On Tuesday, August 19th, the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a virtual Immigration Briefing with some of our community partners. The briefing covered recent threats and attacks from the administration to lawful immigration, impacts of the federal budget bill on immigrant communities, and some recent wins in the court.
As always, none of the below should be considered legal advice! The federal policy and legal landscape around immigration is changing rapidly, so we recommend getting an immigration screening from an attorney.
Also: CIRR has a new webpage! Check out our Protecting Immigrant Rights page to view information on the rights of immigrants in the City of Chicago, access resources, and find opportunities to get involved in protecting our neighbors.
Attacks on Lawful Immigration
The Trump administration is continuing to take aim at lawful immigration, by targeting those who have used our legal system appropriately to access immigration benefits for which they are eligible.
In targeting programs like parole, they are creating a much larger undocumented population by targeting legal methods of immigration like:
- Terminating Temporary Parole Status and other parole programs
- Levying exorbitant fees to apply for immigration benefits
- Attempting to end birthright citizenship (though thankfully, the courts are currently preventing them from doing so).
Their justification for these attacks is being ‘tough on crime’, but there is no evidence of that being their goal. By and large, the majority of immigrants being targeted for detention and deportation have no criminal record.
DACA AND DALE
In addition to attacking lawful immigration, the administration is also going after protected statuses like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE).
While DACA is not technically an immigration status, it is a commitment from the federal government not to prioritize DACA recipients for detention or deportation. DACA has been in place for thirteen years, and is widely supported by the American people. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently been messaging to the media that DACA recipients should “self-deport.”
As a reminder, there is no such thing as self-deportation. Deportation is a formal legal process that must take place in front of and be decided by an immigration judge. There are many risks to choosing to leave the country voluntarily without going through the proper legal process, including losing the opportunity to apply for an immigration benefit you are eligible for, or being permanently barred from requesting a visa to return.prohibited from requesting as well as being
As of today, DACA is still in place, and its protections have not changed. If the administration wanted to change that, they would need to issue a new regulation.
In addition to DACA, Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE) was also overturned shortly after the inauguration. DALE protects undocumented workers who speak out on labor violations. If they were involved in a state or federal labor investigation, they could apply to USCIS for 4 years of deferred action from deportation. Shortly after the inauguration, the administration ended the program, and there is currently uncertainty on the status of applications that were submitted prior to the termination of the program.
Temporary Parole Status (TPS)
The administration continues to target TPS and other parole programs. There is currently ongoing litigation in the attempted termination for the following countries:
- Haiti: Valid through February 3, 2026
- Honduras: Valid through November 18, 2025
- Nepal: Valid through November 18, 2025
- Nicaragua: valid through November 18, 2025
TPS has expired for the following countries, but there is still pending litigation:
- Afghanistan: expired July 21, 2025
- Cameroon: expired August 4, 2025
- Venezuela 2023: expired, but ongoing litigation allows some status and active work permits.
TPS for the following countries is still valid for the time being:
- Venezuela 2021: valid until September 10, 2025
- South Sudan: valid until November 3, 2025
- Somalia: valid until March 17, 2026
- El Salvador: valid until September 9, 2026
- Syria: valid until September 30, 2026
- Ukraine: valid until October 19, 2026
It is worth saying again that these are legal immigration statuses (though not permanent legal statuses). In removing them, the administration is explicitly targeting people who came here and remain here legally, and taking away their legal status to be here.
Impacts of the Budget Bill on Immigrants
The impacts of the federal budget bill are already being felt by immigrants, as it contains the most significant reductions in immigrant eligibility for benefits since 1996.
Lawfully present immigrants who are eligible for Federal Medicaid and SNAP with status other than LPR will no longer be eligible for Medicaid starting in October 2026 and SNAP starting immediately. For more on the impact of SNAP benefit cuts on Illinois residents, read the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s analysis.
As we covered in our last briefing, the bill provides hundreds of billions in additional funding for immigration enforcement and detention. The bill also imposes exorbitant fees for immigration related applications (including fees for employment authorization and an unprecedented fee to apply for asylum), along with many other devastating impacts.
We recommend continuing to follow ICIRR, the Shriver Center, and the Legal Council for Health Justice for state updates and future webinars.
Good News
In a time of a lot of bad news on immigration, we could all use some good news! We’ve seen several wins on the immigration front in the past month, including:
Due Process Rights Reinforced
On August 1st, a federal judge blocked expedited removal for immigrants with parole status.
As a reminder, under expedited removal, people do not have an opportunity to be represented in court and have their case heard by a judge––which is a right to due process that everyone in the U.S. is afforded, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
In many cases, clients with parole cases were showing up to court only to have their cases dismissed. Following the dismissal of these cases, immigrants have been immediately arrested by ICE and sent far from their homes without access to their families or their legal representatives. This is a major victory for due process rights.
Sanctuary City Policies Upheld
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit alleging that sanctuary cities were thwarting federal efforts to enforce immigration laws.
Under the Welcoming City Ordinance, Chicago’s local law enforcement is not permitted to coordinate with federal law enforcement in conducting immigration enforcement. The ability of local governments to enact sanctuary laws is protected by the 10th amendment, which states:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Simply put: states have the right to determine the priorities of their own law enforcement officers. The Trump administration came after sanctuary city policies in Trump’s first term, and sanctuary cities were victorious in court. Those sanctuary city policies that were previously litigated and deemed lawful (including Chicago’s) will continue to be upheld.
Attempt to End Birthright Citizenship Blocked
Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, upholding a lower-court decision to block enforcement nationwide.
Call to Action: Get a Legal Screening!
Immigration attorneys strongly recommend getting an immigration screening and assessing your options! There are more threats on the horizon that makes getting a consultation even more important, including:
- Notices to Appear (NTA) are being issued for beneficiaries of I-130s, which is a petition for family members, which means that those submitting family-based petitions (particularly on behalf of those who are out of status) may need to exercise additional caution.
- The administration is also re-calendaring cases that were administratively closed cases––included the cases of some people who are now citizens.
- The administration issued a memo on Good Moral Character for Naturalization last week, which broadens USCIS’s discretion to deny naturalization for people who “do not have sufficient positive attributes,” even if there is no evidence of misconduct. The parameters are remarkably broad, including conduct that, while not unlawful, is “contrary to the average behavior of citizens in the jurisdiction where the [noncitizen] resides.”
It is incredibly important to seek a legal consultation with a licensed immigration attorney or Department of Justice accredited representative before submitting a petition, responding to a communication from an immigration court or USCIS, or considering leaving the United States.
Visit Illinoisimmigrationinfo.org to get connected with legal support.
As always: please continue speaking up for immigrant rights! Visit the CIRR Protecting Immigrant Rights page and Illinois Immigration Info to find out how you can get more involved.The next immigration briefing is on Tuesday, September 16th at 1pm. Register at bit.ly/CIRRBriefing!