REPORTS FROM THE JCIRA LEGISLATION/POLICY TRACKING TEAM
Disclaimer: JCIRA’s Federal Legislation/Policy Tracking Team does not provide original reporting or legal advice. Our team curates a weekly collection of updates in the area of national immigration policy from journalists, government sources, and subject matter experts that directly impact the immigrant community on the Olympic Peninsula. Please refer to the cited sources. For more information on how to take action on pending policies and legislation, please visit 5 Calls and the Take Action Network. You can also diretly email Washington state's U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, as well as U.S. House Representative, Emily Randall.
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october 31, 2025
Washington State
Ninth Circuit orders closer look at immunity defense for Tacoma Detention facility
The Washington State Department of Health sued the GEO group, the contractor that runs the NW Detention Center in Tacoma, in state court after it denied department inspectors access to the facility. Detainees have reported food contaminated with foreign items like plastic and metal string, along with blocked toilets and other unsanitary conditions.The GEO Group moved the case to federal court, arguing that it met the benchmarks to do so as an entity acting under a federal agency. A lower court judge rejected GEO Group’s arguments prompting the group to appeal to the Ninth Circuit. A panel of Ninth Circuit judges has ordered the lower court to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether the company shares the government’s immunity from liability. GEO has a policy document and written contract with ICE that require them to comply with state law, which mandates all facilities be open to the health department’s inspections. Both contradict the group’s argument that as a contractor of the Federal government, they have derivative immunity and that the federal government mandated the denial of entry. The lower court judge had concluded the case appears to focus on whether the conditions at the facility are a public health threat, making it a state issue.
Source: Courthouse News Service 10/23/25
Federal Agencies
Another shutdown consequence: Democrats can’t visit ICE detention facilities
Federal immigration authorities say they no longer have to provide on-demand access to detention facilities for members of Congress due to the government shutdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have informed lawmakers that they simply don’t have the staff or funding to support the visits. Lawmakers have previously been legally allowed to demand them as part of their oversight duties, which includes monitoring conditions and communicating with detainees facing deportation. In addition, ICE has added an excuse that as a result of the shutdown, there’s now no law on the books that requires the Trump administration to accommodate lawmakers’ visits. That requirement had been contained in government funding laws that expired when the shutdown began. Instead, ICE informed U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb that it is now funding its operations with appropriations made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which does not require congressional access.“ICE is no longer funding the operation of its detention facilities … with any funds that were appropriated subject to [the requirement for lawmaker visits]” Justice Department attorneys indicated.
Source: Politico 10/27/25
Trump plans to install Border Patrol officials to lead a more aggressive migrant crackdown
The Trump administration is planning to replace some regional leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices with Border Patrol officials in an attempt to intensify its mass deportation efforts amid growing frustration with the pace of daily arrests, according to Homeland Security Department officials. Trump’s top aides have welcomed Border Patrol’s more aggressive tactics to secure arrests, such as rappelling into apartment buildings from Black Hawk helicopters and jumping out of rental trucks in Home Depot parking lots. “The mentality is CBP does what they’re told, and the administration thinks ICE isn’t getting the job done,” one of the DHS officials said. “So CBP will do it”. ”The White House has signed off on a list of at least a dozen directors of ICE field offices who are set to be reassigned in coming days. Source: NBC News 10/27/25
States Build an ‘ICE Tracker’ Network
In a sweeping response to an intensifying wave of controversial enforcement tactics by federal ICE agents, state and local leaders across the U.S. are deploying digital tools and crowdsourced data to expose alleged illegalities. All of these efforts are distinguished by intense cooperation between state attorneys general, local officials, and tech-savvy advocacy groups. Legal experts note these evidence repositories may play pivotal roles in future prosecutions or civil lawsuits by helping to identify and build cases against agents believed to have engaged in unlawful activity during high-tension raids.This unprecedented coordination marks a new era in government accountability efforts corroborated by the following initiatives: Illinois - License Plate Watch Hotline New York- Digital Portal: Building Legal Cases Against Agents Chicago- ICE Accountability Project Profiles Individual Agents
Source: Migrant Insider 10/27/25
Poll shows drop in support for Trump among Hispanics
A poll released from the Associated Press (AP) shows an approximate 20% drop in how favorably Hispanic adults now view Trump, a significant downturn from a poll conducted by AP just before he began his second term. Hispanic voters played a crucial role in helping Trump win the presidency for the second time – nearly half of Hispanic voters backed him in 2024. Trump’s decline in popularity comes as his administration pursues hardline immigration enforcement, which has directly affected Latino communities across income levels. according to the poll. The poll also highlights rising financial strain within Hispanic households. Respondents reported higher levels of stress about groceries, housing, healthcare and wages than the general US population. Economists see immigration and economic concerns as intertwined, citing studies that have shown immigrants help improve local economies by boosting consumer spending and filling labor shortages.
Source: The Guardian 10/ 25/25
Executive Orders/Proclamations/Court Challenges
Judge Rules Immigration Detention of Chicago Man With Daughter Battling Cancer Is Illegal
Attorneys for Rubin Torres Maldonado have petitioned the court for his release as his deportation case goes through the system. Torres', who was detained on Oct.18th, at a Home Depot store, is a painter and home renovator who has been in the U.S. since 2003. His daughter is suffering from a rare and aggressive form of soft-tissue cancer. He and his partner also have a 4-year-old son. Both children are U.S. citizens. U. S. District Judge Jermey Daniel, District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, said in an order on Friday, Oct 24th, that Torres' detention is illegal and violates his 'due process rights. Judge Daniels also stated that he could not order his immediate release. " While sympathetic to the plight the petitioner's daughter faces due to her health concerns, the court must act within the constraints of the relevant statutes, rules and precedents," the judge wrote. Judge Daniel further ruled that Torres' must be given a bond hearing by Oct. 31. "I find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted just because they were not born here." said Torres' daughter Ofelia. She was released from the hospital a day before her father's arrest. The family attorney told the court that since the arrest she has been unable to continue treatment "because of the stress and disruption," they said.
Source: AP News 10/25/25
Ninth Circuit orders closer look at immunity defense for Tacoma Detention facility
The Washington State Department of Health sued the GEO group, the contractor that runs the NW Detention Center in Tacoma, in state court after it denied department inspectors access to the facility. Detainees have reported food contaminated with foreign items like plastic and metal string, along with blocked toilets and other unsanitary conditions.The GEO Group moved the case to federal court, arguing that it met the benchmarks to do so as an entity acting under a federal agency. A lower court judge rejected GEO Group’s arguments prompting the group to appeal to the Ninth Circuit. A panel of Ninth Circuit judges has ordered the lower court to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether the company shares the government’s immunity from liability. GEO has a policy document and written contract with ICE that require them to comply with state law, which mandates all facilities be open to the health department’s inspections. Both contradict the group’s argument that as a contractor of the Federal government, they have derivative immunity and that the federal government mandated the denial of entry. The lower court judge had concluded the case appears to focus on whether the conditions at the facility are a public health threat, making it a state issue.
Source: Courthouse News Service 10/23/25
Federal Agencies
Another shutdown consequence: Democrats can’t visit ICE detention facilities
Federal immigration authorities say they no longer have to provide on-demand access to detention facilities for members of Congress due to the government shutdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have informed lawmakers that they simply don’t have the staff or funding to support the visits. Lawmakers have previously been legally allowed to demand them as part of their oversight duties, which includes monitoring conditions and communicating with detainees facing deportation. In addition, ICE has added an excuse that as a result of the shutdown, there’s now no law on the books that requires the Trump administration to accommodate lawmakers’ visits. That requirement had been contained in government funding laws that expired when the shutdown began. Instead, ICE informed U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb that it is now funding its operations with appropriations made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which does not require congressional access.“ICE is no longer funding the operation of its detention facilities … with any funds that were appropriated subject to [the requirement for lawmaker visits]” Justice Department attorneys indicated.
Source: Politico 10/27/25
Trump plans to install Border Patrol officials to lead a more aggressive migrant crackdown
The Trump administration is planning to replace some regional leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices with Border Patrol officials in an attempt to intensify its mass deportation efforts amid growing frustration with the pace of daily arrests, according to Homeland Security Department officials. Trump’s top aides have welcomed Border Patrol’s more aggressive tactics to secure arrests, such as rappelling into apartment buildings from Black Hawk helicopters and jumping out of rental trucks in Home Depot parking lots. “The mentality is CBP does what they’re told, and the administration thinks ICE isn’t getting the job done,” one of the DHS officials said. “So CBP will do it”. ”The White House has signed off on a list of at least a dozen directors of ICE field offices who are set to be reassigned in coming days. Source: NBC News 10/27/25
States Build an ‘ICE Tracker’ Network
In a sweeping response to an intensifying wave of controversial enforcement tactics by federal ICE agents, state and local leaders across the U.S. are deploying digital tools and crowdsourced data to expose alleged illegalities. All of these efforts are distinguished by intense cooperation between state attorneys general, local officials, and tech-savvy advocacy groups. Legal experts note these evidence repositories may play pivotal roles in future prosecutions or civil lawsuits by helping to identify and build cases against agents believed to have engaged in unlawful activity during high-tension raids.This unprecedented coordination marks a new era in government accountability efforts corroborated by the following initiatives: Illinois - License Plate Watch Hotline New York- Digital Portal: Building Legal Cases Against Agents Chicago- ICE Accountability Project Profiles Individual Agents
Source: Migrant Insider 10/27/25
Poll shows drop in support for Trump among Hispanics
A poll released from the Associated Press (AP) shows an approximate 20% drop in how favorably Hispanic adults now view Trump, a significant downturn from a poll conducted by AP just before he began his second term. Hispanic voters played a crucial role in helping Trump win the presidency for the second time – nearly half of Hispanic voters backed him in 2024. Trump’s decline in popularity comes as his administration pursues hardline immigration enforcement, which has directly affected Latino communities across income levels. according to the poll. The poll also highlights rising financial strain within Hispanic households. Respondents reported higher levels of stress about groceries, housing, healthcare and wages than the general US population. Economists see immigration and economic concerns as intertwined, citing studies that have shown immigrants help improve local economies by boosting consumer spending and filling labor shortages.
Source: The Guardian 10/ 25/25
Executive Orders/Proclamations/Court Challenges
Judge Rules Immigration Detention of Chicago Man With Daughter Battling Cancer Is Illegal
Attorneys for Rubin Torres Maldonado have petitioned the court for his release as his deportation case goes through the system. Torres', who was detained on Oct.18th, at a Home Depot store, is a painter and home renovator who has been in the U.S. since 2003. His daughter is suffering from a rare and aggressive form of soft-tissue cancer. He and his partner also have a 4-year-old son. Both children are U.S. citizens. U. S. District Judge Jermey Daniel, District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, said in an order on Friday, Oct 24th, that Torres' detention is illegal and violates his 'due process rights. Judge Daniels also stated that he could not order his immediate release. " While sympathetic to the plight the petitioner's daughter faces due to her health concerns, the court must act within the constraints of the relevant statutes, rules and precedents," the judge wrote. Judge Daniel further ruled that Torres' must be given a bond hearing by Oct. 31. "I find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted just because they were not born here." said Torres' daughter Ofelia. She was released from the hospital a day before her father's arrest. The family attorney told the court that since the arrest she has been unable to continue treatment "because of the stress and disruption," they said.
Source: AP News 10/25/25
October 24, 2025
WASHINGTON STATE
Washington AG pushing new law to protect workers from immigration raids
Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown is proposing legislation in the next legislative session to protect the State’s immigrant workforce. Called the Immigrant Worker Protection Act, it would require employers to notify their employees of a planned inspection of employment eligibility paperwork within 72 hours of being notified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The attorney general’s office notes that federal immigration agents usually tell employers they want to audit I-9 documents and allows them 72 hours to gather and produce their employees’ I-9 forms. Employees often have no idea that their I-9 documents are being sent for review. The bill would give workers the opportunity to get their documentation in order, speak to an attorney, or make plans with their family if needed.
Source: Washington State Standard 10/14/25
Trump administration fires Seattle immigration judge despite huge case backlog
The Trump administration has fired an immigration judge in Seattle, one of dozens ushered out this year despite a huge backlog that has some cases waiting years to be resolved. Seattle’s Susana Reyes received a termination notice this September as the administration continues to fire multiple immigration judges leaving fewer judges nationally to hear roughly 3.8 million cases. With Judge Reyes' dismissal, immigration lawyers are wondering what will happen to cases that were on her docket. “It doesn’t seem like there’s any plan,”said Seattle immigration lawyer Adam Boyd. “We’re left guessing”. Seattle’s immigration court, which has more than 50,000 pending cases, according to TRAC, has seven remaining judges.
Source: Seattle Times 10/20/25
FEDERAL AGENCIES
Trump has spent 700 percent more on deadly weapons for ICE this year - but agency still claims they can’t afford bodycams
ICE has spent more than $70 million on new weapons in the first nine months of President Donald Trump’s second term, a 700 percent increase in the same period in 2024, according to a report. Citing records from the Federal Procurement Data System the immigration force spent the funds on purchases of small arms, ordnance and ordnance accessories manufacturing. Small arms refers to armor, explosives, chemical weapons, pistols, and rifles while ordnance and ordnance accessories manufacturing denotes other materials like artillery, barrels, extractors, and mounts. While the majority of the money has been spent on guns and armor for field agents, the outlay has also seen ICE purchase “guided missile warheads and explosives. It is currently estimated that ICE has approximately 20,000 active agents but Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin recently said it has received “more than 175,000 applications” to join its ranks as a result of an ad blitz on platforms like Spotify, X, Meta, YouTube, and LinkedIn, with more than 18,000 tentative job offers” issued.
Source: The Independent 10/21/25
Labor Department Lowers Farmworker Wages
Trump’s Labor Department has instituted a change to the H2A Visa program to address what it calls a severe shortage of immigrant labor caused by the Trump’s immigration policies. The labor shortage threatens to “harm US U.S. competitiveness, threaten food production, drive up consumer prices, and create instability in rural communities.” The change in the H2A visa program, which allows U.S. companies to bring in foreign nationals for temporary agriculture jobs, would lower wages and reduce the amount farmers pay to support housing for workers. In Washington State wages would fall from: $19.82 to $16.53; a reduction of $3.29 (before the housing deduction of $2.49). The Labor Department believes the resulting profits will encourage farmers to increase the number of workers they bring into the country. The United Farm Workers union condemned the rule change as a sell out to the agriculture industry. WA Congressman Dan Newhouse applauded the rule change as a long-needed reform to a visa program that burdened farmers with unfair workforce costs.
Source: The Nation 10/10/25
Congressional Democrats Investigate Arrests of Americans During Raids
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee have opened a probe following reports that immigration raids have detained over 170 U.S. citizens in 2025. Investigations are focusing on alleged constitutional violations, such as detentions without access to counsel, excessive force during ICE operations and racial profiling or discrimination in stops and arrests. The Democrats are demanding records, case files, and bodycam footage by November 3rd. However, the first hearings, to take place in Los Angeles, will not occur until the current government shutdown has ended.
Source: New York Times 10/10/25
EXECUTIVE ORDERS/PROCLAMATIONS/COURT CHALLENGES
ICE Agents Can Now Be Arrested in Chicago
A federal judge in Chicago has ruled that ICE agents can now face arrest and contempt proceedings if they conduct unlawful, warrantless arrests, marking a dramatic shift in immigration enforcement oversight in the city. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings found that ICE agents violated the terms of a consent decree by detaining people without proper warrants. According to the judge’s order, ICE agents must now wear body cameras and have them turned on. They also cannot arrest anyone complying with their appointment dates at immigration courthouses. Legal experts say the decision opens the door for individual ICE agents to be arrested if they disregard the court’s mandates, The Department of Homeland Security advised that it would “comply with all lawful court orders and is addressing this matter with the court.”
Source: Migrant Insider 10/20/25
Unions Sue Trump Administration over Social Media ‘Surveillance’ Program
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the American Federation of Teachers, the Communications Workers of America and the United Auto Workers.The unions, represented by EFF, sued the Trump administration on Thursday Oct 16th, over a program that is searching the social media posts of visa holders, arguing that the practice violates the First Amendment rights of people legally in the United States. The lawsuit, filed in New York, asks a judge to block the administration from engaging in “viewpoint-based investigation and surveillance.” It also asks the court to purge any records created so far under the administration program. The Trump administration has said it is scouring social media for posts that it deems hostile or threatening and then using that information as a basis to revoke some people’s visas. President Trump announced the basis for the policy in January in an executive order targeting noncitizens who “bear hostile attitudes” or support “threats to our national security.” The Department of Homeland Security in April said it was screening foreign nationals’ social media activity for antisemitism. There are more than 55 million people who have U.S. valid visas in the U.S., putting a huge swath of the population under potential social media monitoring.
Source: NBC News 10/16/25
Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Sue Over ICE Policies
The lawsuit was filed by Public Council on behalf of a coalition of immigrant rights groups and eight immigrants who were targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite pending applications for U and T visas. About 3 in 5 U and T visa applicants are immigrant women. Tuesday’s lawsuit on Oct. 14th, argues that the Trump administration is illegally targeting victims whom Congress intended to protect when it created the two visa programs, as well as a third program for the battered spouses and children of U.S. citizens. With the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, including the Battered Immigrant Protection Act, Congress created U Visas for victims of domestic violence and other serious crimes, and the T visas for victims of human trafficking. These visas were created by Congress to encourage immigrant victims of crime, particularly women, to come forward.
Source: 19th News 10/16/25
Washington AG pushing new law to protect workers from immigration raids
Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown is proposing legislation in the next legislative session to protect the State’s immigrant workforce. Called the Immigrant Worker Protection Act, it would require employers to notify their employees of a planned inspection of employment eligibility paperwork within 72 hours of being notified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The attorney general’s office notes that federal immigration agents usually tell employers they want to audit I-9 documents and allows them 72 hours to gather and produce their employees’ I-9 forms. Employees often have no idea that their I-9 documents are being sent for review. The bill would give workers the opportunity to get their documentation in order, speak to an attorney, or make plans with their family if needed.
Source: Washington State Standard 10/14/25
Trump administration fires Seattle immigration judge despite huge case backlog
The Trump administration has fired an immigration judge in Seattle, one of dozens ushered out this year despite a huge backlog that has some cases waiting years to be resolved. Seattle’s Susana Reyes received a termination notice this September as the administration continues to fire multiple immigration judges leaving fewer judges nationally to hear roughly 3.8 million cases. With Judge Reyes' dismissal, immigration lawyers are wondering what will happen to cases that were on her docket. “It doesn’t seem like there’s any plan,”said Seattle immigration lawyer Adam Boyd. “We’re left guessing”. Seattle’s immigration court, which has more than 50,000 pending cases, according to TRAC, has seven remaining judges.
Source: Seattle Times 10/20/25
FEDERAL AGENCIES
Trump has spent 700 percent more on deadly weapons for ICE this year - but agency still claims they can’t afford bodycams
ICE has spent more than $70 million on new weapons in the first nine months of President Donald Trump’s second term, a 700 percent increase in the same period in 2024, according to a report. Citing records from the Federal Procurement Data System the immigration force spent the funds on purchases of small arms, ordnance and ordnance accessories manufacturing. Small arms refers to armor, explosives, chemical weapons, pistols, and rifles while ordnance and ordnance accessories manufacturing denotes other materials like artillery, barrels, extractors, and mounts. While the majority of the money has been spent on guns and armor for field agents, the outlay has also seen ICE purchase “guided missile warheads and explosives. It is currently estimated that ICE has approximately 20,000 active agents but Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin recently said it has received “more than 175,000 applications” to join its ranks as a result of an ad blitz on platforms like Spotify, X, Meta, YouTube, and LinkedIn, with more than 18,000 tentative job offers” issued.
Source: The Independent 10/21/25
Labor Department Lowers Farmworker Wages
Trump’s Labor Department has instituted a change to the H2A Visa program to address what it calls a severe shortage of immigrant labor caused by the Trump’s immigration policies. The labor shortage threatens to “harm US U.S. competitiveness, threaten food production, drive up consumer prices, and create instability in rural communities.” The change in the H2A visa program, which allows U.S. companies to bring in foreign nationals for temporary agriculture jobs, would lower wages and reduce the amount farmers pay to support housing for workers. In Washington State wages would fall from: $19.82 to $16.53; a reduction of $3.29 (before the housing deduction of $2.49). The Labor Department believes the resulting profits will encourage farmers to increase the number of workers they bring into the country. The United Farm Workers union condemned the rule change as a sell out to the agriculture industry. WA Congressman Dan Newhouse applauded the rule change as a long-needed reform to a visa program that burdened farmers with unfair workforce costs.
Source: The Nation 10/10/25
Congressional Democrats Investigate Arrests of Americans During Raids
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee have opened a probe following reports that immigration raids have detained over 170 U.S. citizens in 2025. Investigations are focusing on alleged constitutional violations, such as detentions without access to counsel, excessive force during ICE operations and racial profiling or discrimination in stops and arrests. The Democrats are demanding records, case files, and bodycam footage by November 3rd. However, the first hearings, to take place in Los Angeles, will not occur until the current government shutdown has ended.
Source: New York Times 10/10/25
EXECUTIVE ORDERS/PROCLAMATIONS/COURT CHALLENGES
ICE Agents Can Now Be Arrested in Chicago
A federal judge in Chicago has ruled that ICE agents can now face arrest and contempt proceedings if they conduct unlawful, warrantless arrests, marking a dramatic shift in immigration enforcement oversight in the city. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings found that ICE agents violated the terms of a consent decree by detaining people without proper warrants. According to the judge’s order, ICE agents must now wear body cameras and have them turned on. They also cannot arrest anyone complying with their appointment dates at immigration courthouses. Legal experts say the decision opens the door for individual ICE agents to be arrested if they disregard the court’s mandates, The Department of Homeland Security advised that it would “comply with all lawful court orders and is addressing this matter with the court.”
Source: Migrant Insider 10/20/25
Unions Sue Trump Administration over Social Media ‘Surveillance’ Program
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the American Federation of Teachers, the Communications Workers of America and the United Auto Workers.The unions, represented by EFF, sued the Trump administration on Thursday Oct 16th, over a program that is searching the social media posts of visa holders, arguing that the practice violates the First Amendment rights of people legally in the United States. The lawsuit, filed in New York, asks a judge to block the administration from engaging in “viewpoint-based investigation and surveillance.” It also asks the court to purge any records created so far under the administration program. The Trump administration has said it is scouring social media for posts that it deems hostile or threatening and then using that information as a basis to revoke some people’s visas. President Trump announced the basis for the policy in January in an executive order targeting noncitizens who “bear hostile attitudes” or support “threats to our national security.” The Department of Homeland Security in April said it was screening foreign nationals’ social media activity for antisemitism. There are more than 55 million people who have U.S. valid visas in the U.S., putting a huge swath of the population under potential social media monitoring.
Source: NBC News 10/16/25
Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Sue Over ICE Policies
The lawsuit was filed by Public Council on behalf of a coalition of immigrant rights groups and eight immigrants who were targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite pending applications for U and T visas. About 3 in 5 U and T visa applicants are immigrant women. Tuesday’s lawsuit on Oct. 14th, argues that the Trump administration is illegally targeting victims whom Congress intended to protect when it created the two visa programs, as well as a third program for the battered spouses and children of U.S. citizens. With the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, including the Battered Immigrant Protection Act, Congress created U Visas for victims of domestic violence and other serious crimes, and the T visas for victims of human trafficking. These visas were created by Congress to encourage immigrant victims of crime, particularly women, to come forward.
Source: 19th News 10/16/25
OCTOBER 16, 2025
WASHINGTON STATE
Federal Judge Says Immigrants in Washington State Have a Right to Bond Hearings
Western District of Washington - U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright’s order granting summary judgment for a class action case impacting people detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center said certain immigrants “are not subject to mandatory detention,” and holding them without the possibility of a bond hearing violates the Immigration and Nationality Act. The immigration judges at the Tacoma Detention Center have long denied bond requests by migrants. In July, Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, adopted a policy for immigration judges across the country, meaning that most migrants arrested cannot be released unless the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) makes an exception. The new rule has impacted people who have lived in the country for years, even decades.
Source: AP News 10/01/25
FEDERAL AGENCIES
Federal law enforcement seeks to expand in Spokane, Boise and other liberal cities to support ‘administration’s goal’
Federal law enforcement is looking to further its reach in Spokane, Boise and other cities to further the Trump administration’s goals. On Sept. 16th the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) released a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) for property companies to apply to lease fully furnished office spaces to support the administration’s goal of optimizing the federal footprint in 21 liberal leaning cities. A GSA spokesperson did not disclose which federal law enforcement agency would be occupying the potential spaces, but the request for more federal law enforcement work space mirrors the Trump administration’s move to increase the presence and operations of ICE, which is set to receive $76.5 billion to hire 10,000 more staff by the end of the year to meet its immigration deportation goals.
Source: Idaho State Journal 10/8/25
Inside the Trump administration’s unprecedented purge of immigration judges
When Trump took office there were more than 600 immigration judges located in 72 immigration courts nationwide. Since then, 139 of those judges have been fired, taken an early-out offer, or been involuntarily transferred. According to data provided by the National Association of Immigration Judges, September had the highest number of terminations, with 24 people dismissed. The removals, which target career public servants, reflect the Trump administration’s push to install officials who are aligned with his policies. Immigration courts, unlike federal courts, fall under the executive branch and are housed in the Justice Department, meaning that the administration can wield immense influence over the system even as judges try to maintain independence. The immigration court backlog exceeds 3.4 million cases, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The termination of judges also means thousands of those cases are in limbo, according to experts and former judges. In late August, the Justice Department eliminated certain requirements for people to serve as temporary immigration judges, paving the way for any attorney to fill the role. Among those the administration has moved to enlist are military lawyers. The Associated Press reported that the first group of Army lawyers tapped to serve as temporary immigration judges would begin training Monday. The Justice Department has hired attorneys from multiple backgrounds, including the military, not all of whom have extensive immigration experience. The concern among former immigration judges is that placing people in positions to make crucial decisions for immigrants without proper training could undermine due process.
Source: CNN 10/6/25
Land O’Lakes CEO says ‘we need more legal immigration’ to help American farmers
At the Fortune Most Powerful Women (MPW) Summit Tuesday morning, Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford warned that American farmers face a critical labor shortage if the U.S. doesn’t institute more pathways for legal immigration. Ford’s comments underscore the precarious position of American farmers who depend heavily on immigrant workers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as of 2022, only 32% of crop farmworkers were actually born in the U.S. The vast majority of farmworkers are born outside the U.S. and have no work authorization. In the dairy industry immigrant workers account for 51% of all dairy labor. Source: Fortune 10/14/25
EXECUTIVE ORDERS/PROCLAMATIONS/COURT CHALLENGES
Federal Judge Rules Against ICE in the Warrantless Arrests of 11 Liberty Restaurant Workers
On Oct. 7, Judge Jeffery Cummings, District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to lift any conditions on the release of 22 immigrants, including 11 people who had been detained after the Liberty, Kansas raid and another 11 people detained in Chicago. All were detained through warrantless arrests according to the National Immigrant Justice Center, which helped bring the case to court. Judge Cummings also ordered the Department of Homeland Security to reissue its warrantless arrest policy nationwide and certify that any officers who violated the consent decree were retrained. ICE will also need to report to the court the names and arrest documents for anyone else who had been arrested without a warrant on immigration violations since June in the Northern District of Illinois, and to continue making similar reports monthly. Judge Cummings also extended the decree to Feb. 2, 2026. In addition to Kansas, five other states are also under the consent decree. The decision has far reaching implications and is a huge win for due process, said Rekha Shama-Crawford, a Kansas City-based immigration attorney representing the Liberty workers.
Source: The Beacon News 10/09/25
Federal Judge Says Immigrants in Washington State Have a Right to Bond Hearings
Western District of Washington - U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright’s order granting summary judgment for a class action case impacting people detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center said certain immigrants “are not subject to mandatory detention,” and holding them without the possibility of a bond hearing violates the Immigration and Nationality Act. The immigration judges at the Tacoma Detention Center have long denied bond requests by migrants. In July, Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, adopted a policy for immigration judges across the country, meaning that most migrants arrested cannot be released unless the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) makes an exception. The new rule has impacted people who have lived in the country for years, even decades.
Source: AP News 10/01/25
FEDERAL AGENCIES
Federal law enforcement seeks to expand in Spokane, Boise and other liberal cities to support ‘administration’s goal’
Federal law enforcement is looking to further its reach in Spokane, Boise and other cities to further the Trump administration’s goals. On Sept. 16th the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) released a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) for property companies to apply to lease fully furnished office spaces to support the administration’s goal of optimizing the federal footprint in 21 liberal leaning cities. A GSA spokesperson did not disclose which federal law enforcement agency would be occupying the potential spaces, but the request for more federal law enforcement work space mirrors the Trump administration’s move to increase the presence and operations of ICE, which is set to receive $76.5 billion to hire 10,000 more staff by the end of the year to meet its immigration deportation goals.
Source: Idaho State Journal 10/8/25
Inside the Trump administration’s unprecedented purge of immigration judges
When Trump took office there were more than 600 immigration judges located in 72 immigration courts nationwide. Since then, 139 of those judges have been fired, taken an early-out offer, or been involuntarily transferred. According to data provided by the National Association of Immigration Judges, September had the highest number of terminations, with 24 people dismissed. The removals, which target career public servants, reflect the Trump administration’s push to install officials who are aligned with his policies. Immigration courts, unlike federal courts, fall under the executive branch and are housed in the Justice Department, meaning that the administration can wield immense influence over the system even as judges try to maintain independence. The immigration court backlog exceeds 3.4 million cases, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The termination of judges also means thousands of those cases are in limbo, according to experts and former judges. In late August, the Justice Department eliminated certain requirements for people to serve as temporary immigration judges, paving the way for any attorney to fill the role. Among those the administration has moved to enlist are military lawyers. The Associated Press reported that the first group of Army lawyers tapped to serve as temporary immigration judges would begin training Monday. The Justice Department has hired attorneys from multiple backgrounds, including the military, not all of whom have extensive immigration experience. The concern among former immigration judges is that placing people in positions to make crucial decisions for immigrants without proper training could undermine due process.
Source: CNN 10/6/25
Land O’Lakes CEO says ‘we need more legal immigration’ to help American farmers
At the Fortune Most Powerful Women (MPW) Summit Tuesday morning, Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford warned that American farmers face a critical labor shortage if the U.S. doesn’t institute more pathways for legal immigration. Ford’s comments underscore the precarious position of American farmers who depend heavily on immigrant workers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as of 2022, only 32% of crop farmworkers were actually born in the U.S. The vast majority of farmworkers are born outside the U.S. and have no work authorization. In the dairy industry immigrant workers account for 51% of all dairy labor. Source: Fortune 10/14/25
EXECUTIVE ORDERS/PROCLAMATIONS/COURT CHALLENGES
Federal Judge Rules Against ICE in the Warrantless Arrests of 11 Liberty Restaurant Workers
On Oct. 7, Judge Jeffery Cummings, District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to lift any conditions on the release of 22 immigrants, including 11 people who had been detained after the Liberty, Kansas raid and another 11 people detained in Chicago. All were detained through warrantless arrests according to the National Immigrant Justice Center, which helped bring the case to court. Judge Cummings also ordered the Department of Homeland Security to reissue its warrantless arrest policy nationwide and certify that any officers who violated the consent decree were retrained. ICE will also need to report to the court the names and arrest documents for anyone else who had been arrested without a warrant on immigration violations since June in the Northern District of Illinois, and to continue making similar reports monthly. Judge Cummings also extended the decree to Feb. 2, 2026. In addition to Kansas, five other states are also under the consent decree. The decision has far reaching implications and is a huge win for due process, said Rekha Shama-Crawford, a Kansas City-based immigration attorney representing the Liberty workers.
Source: The Beacon News 10/09/25
OCTOBER 9, 2025
Washington State
Seattle mayor signs orders to counter federal troop deployment, ICE actions
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signed two executive orders on Wednesday in response to President Trump's federal immigration policies and the deployment of troops in U.S. cities.The first executive order prepares the city for a deployment by preparing and evaluating all legal options in the case there is a deployment. It also lays out how the city will coordinate in the event of the national guard being sent here, and ensures that Seattle police know what they should and should not do.The second executive order is meant to protect immigrant and refugee communities. The order bans the use of face masks by law enforcement, with few exceptions, and requires that all law enforcement have visible badges that identify their agency. Harrell said the enforcement mechanisms of this executive order will be hashed out over the next few weeks.
Source: Komo News 10/8/25
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signed two executive orders on Wednesday in response to President Trump's federal immigration policies and the deployment of troops in U.S. cities.The first executive order prepares the city for a deployment by preparing and evaluating all legal options in the case there is a deployment. It also lays out how the city will coordinate in the event of the national guard being sent here, and ensures that Seattle police know what they should and should not do.The second executive order is meant to protect immigrant and refugee communities. The order bans the use of face masks by law enforcement, with few exceptions, and requires that all law enforcement have visible badges that identify their agency. Harrell said the enforcement mechanisms of this executive order will be hashed out over the next few weeks.
Source: Komo News 10/8/25
Federal Agencies
Trump’s threat to invoke Insurrection Act escalates showdown with Democratic
cities
The law, which gives the president authority to deploy the military to
quell unrest in an emergency, has typically been used only in extreme cases, and
almost always at the invitation of state governors. The act was last invoked by President
George H.W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. A federal judge has temporarily barred Guard troops from heading to Portland, Oregon, though a separate judge has now allowed for a deployment to proceed in Chicago, where federal agents have embarked on a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration.
Under federal law, National Guard and other military troops are generally prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement, however the Insurrection Act allows for an exception, giving troops the power to directly police and arrest people.
Source: Reuters 10/7/25
Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago
Combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling
neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest city. “They are the ones that are
making it a war zone,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday on CNN. “They fire tear gas
and smoke grenades, and they make it look like it’s a war zone. ”More than 1,000
immigrants have been arrested since an immigration crackdown started last month in
the Chicago area. U.S. citizens, immigrants with legal status and children have been
among those detained in increasingly brazen and aggressive encounters which pop up
daily across neighborhoods in the city of 2.7 million and its many suburbs. Agents used
unmarked trucks and rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter to surround a five-story
apartment building. Agents then went door to door, woke up residents and used zip ties
to restrain them. Residents and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which canvassed the area, said those who were zip tied included children and U.S. citizens.
Source: PBS 10/6/25
Migrant services affected by government shutdown
The government shutdown is affecting services to help those claiming asylum, social services, as well as employers verifying immigration status to hire workers. • The E-Verify program, which verifies employment eligibility, is unavailable, nor are customer support services. • The Haitian Bridge Alliance said that the shutdown will delay asylum hearings, stall visa and work permit applications and could lead to even more immigration court case backlogs. • The Children at Risk research and advocacy group says Head Start, afterschool programs, nutrition education/SNAP-Ed, child welfare/foster care support, grants/social services grants including family reunification services, grants to states for education, vocational training, and supplemental support services could all be impacted by the shutdown.
Source: Border Report 10/2/25
ICE closes detention oversight group in shutdown despite surge in detainees
The entire Office of Detention Oversight, which inspects detention centers to ensure they meet federal standards for the safe and humane treatment of immigrants, has been furloughed for the shutdown.The need for detention oversight has grown, with ICE’s detained population soaring to a record 61,000 in August and dozens of new facilities accepting detainees. Lawyers for immigrants and nonprofit advocacy groups say that deteriorating conditions at some locations are festering unchecked, and lawsuits have alleged that detainees are being held in overcrowded conditions, sometimes without beds, showers, adequate medical support or quality food. The temporary absence of detention oversight could mean that conditions threatening the health and safety of immigrants at detention centers will go ignored, said Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former ICE assistant director who served during the Biden and Obama administrations. Source: The Washington Post 10/7/25
Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis
The Department of Labor’s new rule cutting farmworker wages bluntly states that souped-up immigration enforcement has devastated the agricultural workforce and created a significant “risk of supply shock-induced food shortages,” according to a document filed in the Federal Register last week. The document also indicates that American workers are simply not interested in and do not have the skills to perform agricultural jobs, at odds with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’s claim that the farm workforce will soon be 100 percent American.
“The near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens combined with the lack of an available legal workforce, results in significant disruptions to production costs and threatening the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S consumers,” the document says, adding that “this threat will grow” given new federal funding for immigration enforcement under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Source: The American Prospect 10/8/25
Trump administration offering some unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to self-deport, according to memo
The notice was sent Friday (10/3) to legal service providers around the country that represent unaccompanied migrant children. Eligible children are those who are from countries other than Mexico and who are currently in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The move alarmed immigration advocates around the country. Wendy Young with Kids in Need of Defense said in a statement, “Unaccompanied children should never be removed from the United States without a full and fair process to determine if they are eligible for U.S. protection.”
“This operation undermines laws that guarantee that process for unaccompanied children, and it runs counter to our nation’s longstanding commitment to protect the most vulnerable among us — children — from violence, trafficking, abuse, persecution, and other grave dangers,” she continued.
Source: NBC News 10/3/25
cities
The law, which gives the president authority to deploy the military to
quell unrest in an emergency, has typically been used only in extreme cases, and
almost always at the invitation of state governors. The act was last invoked by President
George H.W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. A federal judge has temporarily barred Guard troops from heading to Portland, Oregon, though a separate judge has now allowed for a deployment to proceed in Chicago, where federal agents have embarked on a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration.
Under federal law, National Guard and other military troops are generally prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement, however the Insurrection Act allows for an exception, giving troops the power to directly police and arrest people.
Source: Reuters 10/7/25
Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago
Combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling
neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest city. “They are the ones that are
making it a war zone,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday on CNN. “They fire tear gas
and smoke grenades, and they make it look like it’s a war zone. ”More than 1,000
immigrants have been arrested since an immigration crackdown started last month in
the Chicago area. U.S. citizens, immigrants with legal status and children have been
among those detained in increasingly brazen and aggressive encounters which pop up
daily across neighborhoods in the city of 2.7 million and its many suburbs. Agents used
unmarked trucks and rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter to surround a five-story
apartment building. Agents then went door to door, woke up residents and used zip ties
to restrain them. Residents and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which canvassed the area, said those who were zip tied included children and U.S. citizens.
Source: PBS 10/6/25
Migrant services affected by government shutdown
The government shutdown is affecting services to help those claiming asylum, social services, as well as employers verifying immigration status to hire workers. • The E-Verify program, which verifies employment eligibility, is unavailable, nor are customer support services. • The Haitian Bridge Alliance said that the shutdown will delay asylum hearings, stall visa and work permit applications and could lead to even more immigration court case backlogs. • The Children at Risk research and advocacy group says Head Start, afterschool programs, nutrition education/SNAP-Ed, child welfare/foster care support, grants/social services grants including family reunification services, grants to states for education, vocational training, and supplemental support services could all be impacted by the shutdown.
Source: Border Report 10/2/25
ICE closes detention oversight group in shutdown despite surge in detainees
The entire Office of Detention Oversight, which inspects detention centers to ensure they meet federal standards for the safe and humane treatment of immigrants, has been furloughed for the shutdown.The need for detention oversight has grown, with ICE’s detained population soaring to a record 61,000 in August and dozens of new facilities accepting detainees. Lawyers for immigrants and nonprofit advocacy groups say that deteriorating conditions at some locations are festering unchecked, and lawsuits have alleged that detainees are being held in overcrowded conditions, sometimes without beds, showers, adequate medical support or quality food. The temporary absence of detention oversight could mean that conditions threatening the health and safety of immigrants at detention centers will go ignored, said Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former ICE assistant director who served during the Biden and Obama administrations. Source: The Washington Post 10/7/25
Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis
The Department of Labor’s new rule cutting farmworker wages bluntly states that souped-up immigration enforcement has devastated the agricultural workforce and created a significant “risk of supply shock-induced food shortages,” according to a document filed in the Federal Register last week. The document also indicates that American workers are simply not interested in and do not have the skills to perform agricultural jobs, at odds with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’s claim that the farm workforce will soon be 100 percent American.
“The near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens combined with the lack of an available legal workforce, results in significant disruptions to production costs and threatening the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S consumers,” the document says, adding that “this threat will grow” given new federal funding for immigration enforcement under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Source: The American Prospect 10/8/25
Trump administration offering some unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to self-deport, according to memo
The notice was sent Friday (10/3) to legal service providers around the country that represent unaccompanied migrant children. Eligible children are those who are from countries other than Mexico and who are currently in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The move alarmed immigration advocates around the country. Wendy Young with Kids in Need of Defense said in a statement, “Unaccompanied children should never be removed from the United States without a full and fair process to determine if they are eligible for U.S. protection.”
“This operation undermines laws that guarantee that process for unaccompanied children, and it runs counter to our nation’s longstanding commitment to protect the most vulnerable among us — children — from violence, trafficking, abuse, persecution, and other grave dangers,” she continued.
Source: NBC News 10/3/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Federal Court Blocks ICE from Detaining Unaccompanied Minors Once They Turn 18
Federal Judge Rudolph Contreras, from the U.S. District Court of Columbia, sided with two immigration advocacy groups who filed an emergency motion on Saturday, 9/4, and blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement from immediately transferring minors into federal immigration detention once they turn 18. The ruling was issued a day after the agency rolled out changes to its policy around unaccompanied minors.
Judge Contreras blocked the agency from making any changes to how unaccompanied minors are treated once they turn 18, and from further contravening (violating laws) from a 2021 injunction which requires ICE and the Department of Health and Human Services to pursue the least restrictive and punitive arrangements possible in addressing age-outs, the term used for those unaccompanied children who turn 18 in federal custody or foster care with pending cases. Saturday's ruling is a win for immigration advocates, who warned that in addition to violating the nationwide injunction, the policy could have resulted in unaccompanied minors with potentially legitimate claims for asylum and other legal status in the U.S. self-deporting out of fear in light of the related cash offer. ICE did not note a response as of this writing.
Source: Politico 10/04/25
Supreme Court Again Allows Trump Administration to End TPS for Venezuelan Immigrants
The Supreme Court has again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants, despite lower-court rulings that found the administration’s move illegal. The Supreme Court’s brief order included little explanation of the majority’s decision. About 300,000 immigrants are affected by the decision. They were previously given safe haven in the United States as a result of deteriorating economic and political dynamics in Venezuela. That status allowed them to live and work in the United States legally.
Source: Politico 10/3/25
Federal Judge Rudolph Contreras, from the U.S. District Court of Columbia, sided with two immigration advocacy groups who filed an emergency motion on Saturday, 9/4, and blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement from immediately transferring minors into federal immigration detention once they turn 18. The ruling was issued a day after the agency rolled out changes to its policy around unaccompanied minors.
Judge Contreras blocked the agency from making any changes to how unaccompanied minors are treated once they turn 18, and from further contravening (violating laws) from a 2021 injunction which requires ICE and the Department of Health and Human Services to pursue the least restrictive and punitive arrangements possible in addressing age-outs, the term used for those unaccompanied children who turn 18 in federal custody or foster care with pending cases. Saturday's ruling is a win for immigration advocates, who warned that in addition to violating the nationwide injunction, the policy could have resulted in unaccompanied minors with potentially legitimate claims for asylum and other legal status in the U.S. self-deporting out of fear in light of the related cash offer. ICE did not note a response as of this writing.
Source: Politico 10/04/25
Supreme Court Again Allows Trump Administration to End TPS for Venezuelan Immigrants
The Supreme Court has again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants, despite lower-court rulings that found the administration’s move illegal. The Supreme Court’s brief order included little explanation of the majority’s decision. About 300,000 immigrants are affected by the decision. They were previously given safe haven in the United States as a result of deteriorating economic and political dynamics in Venezuela. That status allowed them to live and work in the United States legally.
Source: Politico 10/3/25
OCTOBER 2, 2025
Washington State
Block on Tacoma ICE facility inspections may soon be lifted
Washington state health officials may be on the verge of winning a yearslong fight to gain access to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. The Washington State Health Department has been trying to get into the center to investigate complaints, including problems with drinking water, food, clothing, personal safety issues and overall unhealthy conditions in the facility. Federal officials and the private company that runs the site have blocked those efforts thus far, but a recent court ruling could change that. The GEO Group, which operates the facility, got a judge to bar a state law that required the inspections, but an appeals court overruled that order. The Department is now waiting for a mandate that officially removes the injunction.
Source: KUOW / NPR 9/29/25
ICE silent on Tacoma Detention Center Contract Renewal
The 10-year contract for the private company operating the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma was set to expire Sept. 27th, but secrecy shrouds whether it’s been extended. Neither GEO Group, which owns and manages the 1,575-bed, jail-like facility, nor ICE officials have released information about a new contract for running the detention center. Immigration advocates and legal experts have heavily criticized the lack of transparency over the expected renewal of the contract. Numerous health and human rights violations have been documented at the facility over the years including severe medical neglect, unsanitary food, swamplike water, the deployment of “chemical agents” against detainees, sexual abuse and assaults, and excessive uses of force and solitary confinement.
Source: Seattle Times 9/25/25
Washington state health officials may be on the verge of winning a yearslong fight to gain access to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. The Washington State Health Department has been trying to get into the center to investigate complaints, including problems with drinking water, food, clothing, personal safety issues and overall unhealthy conditions in the facility. Federal officials and the private company that runs the site have blocked those efforts thus far, but a recent court ruling could change that. The GEO Group, which operates the facility, got a judge to bar a state law that required the inspections, but an appeals court overruled that order. The Department is now waiting for a mandate that officially removes the injunction.
Source: KUOW / NPR 9/29/25
ICE silent on Tacoma Detention Center Contract Renewal
The 10-year contract for the private company operating the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma was set to expire Sept. 27th, but secrecy shrouds whether it’s been extended. Neither GEO Group, which owns and manages the 1,575-bed, jail-like facility, nor ICE officials have released information about a new contract for running the detention center. Immigration advocates and legal experts have heavily criticized the lack of transparency over the expected renewal of the contract. Numerous health and human rights violations have been documented at the facility over the years including severe medical neglect, unsanitary food, swamplike water, the deployment of “chemical agents” against detainees, sexual abuse and assaults, and excessive uses of force and solitary confinement.
Source: Seattle Times 9/25/25
Federal Agencies
I’m From Here!’: U.S. Citizens Are Ending Up in Trump’s Dragnet
A review by The New York Times of publicly reported cases and court records found that since January, at least 15 U.S. citizens, many of them latino men, have been arrested or detained by immigration agents or local law enforcement officers enlisted to work with the federal authorities. They have been ignored, handcuffed, and kept in holding cells and immigration facilities overnight. Federal officers’ tactics remain a source of contention in the courts. A federal judge in Los Angeles ordered a halt to stops based on a person’s apparent race or ethnicity, but the Supreme Court put the order on hold. The lawsuit will still make its way though the lower courts and may end up back at the Supreme Court. In the meantime, federal agents are not constrained by the lower court’s finding that such stops were unconstitutional.
Source: New York Times 9/29/25
Immigration Courts Remain Open During the Government Shutdown
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR,) which operates immigration courts, listed all courts as open as of Wednesday. The American Immigration Lawyers Association alerted its members Wednesday morning that cases for immigrants not held in detention centers are proceeding. The Department of Justice cited President Donald Trump’s declaration of illegal immigration as a national emergency, along with the backlog of millions of cases in its Sept. 29 contingency plan. It declared 90% of employees at the office that handles immigration courts as excepted from a furlough. “EOIR currently has a backlog approaching four million cases which would be greatly exacerbated during a shutdown absent excepted activities,” the document states.
Source: NOTUS 10/1/25
Immigration officials could soon reopen DACA to first-time applicants
The move, outlined in a proposal Monday by the Justice Department, would reopen DACA to first-time applicants in every state except Texas. The proposal was filed in response to an ongoing lawsuit in U.S. district court in Brownsville, Texas. Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, deputy director of federal advocacy for United We Dream, said misinformation was circulating Tuesday on social media. “We’ve seen a lot of folks saying initial applications will start right away. That’s not true,” she said. “The status quo stays. If you are a DACA recipient right now, even in Texas, if you can renew you should renew as soon as possible because then you have another two years.”
Source: Los Angeles Times 9/30/25
Hiring of military lawyers as immigration judges alarms law experts
The Trump administration has started recruiting hundreds of active-duty armed forces officers and reservists, part of the military’s justice arm known as the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) corps, to sit as immigration judges. The government’s goal is to fill an acute need for more immigration judges amid Donald Trump’s mass deportation mission – which is now happening even as experienced immigration judges seemingly deemed to have fallen foul of the president’s agenda are being purged from the courts. Experts warn that military lawyers do not have the specialized knowledge to perform the duties of an immigration judge, while their use for civilian immigration enforcement would appear to violate Congress’s laws, namely the Posse Comitatus Act, and the executive branch’s own regulations.
Source: The Guardian 9/22/25
A review by The New York Times of publicly reported cases and court records found that since January, at least 15 U.S. citizens, many of them latino men, have been arrested or detained by immigration agents or local law enforcement officers enlisted to work with the federal authorities. They have been ignored, handcuffed, and kept in holding cells and immigration facilities overnight. Federal officers’ tactics remain a source of contention in the courts. A federal judge in Los Angeles ordered a halt to stops based on a person’s apparent race or ethnicity, but the Supreme Court put the order on hold. The lawsuit will still make its way though the lower courts and may end up back at the Supreme Court. In the meantime, federal agents are not constrained by the lower court’s finding that such stops were unconstitutional.
Source: New York Times 9/29/25
Immigration Courts Remain Open During the Government Shutdown
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR,) which operates immigration courts, listed all courts as open as of Wednesday. The American Immigration Lawyers Association alerted its members Wednesday morning that cases for immigrants not held in detention centers are proceeding. The Department of Justice cited President Donald Trump’s declaration of illegal immigration as a national emergency, along with the backlog of millions of cases in its Sept. 29 contingency plan. It declared 90% of employees at the office that handles immigration courts as excepted from a furlough. “EOIR currently has a backlog approaching four million cases which would be greatly exacerbated during a shutdown absent excepted activities,” the document states.
Source: NOTUS 10/1/25
Immigration officials could soon reopen DACA to first-time applicants
The move, outlined in a proposal Monday by the Justice Department, would reopen DACA to first-time applicants in every state except Texas. The proposal was filed in response to an ongoing lawsuit in U.S. district court in Brownsville, Texas. Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, deputy director of federal advocacy for United We Dream, said misinformation was circulating Tuesday on social media. “We’ve seen a lot of folks saying initial applications will start right away. That’s not true,” she said. “The status quo stays. If you are a DACA recipient right now, even in Texas, if you can renew you should renew as soon as possible because then you have another two years.”
Source: Los Angeles Times 9/30/25
Hiring of military lawyers as immigration judges alarms law experts
The Trump administration has started recruiting hundreds of active-duty armed forces officers and reservists, part of the military’s justice arm known as the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) corps, to sit as immigration judges. The government’s goal is to fill an acute need for more immigration judges amid Donald Trump’s mass deportation mission – which is now happening even as experienced immigration judges seemingly deemed to have fallen foul of the president’s agenda are being purged from the courts. Experts warn that military lawyers do not have the specialized knowledge to perform the duties of an immigration judge, while their use for civilian immigration enforcement would appear to violate Congress’s laws, namely the Posse Comitatus Act, and the executive branch’s own regulations.
Source: The Guardian 9/22/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow End of Birthright Citizenship
The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to uphold President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, the long-held principle that children born on American soil are automatically citizens. Mr. Trump issued the order on his first day in office, but it has been blocked by the courts ever since.
In a pair of petitions, the government lawyers argued that the Constitution’s promise of citizenship was conferred on “freed slaves and their children, not on the children of aliens temporarily visiting the United States or illegal aliens.” The common understanding of the 14th amendment for more than a century, upheld by the Supreme Court, has guaranteed citizenship to children born in the
United States.
Source: New York Times 9/26/25
Trump Administration Cannot Withhold FEMA Funds from Sanctuary States
A federal judge ruled Wednesday it is unconstitutional for the Trump administration to require states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to get some Federal Emergency Management Agency grants — a legal setback in the administration's push to revoke funding to "sanctuary" cities and states, however, the decision is likely to be appealed.
Twenty states had sued, arguing that this move violates federal law and the Constitution, and could deprive them of billions per year in key disaster grants from FEMA, which is a sub-agency of DHS. The judge sided with the states and wrote "Plaintiff States stand to suffer irreparable harm; the effect of the loss of emergency and disaster funds cannot be recovered later, and the downstream effect on disaster response and public safety are real and not compensable."
Source: CBS News 9/24/25
Federal Judge Rules Trump Unconstitutionally Deported NonCitizens Due to their Protests Against the War in Gaza
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s effort to deport pro-Palestinian academics is a deliberate attack on free speech meant to “strike fear” into non-citizen students and chill campus protests.
“The effect of these targeted deportation proceedings continues unconstitutionally to chill freedom of speech to this day,” U.S. District Judge William Young concluded, in a scathing, 161-page opinion that he described as the most crucial he’s delivered in his 30 years on the bench. Young, a Reagan appointee based in Boston, did not immediately order changes to administration policies, but said he will hold further proceedings on how to rein in the practices he found to violate First Amendment free-speech rights.
Source: Politico 9/30/25
The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to uphold President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, the long-held principle that children born on American soil are automatically citizens. Mr. Trump issued the order on his first day in office, but it has been blocked by the courts ever since.
In a pair of petitions, the government lawyers argued that the Constitution’s promise of citizenship was conferred on “freed slaves and their children, not on the children of aliens temporarily visiting the United States or illegal aliens.” The common understanding of the 14th amendment for more than a century, upheld by the Supreme Court, has guaranteed citizenship to children born in the
United States.
Source: New York Times 9/26/25
Trump Administration Cannot Withhold FEMA Funds from Sanctuary States
A federal judge ruled Wednesday it is unconstitutional for the Trump administration to require states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to get some Federal Emergency Management Agency grants — a legal setback in the administration's push to revoke funding to "sanctuary" cities and states, however, the decision is likely to be appealed.
Twenty states had sued, arguing that this move violates federal law and the Constitution, and could deprive them of billions per year in key disaster grants from FEMA, which is a sub-agency of DHS. The judge sided with the states and wrote "Plaintiff States stand to suffer irreparable harm; the effect of the loss of emergency and disaster funds cannot be recovered later, and the downstream effect on disaster response and public safety are real and not compensable."
Source: CBS News 9/24/25
Federal Judge Rules Trump Unconstitutionally Deported NonCitizens Due to their Protests Against the War in Gaza
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s effort to deport pro-Palestinian academics is a deliberate attack on free speech meant to “strike fear” into non-citizen students and chill campus protests.
“The effect of these targeted deportation proceedings continues unconstitutionally to chill freedom of speech to this day,” U.S. District Judge William Young concluded, in a scathing, 161-page opinion that he described as the most crucial he’s delivered in his 30 years on the bench. Young, a Reagan appointee based in Boston, did not immediately order changes to administration policies, but said he will hold further proceedings on how to rein in the practices he found to violate First Amendment free-speech rights.
Source: Politico 9/30/25
SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
Washington State
Firefighter arrested at Bear Gulch blaze released from ICE detention
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Rigoberto Hernandez and another wildland firefighter four weeks ago while they were working the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Peninsula. Hernandez’s attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Friday on behalf of Hernandez, seeking his release. They say his arrest was made without a warrant, based on no information beyond his race and his invocation of his constitutional right to silence. In a motion to dismiss filed Tuesday, Taylor Gardner, assistant chief counsel for ICE, wrote it was “no longer in the best interest of the government” to continue removal proceedings, citing a review of the facts of the case. Late Tuesday morning, Hernandez’s attorneys got word the federal government had decided to move to dismiss the removal proceedings against him and were releasing him that day. The second firefighter is still being held in the ICE detention center in Tacoma.
Source: The Seattle Times 9/24/25
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Rigoberto Hernandez and another wildland firefighter four weeks ago while they were working the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Peninsula. Hernandez’s attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Friday on behalf of Hernandez, seeking his release. They say his arrest was made without a warrant, based on no information beyond his race and his invocation of his constitutional right to silence. In a motion to dismiss filed Tuesday, Taylor Gardner, assistant chief counsel for ICE, wrote it was “no longer in the best interest of the government” to continue removal proceedings, citing a review of the facts of the case. Late Tuesday morning, Hernandez’s attorneys got word the federal government had decided to move to dismiss the removal proceedings against him and were releasing him that day. The second firefighter is still being held in the ICE detention center in Tacoma.
Source: The Seattle Times 9/24/25
Federal Agencies
California Bans Masked ICE Operations in First-in-the-Nation Law
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law barring law-enforcement officers — including federal immigration agents — from concealing their faces while on duty. The measure takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, and is expected to draw an immediate federal court challenge over whether California can restrict the conduct of federal officers operating in the state. The new statute, SB 627 (HT Angie)— dubbed the “No Secret Police Act” prohibits balaclavas, ski masks and neck gaiters and requires agencies to adopt a public facial-covering policy by July 1, 2026. Separate bills require schools to notify families when immigration enforcement is on campus, bar agents from entering schools or non-public hospital areas without a judicial warrant, and mandate visible identification (name or badge number) for on-duty officers.
Source: Migrant Insider 9/21/25
Recent DACA arrests raise alarm among legal advocates
Recent arrests involving migrants who were brought to the country as children are raising concerns among some immigrant rights and legal advocates that the Trump administration is disregarding protections provided by an Obama-era program. An "Enforcement Tracker" organized by a coalition of immigrant rights advocacy organizations, called "Home is Here," tallies up at least 18 cases where recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program have been deported or are at risk of being deported after being detained by immigration authorities since President Donald Trump took office. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, a spokesperson for
United We Dream, a member of the coalition. "We know there are many more and that this administration is just really breaking the promise that the US government made to these people to protect them from deportation."
Source: ABC News 9/18/25
Home is Here Tracker
Trump administration fires more immigration judges
At least 14 immigration judges learned last Friday that they would be put on leave and that their employment would terminate as soon as Wednesday in some cases, adding to the over 80 judges that have already been cut by President Trump so far this year. Courts in Florida, New York, Maryland, California and Washington state are among those affected. The increased firings come as the Trump administration is trying to increase the number of deportations. Immigration judges, who are more like civil servants, can approve or deny a final order of deportation. Still, immigration advocates argue the high priority on immigration law enforcement is reducing the limited due process that immigrants receive because the dismissed judges are either replaced with adjudicators with no experience or are not replaced at all.
Source: NPR 9/23/25
Trump administration ends deportation protections for Syrians
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday it would end protections from deportation for Syrians living in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status (TPS,) paving the way to return citizens to a country recently ravaged by civil war. The announcement came as TPS protections that have been in place since 2012 were set to end for Syrians at the end of the month. Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was deposed in December, but the country remains in chaos. The United States Institute for Peace described Syrians as dealing with “the aftermath of nearly 14 years of brutal conflict where it is estimated that least 500,000 people were killed and more than 13 million forcibly displaced.”
Source: The Hill 9/19/25
Legislation
A Rare Bipartisan Bill to Help Migrants
On Friday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the America’s CHILDREN Act of 2025, legislation that would provide permanent protections for so-called “Documented Dreamers” — the children of long-term employment visa holders who risk self-deportation when they turn 21. The measure already has more than a dozen bipartisan cosponsors in both chambers and backing from advocacy groups; the proposal marks at least the third time Ross and Padilla have introduced the bill since 2021, but supporters argue momentum is growing. The measure now heads to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
Source: Migrant Insider 9/19/25
On Friday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the America’s CHILDREN Act of 2025, legislation that would provide permanent protections for so-called “Documented Dreamers” — the children of long-term employment visa holders who risk self-deportation when they turn 21. The measure already has more than a dozen bipartisan cosponsors in both chambers and backing from advocacy groups; the proposal marks at least the third time Ross and Padilla have introduced the bill since 2021, but supporters argue momentum is growing. The measure now heads to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
Source: Migrant Insider 9/19/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Effects of New $100,000 H-1B Application Fee will Hit Healthcare, Education, Tech Sectors
On 19 September, the president issued a proclamation requiring employers to pay the government $100,000 for every foreign worker they want to hire under the H-1B visa program. Some of the industries most impacted will be healthcare, education, and tech.
• Healthcare - The American Medical Association warned that the fees could choke off the international physician pipeline. "With the U.S. already facing a shortage of doctors, making it harder for international medical graduates to train and practice here means patients will wait longer and drive farther to get care," said AMA President Bobby Mukkamala. For many hospitals already stretched thin, that could also mean fewer specialists and higher burdens on domestic medical staff.
Source: Reuters 9/24/25
• Education - U.S. universities have long used H-1Bs as a way to employ foreign-born postdocs and faculty.“Universities look to hire the best researchers and the best teachers from anywhere in the world,” says Britta Glennon, who studies global innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “But this fee could force them to hire only the best U.S. candidate.” The fee, Glennon adds, could also drive down the flow of foreign students to U.S. graduate programs by dimming their prospects of being hired by a U.S. university or company after completing their Ph.D.
Source: Science 9/23/25
• Tech - “This will be a disproportionate hit on smaller companies because we cannot compete
with OpenAI and Meta,” said Aizada Marat, the chief executive of Alma, an immigration legal
services start-up in Palo Alto, Calif. If the $100,000 fee imposed by the government sticks, Mrs.
Marat said her company, which has raised $5.5 million in funding and relies on foreign workers,
will not be able to hire people through the H-1B visa program. The change could ultimately hurt
U.S. leadership in tech, some entrepreneurs said, especially as the country engages in a heated
contest over artificial intelligence with China.
Source: The New York Times 9/21/2025
Federal Judge Blocks Trump from Immediately Deporting Guatemalan Migrant Children
The decision by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly comes after the administration’s Labor Day Weekend attempt to remove Guatemalan migrant children living in government shelters and foster care. Advocates for the children submitted a whistleblower account to the court that suggests many of the children who were found eligible for deportation had likely been victims of child abuse, like death threats, gang violence, and human trafficking, Kelly noted in his order.
There was already a temporary order in place preventing the removal of the children set to expire on Tuesday. Judge Kelly granted a preliminary injunction that extends temporary protection indefinitely, although the government can appeal.
Source: PBS 9/18/25
SEPTEMBER 18, 2025
Washington State
Trump's Dept. of Justice requests Washington state's voter registration data
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said right now he has more questions than answers, the big one being why the DOJ wants that information. The federal government is requesting full names, birthdays, driver’s license information, and the last four digits of social security numbers. Washington is a vote-by-mail state, something Trump has recently condemned and said he will work to outlaw. But Hobbs says he wants to reassure Washington state voters that they have nothing to worry about. “Our mail-in voting is secure and transparent,” Hobbs said. “We check every signature, the tabulation machines are not connected to the internet, and we talk to other databases.” The DOJ gave Hobbs a 14-day deadline, but Hobbs said that until he has information from the DOJ about what exactly the department plans to do with voter registration data, he will not be releasing anything.
Source: KOMO News 9/15/25
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said right now he has more questions than answers, the big one being why the DOJ wants that information. The federal government is requesting full names, birthdays, driver’s license information, and the last four digits of social security numbers. Washington is a vote-by-mail state, something Trump has recently condemned and said he will work to outlaw. But Hobbs says he wants to reassure Washington state voters that they have nothing to worry about. “Our mail-in voting is secure and transparent,” Hobbs said. “We check every signature, the tabulation machines are not connected to the internet, and we talk to other databases.” The DOJ gave Hobbs a 14-day deadline, but Hobbs said that until he has information from the DOJ about what exactly the department plans to do with voter registration data, he will not be releasing anything.
Source: KOMO News 9/15/25
Federal Agencies
State Department Warns “Foreigners” Not to Mock Kirk’s Killing
The Trump administration and GOP officials have seized upon the murder of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk to attempt to target immigrants and crack down on free speech rights in the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called for people to report “foreigners” to the State Department who post on social media “praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told reporters that the U.S. State Department will deny visas to individuals who are found to be celebrating Kirk’s death. Specific details about whether and how visas would be denied were not clear. The comments come as the Trump administration has increasingly targeted noncitizens based on their social media activity. Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reject visa, green card, and other applications based on “antisemitic activity on social media” — seemingly code for any speech that criticizes Israel’s genocide in Palestine. The agency will also be scouring applicants’ social media for “anti-American activity.”
Source: Truthout 9/12/25
ABC Denver 7 9/16/25
Study shines light on growing numbers of vulnerable people being placed in solitary confinement in migrant jails
The report spans a period of time that includes the Biden and the second Trump administration.
“We certainly have seen an increase in solitary confinement over the last years, but we’ve seen a significant increase from month to month during Trump’s first four months,” said Arevik Avedian, a Harvard law school lecturer and one of the authors of Cruelty Campaign: Solitary Confinement in US Immigration Detention. “Perhaps one of the worst findings was that people with vulnerabilities [such as those with health problems or mental health conditions] are being placed in solitary confinement twice as long as they would be placed when I started providing this data back in 2021,” Avedian said. “It’s a lot worse conditions, despite all the policies to only put people with vulnerabilities in solitary confinement when there’s no other choice.”
Source: The Guardian 9/17/25
US will ‘overhaul’ the citizenship test: Here’s what’s new
From October 20th, 2025, the Natural Civics Test will expand the number of potential questions from 100 to 128. The test will also get longer – citizenship applicants will need to answer 20 instead of 10. To pass, they’ll need 12 correct answers out of 20. (The old standard was 6 out of 10.) The questions are about 75% the same or similar, and 25% is new content, USCIS said. The test will still be given orally by the officer conducting the citizenship interview, however, officers will now only ask as many questions as necessary to determine that someone has passed or failed. Before, they were required to ask all 20 questions, even if it was already clear someone had passed (or had no chance of passing). The longer citizenship test is just the “first of many” changes to the naturalization process, including reviews of disability exceptions to the English and civics requirementsTragesser said. More details on what else is changing will be announced “in the coming weeks and months.”
Source: The Hill 9/17/25
USCIS Newsroom 9/17/25
League of Women Voters defies federal ban at citizenship ceremony
On Aug. 29, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance barring nongovernmental organizations from registering voters at naturalization ceremonies, “clarifying” that only state and local election officials are permitted to do so. In a memo, USCIS wrote that ensuring voter registration groups are nonpartisan is a “burden” on the agency. But it sought to minimize the effects of the change by claiming registration information “will continue to be provided by state or local election officials, or USCIS staff at the end of naturalization ceremonies,” without laying out a plan or funding for that to happen. The League of Women Voters, which describes itself as nonpartisan, is one of several nonprofits that have regularly registered voters at naturalization ceremonies. In a statement, the group’s CEO, Celina Stewart, called on USCIS to reverse its recent policy change, which she characterized as an intimidation tactic and “an attempt to keep new citizens from accessing their full rights.”
Source: Times Union 9/14/25
The Trump administration and GOP officials have seized upon the murder of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk to attempt to target immigrants and crack down on free speech rights in the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called for people to report “foreigners” to the State Department who post on social media “praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told reporters that the U.S. State Department will deny visas to individuals who are found to be celebrating Kirk’s death. Specific details about whether and how visas would be denied were not clear. The comments come as the Trump administration has increasingly targeted noncitizens based on their social media activity. Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reject visa, green card, and other applications based on “antisemitic activity on social media” — seemingly code for any speech that criticizes Israel’s genocide in Palestine. The agency will also be scouring applicants’ social media for “anti-American activity.”
Source: Truthout 9/12/25
ABC Denver 7 9/16/25
Study shines light on growing numbers of vulnerable people being placed in solitary confinement in migrant jails
The report spans a period of time that includes the Biden and the second Trump administration.
“We certainly have seen an increase in solitary confinement over the last years, but we’ve seen a significant increase from month to month during Trump’s first four months,” said Arevik Avedian, a Harvard law school lecturer and one of the authors of Cruelty Campaign: Solitary Confinement in US Immigration Detention. “Perhaps one of the worst findings was that people with vulnerabilities [such as those with health problems or mental health conditions] are being placed in solitary confinement twice as long as they would be placed when I started providing this data back in 2021,” Avedian said. “It’s a lot worse conditions, despite all the policies to only put people with vulnerabilities in solitary confinement when there’s no other choice.”
Source: The Guardian 9/17/25
US will ‘overhaul’ the citizenship test: Here’s what’s new
From October 20th, 2025, the Natural Civics Test will expand the number of potential questions from 100 to 128. The test will also get longer – citizenship applicants will need to answer 20 instead of 10. To pass, they’ll need 12 correct answers out of 20. (The old standard was 6 out of 10.) The questions are about 75% the same or similar, and 25% is new content, USCIS said. The test will still be given orally by the officer conducting the citizenship interview, however, officers will now only ask as many questions as necessary to determine that someone has passed or failed. Before, they were required to ask all 20 questions, even if it was already clear someone had passed (or had no chance of passing). The longer citizenship test is just the “first of many” changes to the naturalization process, including reviews of disability exceptions to the English and civics requirementsTragesser said. More details on what else is changing will be announced “in the coming weeks and months.”
Source: The Hill 9/17/25
USCIS Newsroom 9/17/25
League of Women Voters defies federal ban at citizenship ceremony
On Aug. 29, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance barring nongovernmental organizations from registering voters at naturalization ceremonies, “clarifying” that only state and local election officials are permitted to do so. In a memo, USCIS wrote that ensuring voter registration groups are nonpartisan is a “burden” on the agency. But it sought to minimize the effects of the change by claiming registration information “will continue to be provided by state or local election officials, or USCIS staff at the end of naturalization ceremonies,” without laying out a plan or funding for that to happen. The League of Women Voters, which describes itself as nonpartisan, is one of several nonprofits that have regularly registered voters at naturalization ceremonies. In a statement, the group’s CEO, Celina Stewart, called on USCIS to reverse its recent policy change, which she characterized as an intimidation tactic and “an attempt to keep new citizens from accessing their full rights.”
Source: Times Union 9/14/25
Legislation/Budget
House Passes Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025
On Sept. 11th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3486, the “Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025,” which would impose disproportionately harsh sentences on illegal entry and reentry that are typically reserved for serious violent crimes, e.g. murder. For example, someone who entered unlawfully and committed a minor non-violent offense such as shoplifting or failure to appear at a criminal hearing would face a mandatory 10-year sentence and possible life imprisonment. By imposing such lengthy and mandatory sentences, the bill will allow incarceration of large numbers of people at great cost to American taxpayers without effectively improving border security. In 2017, the U.S. Sentencing Commission estimated a similar bill would expand the federal prison population by nearly 60,000 prisoners over five years, a nearly 40 percent increase from the current population. Note: This bill goes to the Senate next for consideration. Contact your senator to oppose this bill, and visit the source to learn more about AILA’s recommendations for effective, humane border security.
Source: American Immigration Lawyers Association 9/8/25
GovTrack.us HR 3486
On Sept. 11th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3486, the “Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025,” which would impose disproportionately harsh sentences on illegal entry and reentry that are typically reserved for serious violent crimes, e.g. murder. For example, someone who entered unlawfully and committed a minor non-violent offense such as shoplifting or failure to appear at a criminal hearing would face a mandatory 10-year sentence and possible life imprisonment. By imposing such lengthy and mandatory sentences, the bill will allow incarceration of large numbers of people at great cost to American taxpayers without effectively improving border security. In 2017, the U.S. Sentencing Commission estimated a similar bill would expand the federal prison population by nearly 60,000 prisoners over five years, a nearly 40 percent increase from the current population. Note: This bill goes to the Senate next for consideration. Contact your senator to oppose this bill, and visit the source to learn more about AILA’s recommendations for effective, humane border security.
Source: American Immigration Lawyers Association 9/8/25
GovTrack.us HR 3486
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Judge Temporarily Blocks US Effort to Remove some Immigrant Guatemalan and Honduran Children
On Sept. 11th, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Ma’rquez, blocked the Trump administration from removing dozens of Guatemalan and Honduran children living in shelters and foster care after coming to the U.S. without parental accompaniment. Judge Ma’rquez extended a temporary restraining order until Sept. 26, and raised concerns over whether the government had arranged for any of the children’s parents or legal guardians in Guatemala to take custody of them. Laura Belous, attorney for the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of 57 Guatemalan children and another 12 children from Honduras, said in court that the minors expressed no desire to be repatriated to their native countries amid concerns they could face neglect, possible child trafficking, or hardships associated with individual medical conditions.
The case was subsequently transferred back to U.S. District Judge Kelly of D.C., who extended the order blocking the government from making further attempts to remove the children until Tuesday (9/23.)
Source: AP News 9/11/25
New York Times 9/16/25
A Judge Says She Can’t Help Deportees Trump Sent to Ghana, Despite Torture Fears
Federal U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan lamented Monday, (9/15) that the Trump administration had doomed five West African men it deported to the prospect of torture and death in their home countries - even though they had won protection from U.S. immigration courts.
Judge Chutkan said she was unable to offer any help to the deported immigrants, four of whom now sit in a prison camp in Ghana awaiting transfer to Nigeria or The Gambia [to where U.S. Immigration Courts ruled they could not be deported for fear of torture or death.] She said her “hands are tied,” because they are now in the custody of the Ghanaian government. Judge Chutkan further stated that the transfer of the men “may have been designed to avoid their court-ordered protections from torture.”
Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern about the ruling: “We are obviously disappointed by the ruling, but there is no reason why the administration should require a court to tell them to obey the laws prohibiting the transfer of individuals to countries where it’s likely they will be tortured and persecuted.
Source: Politico 9/15/25
On Sept. 11th, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Ma’rquez, blocked the Trump administration from removing dozens of Guatemalan and Honduran children living in shelters and foster care after coming to the U.S. without parental accompaniment. Judge Ma’rquez extended a temporary restraining order until Sept. 26, and raised concerns over whether the government had arranged for any of the children’s parents or legal guardians in Guatemala to take custody of them. Laura Belous, attorney for the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of 57 Guatemalan children and another 12 children from Honduras, said in court that the minors expressed no desire to be repatriated to their native countries amid concerns they could face neglect, possible child trafficking, or hardships associated with individual medical conditions.
The case was subsequently transferred back to U.S. District Judge Kelly of D.C., who extended the order blocking the government from making further attempts to remove the children until Tuesday (9/23.)
Source: AP News 9/11/25
New York Times 9/16/25
A Judge Says She Can’t Help Deportees Trump Sent to Ghana, Despite Torture Fears
Federal U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan lamented Monday, (9/15) that the Trump administration had doomed five West African men it deported to the prospect of torture and death in their home countries - even though they had won protection from U.S. immigration courts.
Judge Chutkan said she was unable to offer any help to the deported immigrants, four of whom now sit in a prison camp in Ghana awaiting transfer to Nigeria or The Gambia [to where U.S. Immigration Courts ruled they could not be deported for fear of torture or death.] She said her “hands are tied,” because they are now in the custody of the Ghanaian government. Judge Chutkan further stated that the transfer of the men “may have been designed to avoid their court-ordered protections from torture.”
Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern about the ruling: “We are obviously disappointed by the ruling, but there is no reason why the administration should require a court to tell them to obey the laws prohibiting the transfer of individuals to countries where it’s likely they will be tortured and persecuted.
Source: Politico 9/15/25
SEPTEMBER 11, 2025
Washington State
Donald Trump's Mass Deportation Agenda Has A Surprising Stakeholder: Bill Gates
The private firm that holds Gates’ and the Gates Foundation Trust’s assets has a 30% stake in Signature Aviation. Signature calls itself “the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals,” and it’s a linchpin in the day-to-day machinery of Trump’s immigration enforcement apparatus. Private charter carriers subcontracted for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to transport immigration detainees use Signature’s services daily. As stated by a University of Washington Center for Human Rights Report: “This means that in Washington, our most famous philanthropist grows his investments in part by supporting a company complicit in gross human rights abuses, potentially ascending to the level of crimes against humanity—and public workers’ retirements are being financed in part through investments in organizations that profit from the detention and deportation of our neighbors.”
Sources: The Huffington Post 9/8/25
UW Center for Human Rights 8/21/25
The private firm that holds Gates’ and the Gates Foundation Trust’s assets has a 30% stake in Signature Aviation. Signature calls itself “the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals,” and it’s a linchpin in the day-to-day machinery of Trump’s immigration enforcement apparatus. Private charter carriers subcontracted for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to transport immigration detainees use Signature’s services daily. As stated by a University of Washington Center for Human Rights Report: “This means that in Washington, our most famous philanthropist grows his investments in part by supporting a company complicit in gross human rights abuses, potentially ascending to the level of crimes against humanity—and public workers’ retirements are being financed in part through investments in organizations that profit from the detention and deportation of our neighbors.”
Sources: The Huffington Post 9/8/25
UW Center for Human Rights 8/21/25
Federal Agencies
Third Country Visa Applications Suspended for both Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Processing
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced that beginning November 1st, all immigrant visa applicants will be required to complete their interviews in the consular district designated for their place of residence or, if requested, in their country of nationality. For individuals and families hoping to reunite in the U.S., the new rule limits options for where visa interviews can take place. In the past, applicants could request interviews at other consulates if their home country’s field office faced long wait times or limited staffing. This flexibility sometimes helped speed up case processing or made interviews easier to attend. The policy affects all immigrant visa categories, including family- and employment-based applications. The National Visa Center (NVC) will generally maintain existing appointments to minimize disruptions.
Source: Boundless Immigration 9/3/25
New USCIS ‘Special Agents’ Will Be Given the Power to Arrest, Use Deadly Force
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency established by Congress to adjudicate immigration applications, has announced that for the first time since the agency was created in 2003, the agency will create a new class of “special agents,” who will be authorized to carry firearms, arrest people for both civil and criminal immigration and non-immigration violations, and use force, up to and including lethal force, when appropriate. In short, the regulation grants these new “special agents” essentially the same powers as any ICE or CBP law enforcement officer — even though USCIS officers have no experience carrying out these duties.
Source: American Immigration Council 9/10/25
Mass Deportations Are Gutting Local Economies
The Trump administration’s mass deportation operations are sending shockwaves through local economies across the country, according to a new report from the American Immigration Council. Federal immigration enforcement has ramped up worksite raids, targeting multiple industries. The result, researchers warn, is a labor disruption with far-reaching consequences. Agriculture was hit hardest: farm employment fell by 155,000 workers between March and July 2025. School attendance has also fallen significantly in some areas. The American Immigration Council warns that if mass deportation operations continue, the early signs of labor shortages, rising consumer prices, and economic instability could escalate into a deeper crisis. “Employers are being left in the lurch without tools to stabilize their workforce,” the report concludes. “The warning signs are flashing red.”
Sources: Migrant Insider 9/3/25
American Immigration Council 8/27/25
ICE scraps paperwork officers once had to do before immigration arrests
For more than 15 years, before they conducted any operation to arrest an immigrant in the United States, officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division have been required to fill out a form with details about their target — name, appearance, known addresses and employment, immigration history, any criminal history and more — and give it to a supervisor for approval. This year, in a sign of how the agency has moved from targeted enforcement to broad street sweeps under the Trump administration that many advocates say rely on racial profiling, that policy has been ended, six current and former officials and agents of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News. “It’s hard to fill out a worksheet that just says, ‘Meet in the Home Depot parking lot,’” one of the former ICE officials said.
Source: NBC News 9/9/25
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced that beginning November 1st, all immigrant visa applicants will be required to complete their interviews in the consular district designated for their place of residence or, if requested, in their country of nationality. For individuals and families hoping to reunite in the U.S., the new rule limits options for where visa interviews can take place. In the past, applicants could request interviews at other consulates if their home country’s field office faced long wait times or limited staffing. This flexibility sometimes helped speed up case processing or made interviews easier to attend. The policy affects all immigrant visa categories, including family- and employment-based applications. The National Visa Center (NVC) will generally maintain existing appointments to minimize disruptions.
Source: Boundless Immigration 9/3/25
New USCIS ‘Special Agents’ Will Be Given the Power to Arrest, Use Deadly Force
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency established by Congress to adjudicate immigration applications, has announced that for the first time since the agency was created in 2003, the agency will create a new class of “special agents,” who will be authorized to carry firearms, arrest people for both civil and criminal immigration and non-immigration violations, and use force, up to and including lethal force, when appropriate. In short, the regulation grants these new “special agents” essentially the same powers as any ICE or CBP law enforcement officer — even though USCIS officers have no experience carrying out these duties.
Source: American Immigration Council 9/10/25
Mass Deportations Are Gutting Local Economies
The Trump administration’s mass deportation operations are sending shockwaves through local economies across the country, according to a new report from the American Immigration Council. Federal immigration enforcement has ramped up worksite raids, targeting multiple industries. The result, researchers warn, is a labor disruption with far-reaching consequences. Agriculture was hit hardest: farm employment fell by 155,000 workers between March and July 2025. School attendance has also fallen significantly in some areas. The American Immigration Council warns that if mass deportation operations continue, the early signs of labor shortages, rising consumer prices, and economic instability could escalate into a deeper crisis. “Employers are being left in the lurch without tools to stabilize their workforce,” the report concludes. “The warning signs are flashing red.”
Sources: Migrant Insider 9/3/25
American Immigration Council 8/27/25
ICE scraps paperwork officers once had to do before immigration arrests
For more than 15 years, before they conducted any operation to arrest an immigrant in the United States, officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division have been required to fill out a form with details about their target — name, appearance, known addresses and employment, immigration history, any criminal history and more — and give it to a supervisor for approval. This year, in a sign of how the agency has moved from targeted enforcement to broad street sweeps under the Trump administration that many advocates say rely on racial profiling, that policy has been ended, six current and former officials and agents of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News. “It’s hard to fill out a worksheet that just says, ‘Meet in the Home Depot parking lot,’” one of the former ICE officials said.
Source: NBC News 9/9/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelans
A federal appeals court on Tuesday (9/2), rejected President Trump’s attempts to use a wartime law to deport immigrants he has accused of belonging to a violent Venezuelan street gang. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, was the first time that federal appellate judges had weighed in on the substantive question of whether President Trump had properly invoked the Alien Enemies Act as part of his aggressive deportation agenda. While the ruling by a divided three-judge panel of one of the most conservative courts in the country was a defeat for the administration, the issue was still likely to be heard by the Supreme Court.
Source: The New York Times 9/3/25
DHS Revocation of Temporary Protection Status (TPS)
District Court Judge Chen ruled on Friday (9/5) that the administration acted unlawfully when it cancelled Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan and Haitian migrants. The court found that DHS Secretary Noem lacked the authority to vacate and terminate TPS designation for those countries. Judge Chen found that the asserted reasons for vacating the decisions had no factual or legal basis, alternatives were not considered, and the justifications given were pre-textual. Judge Chen’s ruling is pending appeal, and this order did not rule on the recently announced termination of the 2021 TPS designation for certain Venezuelans, which will most likely face a separate legal challenge.
Source: Reuters 9/5/25
Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on L.A. Immigration Stops
The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal judge’s order prohibiting government agents from making indiscriminate immigration-related stops in the Los Angeles area that challengers called “blatant racial profiling.” The factors for stops blocked by the original order were race or ethnicity; speaking Spanish or accented English; presence at a particular location, such as a day-laborer or agricultural site; or performing a particular type of work. The court’s brief order was unsigned and gave “no reasons.” The majority’s failure to provide an explanation for the ruling means that it is hard to say whether its reasoning applies nationwide or is limited to the Los Angeles area. It is not the last word in the case, which is pending before a federal appeals court and may again reach the justices. The court’s three liberal members dissented. “We should not have to live in a country where the government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish and appears to work a low wage job,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Source: The New York Times 9/8/25
A federal appeals court on Tuesday (9/2), rejected President Trump’s attempts to use a wartime law to deport immigrants he has accused of belonging to a violent Venezuelan street gang. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, was the first time that federal appellate judges had weighed in on the substantive question of whether President Trump had properly invoked the Alien Enemies Act as part of his aggressive deportation agenda. While the ruling by a divided three-judge panel of one of the most conservative courts in the country was a defeat for the administration, the issue was still likely to be heard by the Supreme Court.
Source: The New York Times 9/3/25
DHS Revocation of Temporary Protection Status (TPS)
District Court Judge Chen ruled on Friday (9/5) that the administration acted unlawfully when it cancelled Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan and Haitian migrants. The court found that DHS Secretary Noem lacked the authority to vacate and terminate TPS designation for those countries. Judge Chen found that the asserted reasons for vacating the decisions had no factual or legal basis, alternatives were not considered, and the justifications given were pre-textual. Judge Chen’s ruling is pending appeal, and this order did not rule on the recently announced termination of the 2021 TPS designation for certain Venezuelans, which will most likely face a separate legal challenge.
Source: Reuters 9/5/25
Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on L.A. Immigration Stops
The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal judge’s order prohibiting government agents from making indiscriminate immigration-related stops in the Los Angeles area that challengers called “blatant racial profiling.” The factors for stops blocked by the original order were race or ethnicity; speaking Spanish or accented English; presence at a particular location, such as a day-laborer or agricultural site; or performing a particular type of work. The court’s brief order was unsigned and gave “no reasons.” The majority’s failure to provide an explanation for the ruling means that it is hard to say whether its reasoning applies nationwide or is limited to the Los Angeles area. It is not the last word in the case, which is pending before a federal appeals court and may again reach the justices. The court’s three liberal members dissented. “We should not have to live in a country where the government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish and appears to work a low wage job,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Source: The New York Times 9/8/25
September 4, 2025
Washington State
Representative Emily Randall denied entry to ICE facility where Bear Gulch crew members are detained
U.S Representative Emily Randall of Washington's Sixth District stated that on Saturday, during an unannounced visit to the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, she was denied entry despite having legal protections to do so. Randall says she had been to the NWIPC three times in 2025, with two of those visits being pre-planned and one of them being unannounced. Each of those times, she was allowed entry. The two men, who were government contractors working at the Bear Gulch wildfire, were detained after federal agents flagged them while verifying the identities of the members of the wildland firefighter crew. DHS alleges that both men were in the country illegally and that one had a prior order of removal.
Source: KOMO News 8/31/25
Department of Health Urged to Inspect Northwest ICE Processing Center
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has been blocked from inspecting the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma seven times since 2023. The DOH is now equipped with the legal authority to conduct inspections in privately owned facilities, thanks to the passage of House Bill 1470 in 2023, and a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the law. In addition, the Legislature has opened the door for the DOH to establish rules that would ensure private facilities comply with standards providing sanitary, hygienic and safe conditions for detainees when it passed HB 1232 this spring. With more than 1,500 detainees, the Tacoma site, owned by the GEO Group, is one of the largest facilities in the nation contracted by the federal government on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold undocumented people. It has a history of serious problems, including unexplained deaths. A DOH inspection would help make sure detainees are getting clean water, medical attention, edible food and access to proper personal hygiene care.
Source: Seattle Times 8/28/25
U.S Representative Emily Randall of Washington's Sixth District stated that on Saturday, during an unannounced visit to the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, she was denied entry despite having legal protections to do so. Randall says she had been to the NWIPC three times in 2025, with two of those visits being pre-planned and one of them being unannounced. Each of those times, she was allowed entry. The two men, who were government contractors working at the Bear Gulch wildfire, were detained after federal agents flagged them while verifying the identities of the members of the wildland firefighter crew. DHS alleges that both men were in the country illegally and that one had a prior order of removal.
Source: KOMO News 8/31/25
Department of Health Urged to Inspect Northwest ICE Processing Center
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has been blocked from inspecting the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma seven times since 2023. The DOH is now equipped with the legal authority to conduct inspections in privately owned facilities, thanks to the passage of House Bill 1470 in 2023, and a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the law. In addition, the Legislature has opened the door for the DOH to establish rules that would ensure private facilities comply with standards providing sanitary, hygienic and safe conditions for detainees when it passed HB 1232 this spring. With more than 1,500 detainees, the Tacoma site, owned by the GEO Group, is one of the largest facilities in the nation contracted by the federal government on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold undocumented people. It has a history of serious problems, including unexplained deaths. A DOH inspection would help make sure detainees are getting clean water, medical attention, edible food and access to proper personal hygiene care.
Source: Seattle Times 8/28/25
Federal Agencies
USCIS Implements Payment by Electronic Debit; Paper Checks and Money Orders Will No Longer Be Accepted
After October 28, 2025, USCIS [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] will no longer accept paper check and money order payments, and will only accept ACH debit transactions using Form G-1650 or credit card payments using Form G-1450. While acknowledging over 90% of payments are currently made through checks and money orders, USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser stated that “We have a responsibility to the American people to operate as efficiently and securely as possible.” Effective immediately, individuals can make transactions directly to USCIS by completing and signing Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Transactions, and filing it with their applications, petitions, or requests. Applicants and petitioners should ensure their accounts have sufficient funds to cover all filing fees. USCIS may reject any application, petition, or request if the transaction is denied. If you do not have a U.S. bank account you cannot use Form G-1650, but you may submit Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, and use prepaid credit cards to pay filing fees.
Sources: USCIS.gov 8/29/25
Miller Mayer Attorneys at Law 9/1/25
ICE Has Diverted Over 25,000 Officers from Their Jobs
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is diverting criminal law enforcement agents away from their investigations and enforcement responsibilities to conduct civil immigration enforcement operations on a massive scale. The Cato Institute asserts that this diversion has significantly curtailed the government’s capacity to address criminal activity in the United States. According to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) records shared with the Cato Institute, ICE is receiving assistance from nearly 17,000 non-ERO agents. This diversion is not a small part of many of these agencies. It includes one in five US marshals (650 of 3,892), one in five FBI agents (2,840 of 13,700), half of DEA agents (2,181 of 4,620), over two-thirds of the ATF (1,778 of 2,572), and nearly 90 percent of Homeland Security Investigations (6,198 of 7,100). Source: The Cato Institute 9/3/25
Trump administration to end temporary status of another group of 268,000 Venezuelan migrants, urging them to self-deport
The Trump administration on Wednesday (9/3) moved to terminate the legal status and work permits of nearly 270,000 Venezuelan migrants enrolled in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, urging them to self-deport from the U.S. This comes in addition to the 348,000 Venezuelans that had their TPS status removed earlier this year. The announcement marked the latest effort by the Trump administration to revoke humanitarian protections granted to hundreds of thousands of migrants from countries plagued by political turmoil, war and other crises, making them eligible for potential deportation. Unless blocked in court, the move by the Department of Homeland Security will terminate the legal protections of a cohort of Venezuelans enrolled in a TPS program created in 2021 by the Biden administration. Homeland Security officials said roughly 268,000 Venezuelans are covered under the 2021 program, and their status would lapse in the next 60 days.
Source: CBS News 9/3/25
After October 28, 2025, USCIS [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] will no longer accept paper check and money order payments, and will only accept ACH debit transactions using Form G-1650 or credit card payments using Form G-1450. While acknowledging over 90% of payments are currently made through checks and money orders, USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser stated that “We have a responsibility to the American people to operate as efficiently and securely as possible.” Effective immediately, individuals can make transactions directly to USCIS by completing and signing Form G-1650, Authorization for ACH Transactions, and filing it with their applications, petitions, or requests. Applicants and petitioners should ensure their accounts have sufficient funds to cover all filing fees. USCIS may reject any application, petition, or request if the transaction is denied. If you do not have a U.S. bank account you cannot use Form G-1650, but you may submit Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, and use prepaid credit cards to pay filing fees.
Sources: USCIS.gov 8/29/25
Miller Mayer Attorneys at Law 9/1/25
ICE Has Diverted Over 25,000 Officers from Their Jobs
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is diverting criminal law enforcement agents away from their investigations and enforcement responsibilities to conduct civil immigration enforcement operations on a massive scale. The Cato Institute asserts that this diversion has significantly curtailed the government’s capacity to address criminal activity in the United States. According to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) records shared with the Cato Institute, ICE is receiving assistance from nearly 17,000 non-ERO agents. This diversion is not a small part of many of these agencies. It includes one in five US marshals (650 of 3,892), one in five FBI agents (2,840 of 13,700), half of DEA agents (2,181 of 4,620), over two-thirds of the ATF (1,778 of 2,572), and nearly 90 percent of Homeland Security Investigations (6,198 of 7,100). Source: The Cato Institute 9/3/25
Trump administration to end temporary status of another group of 268,000 Venezuelan migrants, urging them to self-deport
The Trump administration on Wednesday (9/3) moved to terminate the legal status and work permits of nearly 270,000 Venezuelan migrants enrolled in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, urging them to self-deport from the U.S. This comes in addition to the 348,000 Venezuelans that had their TPS status removed earlier this year. The announcement marked the latest effort by the Trump administration to revoke humanitarian protections granted to hundreds of thousands of migrants from countries plagued by political turmoil, war and other crises, making them eligible for potential deportation. Unless blocked in court, the move by the Department of Homeland Security will terminate the legal protections of a cohort of Venezuelans enrolled in a TPS program created in 2021 by the Biden administration. Homeland Security officials said roughly 268,000 Venezuelans are covered under the 2021 program, and their status would lapse in the next 60 days.
Source: CBS News 9/3/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Judge Blocks Flights Sending Hundreds of Children back to Guatemala
A federal Judge has ordered an emergency halt to a plan by the Trump administration to send more than 600 unaccompanied children back to their home country. U.S. District Judge Sooknanan issued the order just after 4 a.m. Sunday, finding “exigent circumstances” described in the lawsuit warranted immediate action “to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set.” The roughly 600 children arrived in the United States alone and are currently in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. According to the lawyers for the children, the administration is preparing to send them back to Guatemala without notice or a chance to contest their deportation — in some cases abruptly halting their pending immigration proceedings. Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign disputed that the transfer of the children constituted deportations at all, but would actually be reunifications of children and parents. However, immigration rights advocates said that was not true in at least some of the cases, and they accused the Trump administration of short-circuiting the required legal process.
Source: Politico 8/31/25
U.S. Appeals Court Rules Against DHS in Venezuela TPS Fight
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday (8/29) held that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) likely acted unlawfully when it tried to roll back Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans granted an extension of their status in the final days of the Biden Administration. While the decision marks a legal victory for advocates and TPS recipients, it remains largely symbolic for now, as an earlier Supreme Court order allows the administration to proceed with deportations as the case moves forward. Writing for the three-judge panel, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw stated that theTPS statute is designed to constrain the Executive Branch and sudden reversals of prior decisions undermine the statute’s plain language and purpose.
Source: Jurist News 8/31/25
Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from carrying out fast-track deportations of people detained far from the southern border, removing, for now, one of the cornerstones of President Trump’s campaign to carry out mass deportations. In temporarily prohibiting the Trump administration from applying expedited removal in vastly expanded ways, Judge Jia M. Cobb of the US District Court of D.C. wrote that the ruling was designed to mitigate the “high risk of error” the new policy introduced. “By merely accusing you of entering unlawfully, the government would deprive you of any meaningful opportunity to disprove its allegations,” she wrote. “Fortunately, that is not the law.”
Source: New York Times 8/31/25
AUGUST 28, 2025
Washington State
Federal agents arrest firefighters working on Olympic Peninsula wildfire
According to a news release from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP,) at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, Border Patrol agents checked the identities of 44 people from privately contracted firefighting crews on Wednesday, 8/28 and arrested two of them, accusing them of entering the US illegally. The two men were taken to a detention facility in Bellingham. Colin Fieman, the Federal Public Defender in Western Washington, said his office has not been notified of any criminal charges filed pending the actions on the contractors. The crews were among the 400 people including firefighters deployed to fight the Bear Gulch fire in Monroe County, the largest active blaze in Washington state. Firefighters were shaken and felt intimidated by the confrontation with federal law enforcement, in which they were told not to take video. It is unusual for federal border agents to make arrests during the fighting of an active fire, especially in a remote area.
Source: Seattle Times 8/28/25
‘This should have been prevented’: Leaders respond to state slashing ICE database access after KING 5 investigation
A KING 5 investigation prompted the state of Washington on Tuesday to admit they unwittingly allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hunt down and deport undocumented residents with the help of state data. The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) and the Office of the Governor told KING 5 they've cut off ICE’s ability to search a state database filled with driver and vehicle licensing information. The move comes after the KING 5 Investigators provided the state with proof that ICE had misused personal DOL data for immigration enforcement. In Washington that's against the law. The Keep Washington Working Act prohibits this kind of collaboration between state departments and ICE.
Source: King 5 News 8/27/25
According to a news release from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP,) at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, Border Patrol agents checked the identities of 44 people from privately contracted firefighting crews on Wednesday, 8/28 and arrested two of them, accusing them of entering the US illegally. The two men were taken to a detention facility in Bellingham. Colin Fieman, the Federal Public Defender in Western Washington, said his office has not been notified of any criminal charges filed pending the actions on the contractors. The crews were among the 400 people including firefighters deployed to fight the Bear Gulch fire in Monroe County, the largest active blaze in Washington state. Firefighters were shaken and felt intimidated by the confrontation with federal law enforcement, in which they were told not to take video. It is unusual for federal border agents to make arrests during the fighting of an active fire, especially in a remote area.
Source: Seattle Times 8/28/25
‘This should have been prevented’: Leaders respond to state slashing ICE database access after KING 5 investigation
A KING 5 investigation prompted the state of Washington on Tuesday to admit they unwittingly allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hunt down and deport undocumented residents with the help of state data. The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) and the Office of the Governor told KING 5 they've cut off ICE’s ability to search a state database filled with driver and vehicle licensing information. The move comes after the KING 5 Investigators provided the state with proof that ICE had misused personal DOL data for immigration enforcement. In Washington that's against the law. The Keep Washington Working Act prohibits this kind of collaboration between state departments and ICE.
Source: King 5 News 8/27/25
Federal Agencies
DHS moves to bar aid groups from serving undocumented immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security is now barring states and volunteer groups that receive government funds from helping undocumented immigrants, according to a Washington Post analysis of updated guidelines and interviews with Federal Emergency Management Agency employees. The new rules also require groups to cooperate with immigration officials and enforcement operations. By accepting the federal grants and awards, the new documents state, volunteer organizations that help after disasters must agree to not “operate any program that benefits illegal immigrants or incentivizes illegal immigration.” That could put groups that provide food, housing, mental health support and other assistance in disaster-stricken states in the position of having to verify aid recipients’ legal status before providing assistance, experts said.
Source: Washington Post 8/27/25
Trump administration is reviewing all 55 million foreigners with US visas for any violations
The Trump administration said Thursday it is reviewing more than 55 million people who have valid U.S. visas for any violations that could lead to deportation, part of a growing crackdown on foreigners who are permitted to be in the United States. Officials say the reviews will include all visa holders’ social media accounts, law enforcement and immigration records in their home countries, along with any actionable violations of U.S. law committed while they were in the United States. The reviews will include new tools for data collection on past, present and future visa applicants, including a complete scouring of social media sites made possible by new requirements introduced earlier this year. Those make it mandatory for privacy switches on cellphones and other electronic devices or apps to be turned off when an applicant appears for a visa interview.
Source: Associated Press 8/21/25
U.S. to resume "neighborhood checks" for citizenship applications as part of Trump push to heavily vet immigrants
The Trump administration is reinstating a long-dormant practice of conducting "neighborhood checks" to vet immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship, according to a memo obtained by CBS News. The neighborhood checks would involve on-the-ground investigations by officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. That could include interviews with the neighbors and coworkers of citizenship applicants to determine if they satisfy the requirements for American citizenship, which include showing good moral character, adhering to the U.S. Constitution and being "well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States." The memo suggested that citizenship applicants should "proactively" submit testimonial letters, to avoid receiving requests for more evidence. The agency said failure or refusal to comply with a request for evidence could lead to a neighborhood investigation and "impact" applicants' ability to show they qualify for U.S. citizenship.
Source: CBS News 8/26/25
The Department of Homeland Security is now barring states and volunteer groups that receive government funds from helping undocumented immigrants, according to a Washington Post analysis of updated guidelines and interviews with Federal Emergency Management Agency employees. The new rules also require groups to cooperate with immigration officials and enforcement operations. By accepting the federal grants and awards, the new documents state, volunteer organizations that help after disasters must agree to not “operate any program that benefits illegal immigrants or incentivizes illegal immigration.” That could put groups that provide food, housing, mental health support and other assistance in disaster-stricken states in the position of having to verify aid recipients’ legal status before providing assistance, experts said.
Source: Washington Post 8/27/25
Trump administration is reviewing all 55 million foreigners with US visas for any violations
The Trump administration said Thursday it is reviewing more than 55 million people who have valid U.S. visas for any violations that could lead to deportation, part of a growing crackdown on foreigners who are permitted to be in the United States. Officials say the reviews will include all visa holders’ social media accounts, law enforcement and immigration records in their home countries, along with any actionable violations of U.S. law committed while they were in the United States. The reviews will include new tools for data collection on past, present and future visa applicants, including a complete scouring of social media sites made possible by new requirements introduced earlier this year. Those make it mandatory for privacy switches on cellphones and other electronic devices or apps to be turned off when an applicant appears for a visa interview.
Source: Associated Press 8/21/25
U.S. to resume "neighborhood checks" for citizenship applications as part of Trump push to heavily vet immigrants
The Trump administration is reinstating a long-dormant practice of conducting "neighborhood checks" to vet immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship, according to a memo obtained by CBS News. The neighborhood checks would involve on-the-ground investigations by officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. That could include interviews with the neighbors and coworkers of citizenship applicants to determine if they satisfy the requirements for American citizenship, which include showing good moral character, adhering to the U.S. Constitution and being "well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States." The memo suggested that citizenship applicants should "proactively" submit testimonial letters, to avoid receiving requests for more evidence. The agency said failure or refusal to comply with a request for evidence could lead to a neighborhood investigation and "impact" applicants' ability to show they qualify for U.S. citizenship.
Source: CBS News 8/26/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Judge Blocks Trump From Pulling Funding From 34 More Sanctuary Cities
A federal judge on Friday (8/22,) vastly expanded the scope of an order blocking the Trump administration from pulling funding for cities across the country over policies that limit local law enforcement participation in immigration enforcement. A previous order, issued in April by Judge William H. Orrick of the Federal Court for the Northern District of California, barred the government from withholding the funding to 16 cities and counties, including Seattle. The funding included federal grants that amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. ”The new plaintiffs have each alleged similar reliance on federal funding and filed declarations showing similar harm to community health, welfare and social services and budgetary process that depends on the regularly authorized grants of federal funding for a variety of critical needs,” Judge Orrick wrote.
Source: The New York Times 8/22/25
Judge Tosses Trump Lawsuit Against Maryland Judges over Immigration Order
Federal Judge Thomas Cullen on Tuesday (8/26,) threw out the Trump administration’s challenge to a standing order issued by a district court in Maryland that bars federal immigration officials from immediately removing migrants who are challenging the legality of their detentions. The Justice Department had argued that the standing order issued by Chief Justice George Russel in May was unlawful and outside the authority of the court. The judges argued that the suit presented a dispute between two co-equal branches of government that could not be decided by the courts. In a 37 page decision, Judge Cullen agreed with the judges in finding that the Trump administration’s challenge should be dismissed because, in part, the U.S. does not have the right to sue and the judges are ‘absolutely immune’ from the suit. “The Executive’s lawsuit will be dismissed, and its motion for preliminary injunction denied as moot. Whatever the merits of its grievance with the judges of the United States District Court of Maryland, the
Executive Branch must find a proper way to raise those concerns.”
Source: CBS News 8/26/25
Ninth Circuit Court Allows Termination of Temporary Protected Status to Proceed for 60,000 Long-term Residents from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua
A three-judge panel granted the Trump administration’s request for an emergency stay of a district court’s order to postpone the termination of TPS for immigrants from these countries. No explanation was given for why the administration’s request required an “emergency” stay. The ruling means that Nepali TPS holders will lose their legal status and work authorization effective immediately. Those from Honduras and Nicaragua will lose their legal status Sept. 8th absent any further court intervention.
Source: ACLU 8/20/25
A federal judge on Friday (8/22,) vastly expanded the scope of an order blocking the Trump administration from pulling funding for cities across the country over policies that limit local law enforcement participation in immigration enforcement. A previous order, issued in April by Judge William H. Orrick of the Federal Court for the Northern District of California, barred the government from withholding the funding to 16 cities and counties, including Seattle. The funding included federal grants that amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. ”The new plaintiffs have each alleged similar reliance on federal funding and filed declarations showing similar harm to community health, welfare and social services and budgetary process that depends on the regularly authorized grants of federal funding for a variety of critical needs,” Judge Orrick wrote.
Source: The New York Times 8/22/25
Judge Tosses Trump Lawsuit Against Maryland Judges over Immigration Order
Federal Judge Thomas Cullen on Tuesday (8/26,) threw out the Trump administration’s challenge to a standing order issued by a district court in Maryland that bars federal immigration officials from immediately removing migrants who are challenging the legality of their detentions. The Justice Department had argued that the standing order issued by Chief Justice George Russel in May was unlawful and outside the authority of the court. The judges argued that the suit presented a dispute between two co-equal branches of government that could not be decided by the courts. In a 37 page decision, Judge Cullen agreed with the judges in finding that the Trump administration’s challenge should be dismissed because, in part, the U.S. does not have the right to sue and the judges are ‘absolutely immune’ from the suit. “The Executive’s lawsuit will be dismissed, and its motion for preliminary injunction denied as moot. Whatever the merits of its grievance with the judges of the United States District Court of Maryland, the
Executive Branch must find a proper way to raise those concerns.”
Source: CBS News 8/26/25
Ninth Circuit Court Allows Termination of Temporary Protected Status to Proceed for 60,000 Long-term Residents from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua
A three-judge panel granted the Trump administration’s request for an emergency stay of a district court’s order to postpone the termination of TPS for immigrants from these countries. No explanation was given for why the administration’s request required an “emergency” stay. The ruling means that Nepali TPS holders will lose their legal status and work authorization effective immediately. Those from Honduras and Nicaragua will lose their legal status Sept. 8th absent any further court intervention.
Source: ACLU 8/20/25
AUGUST 21, 2025
Washington State
Washington governor, attorney general defend law on ICE cooperation after federal legal threat Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson defended Washington law protecting immigrants after U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi threatened legal action against sanctuary jurisdictions. In a social media post Saturday (8/16,) Ferguson shared a letter Bondi sent on Aug. 13, saying Washington was identified as engaging in “sanctuary policies” and asked Ferguson to eliminate laws that “impede” federal immigration enforcement. She warns that those “using their official position to obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts … may be subject to criminal charges.” In his strongly worded response letter, Governor Ferguson pushes back. “You seem to believe that cavalierly citing criminal statutes and personally threatening me, a democratically elected governor, will result in compromising the values of my state.” “Never.”
Source: King 5 News 8/18/25
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson Website 8/19/25
Federal Agencies
FEMA Tells Staff to Work for ICE or Risk Getting Fired
A number of employees with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were informed via email late on Tuesday (8/5) that they have been reassigned, effective immediately, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The workers had seven days to accept the reassignment, under threat of being removed from the civil service. According to sources familiar with the matter, those reassigned were probationary employees with less than one year at FEMA. They are apparently being shifted as a stopgap maneuver to bolster the ranks of ICE, which received tens of billions of dollars in the GOP mega-bill but faces the daunting task of hiring thousands of new agents to an unpopular agency with plummeting morale.
Source: The American Prospect 8/6/25
Immigrants seeking lawful work and citizenship are now subject to ‘anti-Americanism’ screening
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said officers will now consider whether an applicant for benefits, such as a green card, “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist or antisemitic views. It isn’t specified what constitutes anti-Americanism and it isn’t clear how and when the directive would be applied. Critics worry the policy update will allow for more subjective views of what is considered anti-American and allow an officer’s personal bias to cloud his or her judgment. “For me, the really big story is they are opening the door for stereotypes and prejudice and implicit bias to take the wheel in these decisions. That’s really worrisome,” said Jane Lilly Lopez, associate professor of sociology at Brigham Young University.
Source: Associated Press 81/9/25
Many U.S. Colleges May Close Without Immigrants And International Students, Report Finds
“Without immigrants, international students and the children of immigrants, the undergraduate student population in America would be almost 5 million students smaller in 2037 than 2022, or about two-thirds of its current size, while the graduate student population would be at least 1.1 million students smaller, or only about 60% of its current size,” according to a National Foundation for American Policy report. The study finds, “Losing up to one-third of undergraduate enrollment and almost two-fifths of graduate enrollment would be catastrophic for many colleges and universities, especially those in parts of the United States already experiencing demographic declines. It would likely lead to many colleges and universities closing, resulting in fewer educational opportunities for U.S. students, fewer higher education-related jobs in many states and towns and fewer college-educated workers in the United States.”
Source: Forbes 8/14/25
A number of employees with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were informed via email late on Tuesday (8/5) that they have been reassigned, effective immediately, to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The workers had seven days to accept the reassignment, under threat of being removed from the civil service. According to sources familiar with the matter, those reassigned were probationary employees with less than one year at FEMA. They are apparently being shifted as a stopgap maneuver to bolster the ranks of ICE, which received tens of billions of dollars in the GOP mega-bill but faces the daunting task of hiring thousands of new agents to an unpopular agency with plummeting morale.
Source: The American Prospect 8/6/25
Immigrants seeking lawful work and citizenship are now subject to ‘anti-Americanism’ screening
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said officers will now consider whether an applicant for benefits, such as a green card, “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist or antisemitic views. It isn’t specified what constitutes anti-Americanism and it isn’t clear how and when the directive would be applied. Critics worry the policy update will allow for more subjective views of what is considered anti-American and allow an officer’s personal bias to cloud his or her judgment. “For me, the really big story is they are opening the door for stereotypes and prejudice and implicit bias to take the wheel in these decisions. That’s really worrisome,” said Jane Lilly Lopez, associate professor of sociology at Brigham Young University.
Source: Associated Press 81/9/25
Many U.S. Colleges May Close Without Immigrants And International Students, Report Finds
“Without immigrants, international students and the children of immigrants, the undergraduate student population in America would be almost 5 million students smaller in 2037 than 2022, or about two-thirds of its current size, while the graduate student population would be at least 1.1 million students smaller, or only about 60% of its current size,” according to a National Foundation for American Policy report. The study finds, “Losing up to one-third of undergraduate enrollment and almost two-fifths of graduate enrollment would be catastrophic for many colleges and universities, especially those in parts of the United States already experiencing demographic declines. It would likely lead to many colleges and universities closing, resulting in fewer educational opportunities for U.S. students, fewer higher education-related jobs in many states and towns and fewer college-educated workers in the United States.”
Source: Forbes 8/14/25
Legislation/Budget
Bipartisan Bill Introduced in the House Would Restore Relocation Efforts for Afghan War Allies
A bipartisan coalition in Congress has introduced the Enduring Welcome Act, legislation that would reestablish American’s commitments to Afghan war allies left stranded after the Trump administration dismantled the relocation program that once brought them to safety. No evacuation flights for Afghans have taken off since Trump’s inauguration, leaving thousands of vulnerable families in limbo. “Honoring our commitments to our Afghan allies should never be a partisan issue, but a matter of moral responsibility, national honor, and global credibility,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., a cosponsor.
Source: Migrant Insider 8/19/25
A bipartisan coalition in Congress has introduced the Enduring Welcome Act, legislation that would reestablish American’s commitments to Afghan war allies left stranded after the Trump administration dismantled the relocation program that once brought them to safety. No evacuation flights for Afghans have taken off since Trump’s inauguration, leaving thousands of vulnerable families in limbo. “Honoring our commitments to our Afghan allies should never be a partisan issue, but a matter of moral responsibility, national honor, and global credibility,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., a cosponsor.
Source: Migrant Insider 8/19/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Ice Sends Three U.S. Children, Including a Boy With Cancer, to Honduras with Their Deported Moms Despite being U.S. citizens, three children - a 4 year old boy with Stage 4 kidney cancer, his seven-year-old sister and a 2-year-old girl - were swept up along with their families by immigration authorities in Louisiana and quickly sent to Honduras, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the families by immigration advocacy group National Immigration Project and three law firms. The suit alleges that despite the government’s own directives, the parents “were never given a choice as to whether their children should be deported with them and were prohibited from contacting their counsel or having meaningful contact with their families to arrange for the care of their children.” The mothers allege they wanted their children to remain in the U.S. The case against the federal government is in its early stages, and the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and damages, and for their arrests and removals to be found unlawful and to be returned to the United States.
Source: NBC News 8/13/25
Judge Rejects Trump’s Attempt to End Standards of Care for Detained Migrant Children
Judge Dolly M. Gee of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the Flores Settlement Agreement, in effect since 1997, must remain in place. Under the consent decree, migrants who are 17 years old and younger must be held in the “least restrictive” setting while efforts are being made to expeditiously release them. The minors must receive adequate meals, clean water, clothing, education and medical assistance, among other basic needs. The judge said that neither the Homeland Security Department nor the Department of Health and Human Services, which are responsible for migrant children, were in “sufficiently substantial compliance to warrant termination of the Flores Agreement.” Court-appointed monitors and lawyers will continue to have access to migrant children in border stations and family detention centers to ensure that the government is complying with the agreement. The government blames the Flores Settlement for incentivizing parents to bring children so that they can be released quickly into the country. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling again, setting the stage for the case to reach the Supreme Court.
Source: New York Times 8/15/25
DOJ asks judge to sanction lawyer who took pro bono deportation case
Trump’s Department of Justice escalated its attacks on the legal profession this week as it asked a judge to impose substantial monetary sanctions on Joshua Schroeder, an immigration and intellectual property lawyer who took on a pro bono deportation case. Schroeder had represented an immigrant from Laos and temporarily halted but ultimately was unsuccessful in preventing the man’s deportation. This seems to be the first example of the DOJ targeting an individual attorney following a March presidential memorandum that instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to punish lawyers and law firms who “engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States.” In an interview, Schroeder warned that while Trump has mostly attacked big law firms, his case shows “They’re able to go all the way down to the very bottom … It’s not just this elite struggle.”
Source: American Oversight 8/8/25
20 states and DC sue DOJ to stop immigration enforcement requirements on crime victim funds
The lawsuit seeks to block the Justice Department from enforcing conditions that would cut Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding to Sanctuary States. VOCA funding comes entirely from fines and penalties in federal court cases, not from tax dollars. Every state and territory has a victims compensation program largely set up under state law to provide financial help to crime victims, including medical expense reimbursement, paying for crime scene cleanup, counseling or helping with funeral costs for homicide victims. VOCA covers the cost of about 75% of state compensation program awards. The funds are also used to pay for other services, including testing rape kits, funding grants to domestic violence recovery organizations, trauma recovery centers and more.
Source: Associated Press 8/18/25
Judge orders HHS to stop sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials
A federal judge ordered the nation’s health department to stop giving deportation officials access to the personal information — including home addresses — of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first handed over the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees in a handful of states in June. In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services entered into a new agreement that gave the Department of Homeland Security daily access to view the personal data — including Social Security numbers and home address — of all the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees. 20 states filed a lawsuit to stop the new policy’s implementation. The order, issued by federal Judge Vince Chhabria in California, temporarily halts the health department from sharing personal data of enrollees in those 20 states, including Washington. Judge Chhabria said that the order will remain in effect until the health department outlines “reasoned decisionmaking” for its new policy of sharing data with deportation officials.
Source: Associated Press 8/14/25
Source: NBC News 8/13/25
Judge Rejects Trump’s Attempt to End Standards of Care for Detained Migrant Children
Judge Dolly M. Gee of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the Flores Settlement Agreement, in effect since 1997, must remain in place. Under the consent decree, migrants who are 17 years old and younger must be held in the “least restrictive” setting while efforts are being made to expeditiously release them. The minors must receive adequate meals, clean water, clothing, education and medical assistance, among other basic needs. The judge said that neither the Homeland Security Department nor the Department of Health and Human Services, which are responsible for migrant children, were in “sufficiently substantial compliance to warrant termination of the Flores Agreement.” Court-appointed monitors and lawyers will continue to have access to migrant children in border stations and family detention centers to ensure that the government is complying with the agreement. The government blames the Flores Settlement for incentivizing parents to bring children so that they can be released quickly into the country. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling again, setting the stage for the case to reach the Supreme Court.
Source: New York Times 8/15/25
DOJ asks judge to sanction lawyer who took pro bono deportation case
Trump’s Department of Justice escalated its attacks on the legal profession this week as it asked a judge to impose substantial monetary sanctions on Joshua Schroeder, an immigration and intellectual property lawyer who took on a pro bono deportation case. Schroeder had represented an immigrant from Laos and temporarily halted but ultimately was unsuccessful in preventing the man’s deportation. This seems to be the first example of the DOJ targeting an individual attorney following a March presidential memorandum that instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to punish lawyers and law firms who “engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States.” In an interview, Schroeder warned that while Trump has mostly attacked big law firms, his case shows “They’re able to go all the way down to the very bottom … It’s not just this elite struggle.”
Source: American Oversight 8/8/25
20 states and DC sue DOJ to stop immigration enforcement requirements on crime victim funds
The lawsuit seeks to block the Justice Department from enforcing conditions that would cut Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding to Sanctuary States. VOCA funding comes entirely from fines and penalties in federal court cases, not from tax dollars. Every state and territory has a victims compensation program largely set up under state law to provide financial help to crime victims, including medical expense reimbursement, paying for crime scene cleanup, counseling or helping with funeral costs for homicide victims. VOCA covers the cost of about 75% of state compensation program awards. The funds are also used to pay for other services, including testing rape kits, funding grants to domestic violence recovery organizations, trauma recovery centers and more.
Source: Associated Press 8/18/25
Judge orders HHS to stop sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials
A federal judge ordered the nation’s health department to stop giving deportation officials access to the personal information — including home addresses — of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first handed over the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees in a handful of states in June. In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services entered into a new agreement that gave the Department of Homeland Security daily access to view the personal data — including Social Security numbers and home address — of all the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees. 20 states filed a lawsuit to stop the new policy’s implementation. The order, issued by federal Judge Vince Chhabria in California, temporarily halts the health department from sharing personal data of enrollees in those 20 states, including Washington. Judge Chhabria said that the order will remain in effect until the health department outlines “reasoned decisionmaking” for its new policy of sharing data with deportation officials.
Source: Associated Press 8/14/25
august 14, 2025
Washington State
WA ICE arrests drop 25% in July but remain comparatively high
ICE arrests in the state dropped 25% between June and July 29, according to government information obtained through Freedom of Information requests by the University of California’s Deportation Data Project. Asked for an explanation of last month’s scaled-back enforcement, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin cited a “historic number” of court injunctions, such as a temporary restraining order in Los Angeles requiring immigration officers to have reasonable suspicion of people being in the U.S. illegally before stopping them. Despite those court orders, “ICE continues to arrest the worst of the worst,” McLaughlin said, without commenting on government figures showing many people arrested have clean records. Tim Warden-Hertz, a lawyer with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project says it could be that ICE is arresting fewer immigrants because the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, like other detention facilities around the country, is at or near capacity and there’s no place to put people.
Source: Seattle Times 8/13/25
'We were being punished twice' | Immigrants were released from prison, then they were grabbed by ICE Families of immigrants are speaking out against what they're calling the DOC to ICE pipeline. Despite Washington's sanctuary state status, the Washington State Department of Corrections has always been an exception to the Keep Washington Working Act, which limits the information law enforcement can share with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.) Lawmakers made that distinction in 2019 to make sure the law would pass. DOC Spokesperson Chris Wright said they flag the immigration status of inmates during intake. The DOC sends a weekly report to federal authorities, and from there, ICE can place detainers on certain inmates. ICE decides who to detain when sentences end. According to numbers sent to KING 5 by DOC, this year, of the 61 inmates with ICE detainers who have been released, ICE picked up 51. Source: King 5 News 7/30/25
ICE arrests in the state dropped 25% between June and July 29, according to government information obtained through Freedom of Information requests by the University of California’s Deportation Data Project. Asked for an explanation of last month’s scaled-back enforcement, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin cited a “historic number” of court injunctions, such as a temporary restraining order in Los Angeles requiring immigration officers to have reasonable suspicion of people being in the U.S. illegally before stopping them. Despite those court orders, “ICE continues to arrest the worst of the worst,” McLaughlin said, without commenting on government figures showing many people arrested have clean records. Tim Warden-Hertz, a lawyer with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project says it could be that ICE is arresting fewer immigrants because the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, like other detention facilities around the country, is at or near capacity and there’s no place to put people.
Source: Seattle Times 8/13/25
'We were being punished twice' | Immigrants were released from prison, then they were grabbed by ICE Families of immigrants are speaking out against what they're calling the DOC to ICE pipeline. Despite Washington's sanctuary state status, the Washington State Department of Corrections has always been an exception to the Keep Washington Working Act, which limits the information law enforcement can share with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.) Lawmakers made that distinction in 2019 to make sure the law would pass. DOC Spokesperson Chris Wright said they flag the immigration status of inmates during intake. The DOC sends a weekly report to federal authorities, and from there, ICE can place detainers on certain inmates. ICE decides who to detain when sentences end. According to numbers sent to KING 5 by DOC, this year, of the 61 inmates with ICE detainers who have been released, ICE picked up 51. Source: King 5 News 7/30/25
Federal Agencies
Companies aiding Trump’s immigration crackdown see ‘extraordinary’ revenues
The tech, surveillance and private prison providers arming Donald Trump’s massive expansion and weaponization of immigration enforcement are running a victory lap after reporting their latest financial results. Palantir, the tech firm, and Geo Group and CoreCivic, the private prison and surveillance companies, said this week that they brought in more money than Wall Street expected them to, thanks to the administration’s crackdown on immigrants. Palantir saw 53% growth in revenue from US government contracts in the second quarter of 2025 compared with the same period the year prior and surpassed $1bn in total quarterly revenue for the first time. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), most recently announced a $30m contract with Palantir to build a database that makes its deportation and detention machine more efficient. CoreCivic announced $538.2m in the second quarter of this year, a 9.8% increase from last year’s second quarter, while GeoGroup reported $636.2m in revenue this quarter, beating analyst predictions of $623.4m.
Source: The Guardian 8/10/25
Three States Move to Deploy National Guard to Assist ICE
Republican governors in Idaho, Virginia and Nevada are moving to mobilize National Guard troops to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of a growing, multi-state effort to bolster President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda. In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little authorized 14 Guard members to work directly with ICE supporting ICE’s Boise field. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin directed about 60 Guard soldiers and airmen to prepare for ICE support assignments across the commonwealth beginning in September. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is finalizing a similar plan under Title 32 authority, which keeps Guard members under state command but on federal pay. About 35 guardsmen will be assigned to clerical, administrative and logistical work, though Title 32 status could allow for domestic law enforcement duties if authorized.
Source: Migrant Insider 8/9/25
Immigrants who are crime victims and waiting for visas now face deportation
Immigration experts and attorneys say the Trump administration is now asserting “good faith determinations” — official documents that validate the legitimacy of certain visa applications and protects applicants from deportation while giving them work authorization, are no longer protected from deportation. The U visa is reserved for victims of certain crimes who “have suffered physical or mental harm” and who cooperate with law enforcement or government officials “in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity,” according to USCIS. The U visa's benefits include the ability to live and work in the U.S. and a chance to apply for a green card in the future. However, the U.S. government only grants 10,000 U visas per year, which has created a considerable backlog for applicants. Since June 2021, USCIS has been granting “good faith determinations” while applicants wait for approval. The loss of this protection has now led to detentions of U visa applicants.
Source: NBC News 8/7/25
The tech, surveillance and private prison providers arming Donald Trump’s massive expansion and weaponization of immigration enforcement are running a victory lap after reporting their latest financial results. Palantir, the tech firm, and Geo Group and CoreCivic, the private prison and surveillance companies, said this week that they brought in more money than Wall Street expected them to, thanks to the administration’s crackdown on immigrants. Palantir saw 53% growth in revenue from US government contracts in the second quarter of 2025 compared with the same period the year prior and surpassed $1bn in total quarterly revenue for the first time. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), most recently announced a $30m contract with Palantir to build a database that makes its deportation and detention machine more efficient. CoreCivic announced $538.2m in the second quarter of this year, a 9.8% increase from last year’s second quarter, while GeoGroup reported $636.2m in revenue this quarter, beating analyst predictions of $623.4m.
Source: The Guardian 8/10/25
Three States Move to Deploy National Guard to Assist ICE
Republican governors in Idaho, Virginia and Nevada are moving to mobilize National Guard troops to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of a growing, multi-state effort to bolster President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda. In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little authorized 14 Guard members to work directly with ICE supporting ICE’s Boise field. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin directed about 60 Guard soldiers and airmen to prepare for ICE support assignments across the commonwealth beginning in September. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is finalizing a similar plan under Title 32 authority, which keeps Guard members under state command but on federal pay. About 35 guardsmen will be assigned to clerical, administrative and logistical work, though Title 32 status could allow for domestic law enforcement duties if authorized.
Source: Migrant Insider 8/9/25
Immigrants who are crime victims and waiting for visas now face deportation
Immigration experts and attorneys say the Trump administration is now asserting “good faith determinations” — official documents that validate the legitimacy of certain visa applications and protects applicants from deportation while giving them work authorization, are no longer protected from deportation. The U visa is reserved for victims of certain crimes who “have suffered physical or mental harm” and who cooperate with law enforcement or government officials “in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity,” according to USCIS. The U visa's benefits include the ability to live and work in the U.S. and a chance to apply for a green card in the future. However, the U.S. government only grants 10,000 U visas per year, which has created a considerable backlog for applicants. Since June 2021, USCIS has been granting “good faith determinations” while applicants wait for approval. The loss of this protection has now led to detentions of U visa applicants.
Source: NBC News 8/7/25
Executive Orders / Proclamations / Court Challenges
Donald Trump Scores Migration Legal Win
A federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to halt the implementation of a national registry for noncitizens. The Alien Registration Requirement (ARR,) which took effect April 11 after a lower court ruling, requires all noncitizens aged 14 and older to register their fingerprints and carry an identification card or face potential fines or imprisonment. Younger children must be registered by a parent or guardian. The D.C. Circuit's refusal to pause the ARR means the rule will remain in effect nationwide for months while the appeal plays out. The D.C. Circuit has set an expedited schedule for the case, with the plaintiffs' brief due September 16, the government's response due October 16, and a reply from the plaintiffs due November 6. Oral arguments will follow, with a date to be determined.
Source: Newsweek 8/13/25
A federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to halt the implementation of a national registry for noncitizens. The Alien Registration Requirement (ARR,) which took effect April 11 after a lower court ruling, requires all noncitizens aged 14 and older to register their fingerprints and carry an identification card or face potential fines or imprisonment. Younger children must be registered by a parent or guardian. The D.C. Circuit's refusal to pause the ARR means the rule will remain in effect nationwide for months while the appeal plays out. The D.C. Circuit has set an expedited schedule for the case, with the plaintiffs' brief due September 16, the government's response due October 16, and a reply from the plaintiffs due November 6. Oral arguments will follow, with a date to be determined.
Source: Newsweek 8/13/25
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