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Days before the Nov. 3 election, Stateline estimates that slower naturalization has kept about 380,000 immigrants from becoming citizens and voters. Courts in California turned back two federal moves, one over ballots and one over street stops.
Citizenship delays hold back potential voters
Slower naturalization over the past year has held back about 380,000 immigrants who might have become citizens — and voters — had approvals kept their earlier pace, Stateline estimates. USCIS approved about 55,000 citizenship requests between April and June, down from more than 230,000 in the same period last year, as the agency added social-media screening and tougher English and civics requirements. A USCIS spokesperson told the outlet that “naturalization is a privilege, not a right.” [Stateline]
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California ballot push loses on appeal; criminal probe opens
A divided 9th Circuit panel denied the Justice Department’s request to block California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 voters it alleges are likely noncitizens, saying DOJ had not given the trial judge a fair chance to rule first. That judge, David O. Carter, then refused to order the ballots set aside, citing “a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference.” Federal authorities have since opened a criminal investigation and subpoenaed local election officials over alleged noncitizen voting, citing reporting by The New York Times. [NBC News, CalMatters, EFE]
Krome detainees begin hunger strike
At least 20 people held at Miami’s Krome detention center have stopped eating to demand reviews of their cases, Univision reports. In a video call, detainees described going without insulin, spoiled food and mistreatment by guards, while wives of two Cuban detainees said they fear their husbands will be deported to Africa. [Univision]
DHS moves to take down leaked staff data
DHS, through the cybersecurity firm ZeroFox, asked the Icelandic host FlokiNET to remove a site listing tens of thousands of its employees, including ICE and CBP staff. FlokiNET refused, but the site’s registrar suspended the domain and the data moved to a new address. The request is part of a broader DHS push against the Icepick leak of about 41,000 personnel records. [Al Jazeera, BankInfoSecurity]
Indiana detainees sue over solitary and medical care
Three people held at Indiana’s Miami Correctional Facility, the “Speedway Slammer,” sued Thursday, alleging weeks of solitary confinement and a “dangerous medical crisis”. The 72-page complaint, filed by the ACLU and partners in federal court, describes nine weeks in solitary, a sewage-flooded cell and racial slurs, and will seek class-action status. Two detainees have died at the state prison this year. [Associated Press, IndyStar]
Pregnant migrant youth still sent to South Texas
The administration is still placing pregnant unaccompanied girls in South Texas shelters, where specialized obstetric care is scarce, despite objections from California members of Congress. Records show at least four had to be transferred out of state for medical care since July 2025, including at least one abortion; HHS says its placements follow child-welfare best practices. [LAist, Texas Public Radio]
Judge bars race-based immigration stops in Southern California
U.S. District Judge Maame Frimpong barred immigration agents across Southern California from stopping people because they appear Latino or Latino and working class, requiring individualized reasonable suspicion; the administration is appealing. The preliminary injunction covers seven counties, exempts ports of entry and checkpoints, and partly certifies a class in a case that began with a 2025 Pasadena incident. The ACLU of Southern California, which represents plaintiffs, says it will monitor compliance. [Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, United Farm Workers]
Upcoming
The next four weeks.
- Nov. 9, 2026
DHS proposes charging F-1 students $70,000 for an initial period of Optional Practical Training and $30,000 for a later period. The fees are not in effect: comments on the proposed rule close November 9, while comments specifically on its required paperwork and information-collection estimates close December 7.
- Nov. 10, 2026
DHS proposes ending the regulation that lets certain H-1B, O-1 and other covered workers—and their families—remain in the United States for up to 60 days after a job ends. The grace period remains in effect for now; comments on the proposal close November 10.
- Nov. 13, 2026
USCIS proposes ending the regulation that generally tells officers to give weight to an earlier approval when deciding an extension involving the same facts. The proposal is not in effect; comments close November 13.
Comments close November 13 on DHS's rule cutting from 30 days to 10 the time refugees have to answer notices proposing to terminate their status. A court has blocked the shorter deadline through November 6 for refugees sent notices October 14–27 giving them fewer than 30 days.
- Nov. 16, 2026
State unemployment agencies will have to hand over confidential unemployment compensation (UC) records — information about individual claims and claimants — to federal officials who audit the programs, including the Labor Department's internal watchdog (DOL Office of Inspector General). The stated purpose is oversight and fraud detection.
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Around the system
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee launched a national portal for travelers to report CBP seizures of phones and laptops at airports and borders. [American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee]
DHS says ICE arrested 4,170 people in its 10-day “Lone Star Mission” across Texas. [Department of Homeland Security]
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is questioning state rules that deny driver’s licenses to immigrants with federal work permits, saying he had “just become aware” of them. [News From The States]
The family of a Guatemalan man who died at Otay Mesa says ICE misidentified him and disputes the agency’s account of his criminal history. [KPBS]
The Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio board voted 8-2 to keep its ICE contract, even as Lucas County’s sheriff backed ending it for the first time. [WTOL]
Northwestern international students are seeking answers after the university stopped approving most Curricular Practical Training requests. [The Daily Northwestern]
ProPublica published a searchable list of more than 500 cases of U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents. [ProPublica]
A new ILRC brief examines Houston police reports coded “immigration inquiry” in 2025 and trends into 2026. [Immigrant Legal Resource Center]
Sens. Angus King and Mike Rounds are calling for the maximum H-2B visas to ease seasonal worker shortages. [U.S. Senate]
A union challenge to government monitoring of immigrants’ social media faces an uncertain path after the death of Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who had let the case proceed. [The Christian Science Monitor]