## Immigrant-visa appointments paused worldwide

**The State Department has temporarily adjusted immigrant-visa appointments around the world** while consular officers undergo new training that includes public-charge screening. The department has not announced when regular scheduling will resume. The reporting describes a pause or adjustment to immigrant-visa appointments and interviews; it does not establish that every visa category, every application or visa issuance after a completed interview is affected. [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-issues-pause-visa-appointments-applicants-worldwide-2026-08-26/), **around the world:** [El Colombiano](https://www.elcolombiano.com/internacional/ee-uu-suspende-las-citas-de-visa-de-inmigrante-en-todo-el-mundo-incluida-bogota-FG40317367) (Colombia), [Claro Sports](https://clarosports.com/actualidad/visa-americana-estados-unidos-suspende-citas-para-visados-de-inmigrantes-en-consulados-de-todo-el-mundo) (Mexico), [Asian Journal](https://asianjournal.com/usa/dateline-usa/us-adjusts-immigrant-visa-appointments-global-consular-training/) (includes information for Filipinos), [South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365330/frustration-china-us-freezes-green-card-interviews-worldwide-citing-training) (China and Hong Kong)

## Texas court denies Minnesota’s emergency extradition request

**A federal judge in Brownsville, Texas, denied Minnesota’s emergency request to compel ICE agent Christian Castro’s extradition or keep him in Cameron County custody beyond the state’s 90-day pre-extradition limit.** The ruling said Minnesota’s case was not ripe because Gov. Greg Abbott had not decided whether to issue a rendition warrant; the court found no legal deadline for Abbott’s ongoing investigation. The order does not decide the charges against Castro or prevent Texas from later granting extradition. [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-texas-ice-shooting-christian-castro-extradition-384843049feeba26fac6fc09412161ca), [Texas Tribune](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/25/texas-minnesota-ice-officer-extradition-judge/), [Star Tribune](https://www.startribune.com/judge-rules-ice-agent-arrested-for-shooting-in-minneapolis-can-be-released-from-texas-jail/601882413), [CourtListener](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsd.2104014/gov.uscourts.txsd.2104014.28.0_2.pdf)

## New York’s limits on ICE cooperation face a court challenge

**New York’s Local Cops, Local Crimes Act now bars state and local agencies from maintaining 287(g) agreements or similar arrangements for civil immigration enforcement.** Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said the county would unwind its ICE agreement while joining a challenge to the law. [Gothamist](https://gothamist.com/news/blakeman-bows-to-new-york-law-limiting-cooperation-with-ice)

Rensselaer County said it planned to join a federal lawsuit seeking to strike down the law and preserve its 287(g) agreement. The law does not prevent local law enforcement from assisting ICE with criminal investigations; its restrictions concern civil immigration enforcement. [WAMC](https://wamc.org/news/2026-08-24/rensselaer-county-new-york-state-ice-agreement-lawsuit)

## Chicago removal orders for unaccompanied children

**Six unaccompanied children, ages 12 to 17, received removal orders in a Chicago immigration-court docket.** The orders do not by themselves establish that the children were deported. Attorneys, advocates and lawmakers told local reporters that the proceedings raised concerns about whether children could effectively understand and contest what was happening in court. [WBEZ](https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2026/08/26/lawmakers-advocates-allege-chicago-immigration-court-violated-due-process-for-minors-handed-removal-orders), [Block Club Chicago](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/08/26/advocates-decry-removals-of-unaccompanied-immigrant-kids-in-chicago-there-were-tears/)

**Background:** Special Immigrant Juvenile status is a legal pathway for some children who have experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment and whose protections have been in question for years. [The Marshall Project](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/01/28/these-young-people-were-told-they-could-stay-in-the-u-s-they-might-get-deported-anyway)

## Around the system


**Federal authorities deported former Venezuelan military colonel Rafael José Quero Silva from South Florida to Venezuela** after a DOJ immigration judge issued a removal order. U.S. officials said he had participated in the detention and torture of political dissidents during the Maduro government. [WLRN](https://www.wlrn.org/americas/2026-08-26/us-authorities-deport-former-venezuelan-colonel-involved-in-maduro-era-torture)


**Kansas dairy production has expanded rapidly with immigrant workers central to that growth,** KCUR’s Kansas City Today reported. The audio report examines the rural labor force behind one of the country’s fastest-growing dairy industries. [KCUR](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/kansas-city-today/2026-08-27/immigrants-are-holding-up-the-kansas-dairy-industry)


**Migrant mothers protested outside ICE’s Baltimore office to demand removal of electronic ankle monitors.** In this Spanish-language local video report, participants said the devices had brought stigma and interfered with work. [Univision](https://www.univision.com/local/washington-dc-wfdc/madres-migrantes-protestan-ice-baltimore-retiren-grilletes)


**A Kansas City woman is seeking to return after she was deported despite what she and her advocates describe as protection for crime victims.** KCUR reports that Norma Zavala Levia’s case is now being pursued from outside the United States. [KCUR](https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2026-08-25/kansas-city-woman-deported-despite-protections-for-crime-victims)