In the wake of a deadly shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been instructed to pause all asylum decisions until further notice. Asylum officers at USCIS, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, have been told to refrain from…
San Diego’s immigration community has been rattled by new reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is arresting individuals with no criminal history during routine green card interviews at USCIS offices—a practice that is historically unprecedented and deeply alarming. What’s Happening Starting in early November, immigration attorneys began reporting that…
This week, the Justice Department announced that it has hired 36 new immigration judges — 11 permanent and 25 temporary — for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a key agency that handles immigration court proceedings in deportation cases. What’s happening? The hiring comes after several months of layoffs…
The legal immigration landscape was shaken once again late Friday evening when the President issued a new proclamation barring new H-1B workers from entering the United States—unless their employers pay a $100,000 fee for each sponsored employee. The proclamation took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday, September 21, and…
Introducing sweeping changes, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has expanded its role by gaining law enforcement powers previously limited to agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Under a new final rule published today, USCIS will now recruit 1,811-classified special agents—fully empowered officers…
On September 3, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of the 2021 designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) previously granted to Venezuelans by President Biden. The government’s actions mean that the 2021 designation for Venezuela TPS and any associated TPS-related protection and documentation for beneficiaries will expire on…
A new UC Berkeley IGS poll shows that a strong majority of California voters disapprove of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. Nearly 70% of respondents said they are unhappy with how immigration is being handled in the state — and many reported emotional responses to images of raids, describing…
On August 21, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department is temporarily pausing the issuance of work visas for foreign nationals seeking employment as commercial truck drivers in the U.S. “Increasing numbers of foreign drivers behind the wheels of large tractor-trailers on America’s roads are putting…
On Tuesday, August 19th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated policy guidance clarifying that immigration officers will assess a range of factors when determining whether to grant a favorable exercise of discretion in the green card process—signaling a tougher stance that may create additional hurdles for applicants seeking…
On Friday August 15th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new policy memorandum (PM-602-0188) increasing the scrutiny of applications for U.S. citizenship, as part of the Trump administration’s latest efforts to tighten eligibility for naturalization. Specifically, USCIS has directed immigration officers to evaluate additional factors when assessing…