by the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, analyzing the department’s handling of statistical uncertainties and data quality standards.

Government Accountability Office (GAO): STUDENT AND EXCHANGE VISITOR PROGRAM: DHS Can Take Additional Steps to Manage Fraud Risks Related to School Recertification and Program Oversight

A GAO evaluation focused on vulnerabilities within the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, reviewing ICE’s implementation of internal controls to mitigate fraud risks during school certification processes and Designated School Official training protocols, resulting in seven specific recommendations for administrative improvement.

SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES

Border Security Along the Southwest Border: Fact Sheet

A comprehensive fact sheet detailing resource allocations, enforcement infrastructure, and historical migration trends along the U.S. Southwest border.

Infographic: Alternatives to Detention

An informational graphic illustrating that alternatives to detention operate at a fraction of the financial cost of traditional detention while maintaining compliance rates upwards of 95 percent for required immigration hearings.

The Math of Immigration Detention, 2018 Update: Costs Continue to Multiply

An analytical paper examining the escalating federal expenditures associated with immigrant detention during fiscal year 2018, alongside a review of historical trends in bed quotas and daily capacity rates.