ICE has stopped publicly displaying the locations of some people in its custody who have final removal orders — making them harder for families and lawyers to find. The unannounced change, reported to have begun September 15, has left lawyers unable to locate some clients in the online system, complicating family contact and last-minute challenges to detention or removal. AP News, The Washington Post
Immigration courts are ordering some unaccompanied children removed
Immigration judges are issuing removal orders for some unaccompanied children while they pursue Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. The Boston Globe reported on children whose state courts had found abuse, neglect or abandonment — the predicate for seeking SIJS — but whose removal cases were no longer routinely postponed while that separate humanitarian process continued. The Globe observed 17 such removal orders in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, over the past month. The Boston Globe
A separate National Immigrant Justice Center account described Chicago hearings in August involving children with SIJS applications pending. “These are kids young enough to be playing with toys while they wait for their turn in front of a judge," said a Congressman who observed the hearings. National Immigrant Justice Center, What is SIJS? The Marshall Project
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H-1B employers may face scrutiny for layoffs
A new White House order tells federal agencies to consider an employer’s layoffs and labor-market data when reviewing that employer’s H-1B petitions and related filings. The directive reaches visa petitions, labor-condition applications, consular processing and admission decisions, but it does not yet spell out how agencies will weigh those factors in individual cases. White House, Fragomen
A growing network for third-country deportations
A reporting consortium has documented more than 25,000 U.S. deportations since January 2025 to countries other than people’s countries of origin. The count includes people sent to places where they may have no ties; the investigation describes a largely opaque system of agreements with receiving governments. France 24, Forbidden Stories
Haiti deportations after TPS
Human Rights Watch says the United States has deported hundreds of Haitians since Temporary Protected Status ended in late July. Citing Haiti’s National Office for Migration, the group said more than 450 people had been returned since July; its researchers interviewed 44 people arriving on the first two post-TPS flights. Human Rights Watch
Several people interviewed after arriving in Cap-Haïtien said they had pending asylum claims, had not received removal orders or did not understand why they were deported. The report also found little sustained shelter, health care, transportation or reintegration support after arrival. WLRN
Upcoming
The next four weeks.
- 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.
- Oct. 13, 2026
USCIS can now require that certain applications and petitions be filed online rather than on paper, and the rule sets out how it will designate which ones. People who cannot file electronically can ask for a waiver. The change is already in force as an interim final rule, but comments are open until October 13, 2026.
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Around the system
A Venezuelan delivery driver shot by ICE in Austin, Texas, said agents fired after he asked to stop somewhere safer than freeway traffic. His lawyer said he remained in ICE custody with a bullet near his spine; DHS had not responded to the Texas Tribune’s request for comment on his account or complaint about medical care. The Texas Tribune
A federal judge temporarily halted three immigration-enforcement practices at Alabama construction sites, including warrantless entry and detention policies. The order grew from a case brought by a U.S. citizen who said ICE detained him repeatedly despite his identification. al.com
A federal judge ordered immigration officials to release 24 people held after warrantless arrests in Montana. The government disagrees with the court’s underlying determination; 13 additional petitions remained pending. Daily Montanan
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, commissioners are set to vote on extending the arrangement that allows GEO Group to operate the Moshannon Valley Processing Center for ICE. Members of Congress are seeking financial and operational records before the vote. WHYY
The Justice Department argues Maryland cannot offer in-state college tuition to undocumented students under the state’s 2011 DREAM Act. Maryland says eligibility turns on ties to the state rather than immigration status; the federal court has not yet ruled. Maryland Daily Record
An investigation found more than 1,050 deaths within range of U.S. border-surveillance towers between 2015 and early 2026. The MIT Technology Review and Times of San Diego project examines whether the systems’ promise of faster detection and response has translated into protection. MIT Technology Review
ICE counted 53,192 people on ankle monitors in July, according to a new account of litigation challenging the agency’s monitoring policy. The reported count was up from 20,012 in the administration’s first count. Austin Kocher
A San Antonio station’s review of 2026 reporting and Deportation Data Project figures counted 11 shootings involving federal immigration agents, four of them fatal. The station also reported its ICE arrest and detention tallies alongside DHS’s response disputing the data project’s analysis. KSAT