Search
Contact
Login
Share this article
Earlier this week, Sarah Saldaña, President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was confirmed by the Senate 55-39. Only two Republicans voted in favor of her confirmation, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Saldaña will be the first Hispanic woman to lead ICE.
Saldaña had faced an uphill battle in the Senate after Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly withdrew their support for her nomination after she backed Obama’s recent executive action on immigration. Her eventual appointment had appeared uncertain with the busy legislative schedule heading into the holidays, but Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was able to prioritize a series of confirmation votes immediately before the Congressional session ended.
Though Saldaña is now confirmed, additional battles over immigration policy are likely to take place almost immediately in the new year with the new Republican majority in the Senate. The GOP has ensured that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is funded only through February with the recently passed government funding bill, so further discussions on immigration executive action will be ongoing.
For more news and information on legislative and governmental developments, follow us on our BAL Government Affairs twitter page.
For additional information or questions, please contact:
Lynden Melmed, Partner Washington, D.C. Direct: 202.842.5830 lmelmed@bal.com
Christiana Kern, Legislative Analyst Washington, D.C. Direct : 202.842.5831 ckern@bal.com
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
The U.S. Department of Labor has posted updated processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications. PERM Processing: As…
Immigrant visa issuance continued to climb in fiscal year 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic totals, according to recently published State…
EU member states’ ambassadors have agreed on a draft regulation that would let the EU suspend visa-free travel for countries…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced this week that it will implement a streamlined process to provide Employment…