Senate Passes Reform Bill
The Senate has passed S.744, a major comprehensive immigration reform bill. The legislation would legalize most of the estimated 11 million people illegally residing in the US, reform legal immigration, mandate the use of E-Verify for all employers and beef up enforcement along the US border. The bill passed by a 68-32 vote.
It faces an uphill battle in the House which has already said it will take a piecemeal legislative approach. The House Judiciary Committee has already passed several measures and is said to be working on guest worker and legalization bills after the August recess ends. But many believe the odds are still against each House agreeing on a final bill.
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Sequester Furloughs Avoided for Customs and Border Protection
The Washington Post reports that Congress has approved a plan to avoid furloughs for U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees during fiscal 2013. Retiring Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that CBP will also continue to pay for “administratively uncontrollable overtime,” which applies to agents who work irregular, unscheduled hours to fulfill their duties. According to Napolitano, CBP plans to meet its sequester targets through a hiring freeze, maintaining limited reductions in overtime, reducing travel and conferences, and forgoing certain kinds of bonuses. The agency had initially planned to furlough employees for up to 14 days and de-authorize administratively uncontrollable overtime. The sequester is scheduled to continue until 2021, so future furloughs are still a possibility.
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Border Patrol Finds Three Dead Bodies in Desert
The Arizona Daily Star reports that Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents recently found three male bodies in the desert. The desert reaches fatally hot temperatures every day, and temperatures continue to climb. Two of the men, found with bundles of marijuana, are suspected to have been involved in marijuana smuggling. The third man’s body was found after his sister was captured with a group of other border crossers. In the past nine months, Border Patrol agents have reported close to 100 deaths throughout Southern Arizona.
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