Only 24% of people with removal orders had counsel in August 2026. TRAC says representation in completed Immigration Court cases fell from 63% in fiscal year 2021 to 32% in fiscal year 2026. People may hire counsel or find pro bono help, but the government generally does not provide it; EOIR must supply a free- and low-cost-provider list. Congressional Research Service, TRAC
AP sues over remote access to immigration-court filings
The Associated Press sued federal court administrators over Rule 5.2(c), which it says delays remote access to immigration filings in PACER. The public can generally inspect full files at the courthouse but remotely sees only dockets and orders unless a court permits more access; this is a lawsuit, not a ruling. Fordham Law Review, Bloomberg Law
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Amicus filing urges Supreme Court to set rules for border device searches
Max Blumenthal’s amicus brief asks whether border agents may search a traveler’s phone without a warrant. The brief points to differing rules by port of entry; CRS says the Fourth and Ninth Circuits require reasonable suspicion for forensic searches while the Eleventh does not, and EFF notes the Fourth Circuit recently allowed manual searches without individualized suspicion. Supreme Court filing, Tampa Free Press, Congressional Research Service, EFF
Operation Metro Surge deportation data are updated
Updated ICE data show that more than 2,300 noncitizens arrested in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge were deported or left the country. MPR News and APM Reports, analyzing ICE records obtained by the Deportation Data Project, found that 2,102 people with detention records were later deported and another 282 left the country without a detention record. The data document more than 3,700 arrests in Minnesota during the surge, and a majority of the people arrested had no criminal record. MPR News
Upcoming
The next four weeks.
- Sept. 18, 2026
People applying for a green card or for admission to the US will face a broader public charge test — whether an officer thinks they are likely to become dependent on government support. DHS is scrapping the 2022 rule that narrowed what officers could weigh, and applies the change to applications filed on or after the effective 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
People who apply for asylum on their own with USCIS (affirmative asylum) can now have their case referred straight to immigration court (EOIR) without an interview first. The rule is already in effect, and also drops the requirement that the referral letter assess the applicant's credibility. Comments close September 28.
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.
- Sept. 30, 2026
The State Department has warned that heavy demand may push employment-based green card cutoff dates backwards (retrogression), or make a category unavailable altogether, before the fiscal year ends on September 30, 2026 — EB-1 India and EB-2 most at risk. Watch the monthly Visa Bulletin, which sets who can file and be approved.
- Oct. 1, 2026
Workers with approved FY 2027 cap-subject H-1B petitions — the 85,000 slots that include 20,000 reserved for US master's degree holders — can start work on October 1, 2026. Employers should confirm the approval is in hand and onboarding is ready by then; work cannot begin earlier on that petition.
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.
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Around the system
CBS News found Latin American deportees whom ICE sent to Liberia, where they are staying in a remote coastal hotel despite having no Liberian ties. Most interviewees had won protection from removal to their home countries and said ICE neither told them Liberia was the destination nor gave them a chance to contest it. CBS News
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) will return Palantir Technologies’ awards-gala sponsorship money, according to Migrant Insider. The outlet reported that chairman Representative Darren Soto said he had not known about the donation before directing CHCI’s president to return it. Migrant Insider
Fifteen New York sheriffs filed a new brief in their challenge to a state law that took effect last month and bars formal ICE enforcement agreements. The suit is not backed by the statewide sheriffs’ association, whose 58 members mostly did not have ICE agreements. Times Union
Loudoun County, Virginia, supervisors are questioning whether the sheriff’s ICE cooperation extends beyond its jail-based 287(g) agreement. FOIA records logged at least 13 instances in which deputies called ICE about people with immigration warrants and sent photos or other information. Loudoun Now
Families with children have been held for weeks in temporary border facilities in San Diego, California, despite a government standard intended to limit stays to 72 hours. Government court data showed an average family stay of 146 hours in March—about twice that limit. KPBS
The DeKalb County, Georgia, school board adopted a policy barring government agents from questioning or removing students, or entering nonpublic school areas, without legal authority. The district’s legal office must inspect judicial warrants or court orders, while ICE administrative detainers do not qualify. Atlanta News First
Three Minnesota Somali men are among eight people held by ICE at Guantánamo Bay after what they were told would be a refueling stop. Seven are being held at Camp 6, a military detention center known for housing high-risk prisoners, while an eighth is in isolation. Sahan Journal
A federal judge barred DHS and ICE from making further threats against David Streever over his critical email to a former acting ICE director. Agents had sought him at his home, an airport and a hotel five months after the email, then left a warning notice citing potential federal-law violations. NPR