We’re trying something new today with a graphical deep dive using data from 287(g) Watch. Our smart tools make it possible to turn this around in a few hours; email me if you want a demo. And on Saturday, Sept. 26, journalist Perla Trevizo will be moderating a panel on ICE detention at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas. —David
A narrower margin after a job ends
The administration has proposed ending the up-to-60-day grace period that lets some temporary workers remain in the country after their job or qualifying activity ends. The proposal would remove the regulation that currently gives workers in H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN and several E visa categories a limited window after that change. It is a proposal, not a rule now in force; it proposes a 60-day comment period. Federal Register, Reuters
Get the Daybook in your inbox.
Free. Every weekday. English and Spanish.
We never sell or share your email. Unsubscribe any time.
The local network behind rising ICE arrests
ICE’s growing reliance on state and local police has become a quieter route to a national rise in immigration arrests. The Marshall Project reports that the partnerships range from highway patrols and sheriffs’ departments to municipal police, including 287(g) agreements that authorize some local officers to take part in immigration enforcement. The Marshall Project
This week’s local reporting shows the network in several forms at once. Oklahoma Voice found that more than 1,800 people were arrested through Oklahoma’s 287(g) partnerships from January through July, with fewer than one in five having a criminal conviction; Idaho announced an agreement signed August 28 for its prison system; Pikeville police joined North Carolina’s program; and ICE said a multiagency Southwest Florida operation made 500 arrests in late August. KGOU / Oklahoma Voice, Bonners Ferry Herald, Enlace Latino NC, ICE, Conexión Migrante
The 287(g) roster provides one view of how that network is expanding. State-level agencies were early adopters; county agencies have joined at a relatively steady rate; and municipal police departments now make up the long tail. The accompanying graphic counts each agency once, in its earliest observed signing month, rather than counting each agreement type as a new agency.
The size of the agencies signing up has declined over time. We call this the "long tail" of immigration enforcement. These agencies are unlikely to contribute many arrests, but mean the program is omnipresent in states like Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania. (Not all agencies can be joined with a personnel figure because some tiny agencies don't appear in the FBI's census of law enforcement employment, meaning this is likely to be slightly inflated.)
The dominant agreement form in the expansion is the Task Force Model. Unlike the jail-only and warrant-service forms, it allows participating officers to use immigration authority in the field during ordinary police work. The roster does not establish how often that authority is used in any individual department; it identifies agencies positioned to use it.
Upcoming
The next four weeks.
- Sept. 15, 2026
USCIS will accept only the 09/15/26 editions of Form I-539, used for status extensions and changes, and Form I-765, the work-permit application. Older editions will be rejected at intake; the filing date is the online-submission date or, for paper filings, the postmark date.
International students (F-1), exchange visitors (J) and foreign media staff (I) can currently stay as long as they keep their program going — "duration of status." This final rule replaces that with a fixed end date, and they would have to apply for an extension of stay to remain longer. It is a major rule under congressional review, so DHS may publish a different effective date.
- Sept. 18, 2026
People applying for a green card from inside the US face a broader public charge test — whether an officer thinks they might come to depend on government benefits — after DHS scraps the narrower 2022 rule. USCIS is issuing a new edition of the green card application (Form I-485) and will stop accepting older editions from that date.
- Sept. 25, 2026
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which houses unaccompanied immigrant children, wants to keep using its mental health assessment form and to merge its two illness-reporting forms (active TB and non-TB) into a single Onsite Health Intervention Form. Comments are open until the deadline.
- Sept. 28, 2026
Immigration judges would be able to fine people who defy their authority in court (contempt), under a proposed rule setting out who can be penalised, how much, and how to appeal — aimed mainly at lawyers and others appearing in deportation cases. Comments can be filed until 11:59 p.m. Eastern on September 28, 2026.
- Oct. 1, 2026
A new fiscal year's supply of employment-based green card numbers becomes available on October 1, so the October 2026 Visa Bulletin — the State Department chart that sets who can file or be approved based on their place in line (priority date) — may show forward movement in backlogged categories such as EB-2 India.
- Oct. 5, 2026
The federal office that houses immigrant children who arrive without a parent or guardian, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), wants to revise the forms its inspectors use to check whether shelters are meeting licensing rules and other legal requirements. Anyone can comment until October 5, 2026.
Send this edition to someone who should have it.
The link carries “?via” and nothing else — no identifiers, no cross-site tracking.
Around the system
A lawsuit challenges last year’s ICE raid at a snack-food factory in Cato, New York. Associated Press reporting based on body-camera footage shows federal agents making 57 arrests at Nutrition Bar Confectioners; the newly filed suit alleges the operation exceeded the limits of its warrants. The NYCLU says the plaintiffs include workers who were moved to detention facilities out of state and separated from their families. Associated Press, NYCLU lawsuit announcement, NYCLU case account
Illinois county prosecutors shared defendants’ personal information with federal immigration agents, according to an investigation by Injustice Watch, Borderless Magazine and WIRED. The reporting, based on more than 5,000 pages of records and court files, found that state’s-attorney offices in one in six Illinois counties shared details including home addresses, court dates and expected jail releases without criminal warrants, public disclosure or legislative oversight. Borderless Magazine
New Haven, Connecticut is reviewing its legal options after an ICE arrest at Tweed New Haven Airport. The airport operator says federal law requires it to admit authorized agents; Mayor Justin Elicker said the city is confirming that claim and looking for lawful ways to limit ICE targeting, while city police and employees do not coordinate with ICE. New Haven Independent
DHS issued eight immigration-related releases over September 9 and 10, centered on individual crime allegations, removals and reporting mechanisms. The department’s announcements included two “Worst of the Worst” arrest roundups, a commercial-driver-license fraud tipline and a claim about removals of people it described as known or suspected terrorists. These are agency announcements and characterizations, not independent case reporting. DHS, CDL tipline, DHS, removals claim
A federal appeals dispute over the Laramie County, Wyoming sheriff’s ICE agreements is headed toward the state Supreme Court. A district judge dismissed the ACLU’s suit for lack of standing, but wrote that the underlying question of the sheriff’s authority to enter the agreements without county-commission approval remains unresolved. WyoFile