## Public-charge rule takes effect as states challenge broader immigration screening

**A broader public-charge test took effect Friday for people seeking green cards.** USCIS officers may again weigh use of means-tested public benefits, alongside an applicant’s age, health, finances and other circumstances. The change replaces the narrower 2022 framework. [USCIS](https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-issues-guidance-on-making-public-charge-inadmissibility-determination), [Federal Register](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/20/2026-14539/public-charge-ground-of-inadmissibility), [GBH](https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2026-09-17/public-charge-changes-are-coming-heres-what-they-mean-for-green-card-applicants)

**Twenty-two states and Washington, D.C., are asking a federal court to block it.** Their lawsuit argues that the rule gives the agency too little guidance about what officers may count against an applicant. [Colorado Attorney General](https://coag.gov/press-releases/attorney-general-phil-weiser-sues-to-block-trump-administrations-public-charge-rule/), [New York Attorney General complaint](https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/new-york-et-al-v-u.s-department-of-homeland-security-et-al-complaint-2026.pdf), [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/14/us/immigration-public-charge-green-card-lawsuits)

## States press for access to inspect ICE detention facilities as conditions face scrutiny

**Washington, Massachusetts and Colorado are pressing to enforce state health-and-safety rules inside privately run ICE detention facilities.** The cases test whether states can inspect facilities that hold people for the federal government; Washington’s dispute with GEO remains active, while a court has blocked part of Colorado’s law. [News From The States](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/states-fight-inspect-federal-immigrant-detention-facilities), [Washington governor](https://governor.wa.gov/news/2026/governor-ferguson-attorney-general-brown-seek-court-order-permit-health-inspections-northwest-ice), [Colorado General Assembly](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1276)

**San Diego County is pursuing its own leverage at Otay Mesa.** The county threatened licensing action after saying the detention center failed to report a suspected tuberculosis case, amid its ongoing lawsuit with DHS over local oversight. [KPBS](https://www.kpbs.org/news/health/2026/09/17/san-diego-county-threatens-licensing-action-after-otay-mesa-detention-center-conceals-suspected-tb-case), [NBC 7 San Diego](https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-diego-county-condemns-otay-mesa-facility-for-lack-of-health-transparency/4075238/), [inewsource](https://inewsource.org/group-chat/otay-mesa-detention-center-tb-case/)

**Florida’s now-shuttered Alligator Alcatraz offers a grim example of what scrutiny can surface.** A Homeland Security watchdog confirmed that small cages were used there; a former detainee told NBC News he spent more than 15 hours in one, while facility records put stays at under two hours. [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-alligator-alcatraz-detainee-says-was-placed-phone-booth-sized-c-rcna598013), [DHS inspector general](https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2026-09/OIG-26-22-Sep26.pdf), [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/us/alligator-alcatraz-dhs-inspector-general.html/)


## Salvadoran TPS holders await clarity on protection and work authorization

**DHS says Salvadorans with TPS remain protected until it announces a decision on the designation.** The administration has ended TPS for most of the countries that still had it at the start of the year, but has not said when it will decide El Salvador’s case. [POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/16/elsalvador-tps-immigration-status-uncertainty-01080983), [WYPR](https://www.wypr.org/wypr-news/2026-09-16/tps-terminations-continue-to-impact-marylands-immigrant-community-el-salvadors-status-in-limbo), [Telemundo](https://www.telemundo.com/noticias/noticias-telemundo/inmigracion/el-departamento-de-seguridad-nacional-dice-que-el-tps-para-los-salvado-rcna596949)

**That leaves a large community waiting for the notice that will settle both protection from removal and work-permit paperwork.** Reporting from NBC News and Telemundo shows misinformation already complicating decisions for people who have lived in the United States for decades. [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/salvadorans-tps-dont-know-long-protections-will-last-dont-panic-advoca-rcna598098), [Telemundo](https://www.telemundo.com/noticias/noticias-telemundo/inmigracion/tps-salvador-eeuu-lider-hispano-jose-palma-rcna597099)

## Around the system

- **A heavily redacted DHS email shows personnel circulated a list of jurisdictions that provide election materials in languages other than English.** NPR first reported the email, from last year; it remains unclear why the list was shared. [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/09/18/nx-s1-5973278/dhs-noncitizen-voting-english-language)

- **A federal appeals panel held that border officers may manually search travelers’ phones without a warrant or individualized suspicion.** The decision treats such searches as routine border searches; it did not decide the rules for more invasive forensic extractions. [Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/court-appeals-border-patrol-phone-searches-first-amendment-12457796)

- **The Associated Press has published a new map and search tool tracing where people released at the border said they were headed.** It is based on anonymized CBP records obtained through FOIA, with results suppressed for ZIP codes showing fewer than 10 people. [AP](https://apnews.com/projects/border-crossing-immigration-data-mexico-us/)

- **A Borderless Magazine investigation found Somali asylum seekers being moved through accelerated immigration-court schedules in Chicago.** Its reporters observed cases in which people had little time to obtain corroborating evidence; EOIR said it is adjusting schedules to handle cases timely and lawfully. [Borderless Magazine](https://borderlessmag.org/es/2026/09/17/somali-immigrants-chicago-courtroom-rocket-docket-trump-administration-doj/)

- **A federal judge in Southern California ordered immigration agents to document the particular facts supporting any warrantless arrest on flight-risk grounds.** The preliminary injunction was unsealed this week after the court found evidence of an ongoing practice that did not make the required assessment. [LAist / CalMatters](https://laist.com/news/politics/judge-ruling-immigration-agents-warrantless-arrests)