On Tuesday, September 16th, the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a virtual Immigration Briefing with some of our community partners. The briefing covered the increase in ICE enforcement we’ve seen in Chicago, attacks on lawful immigration, federal litigation updates, and an update on the June 4th mass detention in Chicago.
As always, none of the below should be considered legal advice! The federal policy and legal landscape around immigration is changing rapidly, so any of the information below may soon be out of date. If you’re concerned that any of these updates may impact you, we recommend getting an immigration screening from an attorney. Visit Illinoisimmigrationinfo.org to get connected with legal support.
June 4th Update
Body-worn camera footage from the June 4th mass detention at 2245 S. Michigan was released this week on the Chicago Police Department website. The Committee will be reviewing and providing analysis, and we encourage the public to do the same!
For more, read Chair Vasquez’s updated statement.
Increase in Immigration Enforcement
The Trump administration has prioritized immigration enforcement above all other law enforcement, leading to a radical expansion in enforcement and mandatory detention. For more, we recommend checking out WBEZ’s explainer on what immigration enforcement looks like in Chicago, and the Chicago Sun Times’s map of ICE sightings.
In Chicago and Illinois, we’re fighting this radical expansion in a number of ways:
The Castañon Nava Consent Decree limits ICE from conducting vehicle stops or warrantless or collateral arrests. The National Immigrant Justice Center has submitted a request for extension. If extended, attorneys may be able to seek release from detention for those who were arrested without a warrant. While the NIJC waits on a judge to decide whether to grant the request, they are working on identifying potential violations, including the killing of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez.
As a reminder, in Chicago, ICE has no basis for making traffic stops. They cannot do so without cooperating with local law enforcement, which they are not permitted to do in Illinois. If you witness what appears to be a warrantless arrest, report it to the ICIRR Family Support Hotline at 855-435-7693.
National Guard Deployment
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits active-duty U.S. military troops from being used for domestic law enforcement. However there are exceptions: the president can federalize the National Guard and deploy them to a state if they are:
- Suppressing an insurrection, if assistance is requested by the governor or state legislature;
- Enforcing federal laws or suppress a rebellion against U.S. authority if federal courts are not functioning;
- Suppressing any insurrection or violence that interferes with the execution of state or federal law that deprives a class of people of constitutional rights and state authorities are unwilling or unable to enforce those rights, or opposes or obstructs the execution of, or impedes the course of justice under, federal law. It has not previously been used for immigration enforcement.
None of these are the case in Illinois, and Governor Pritzker has been clear that Illinois neither requires nor wants the National Guard deployed. In Los Angeles, a federal judge ruled that President Trump’s use of the National Guard in LA was a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, though the administration is expected to appeal the decision.
Federal Litigation Updates
Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo
In Los Angeles, ICE agents were found to be using racial profiling to conduct arrests. To meet their enforcement quota of 3000 arrests a day, they were directed to target sites like bus stops and job sites with significant numbers of immigrants, e.g. Home Depots, farms, and construction sites, to conduct raids. Agents targeted and detained residents based on how they looked, the language they spoke, and where they worked.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued a temporary ruling that reversed the temporary restraining order that prohibited the racial profiling tactics used in LA. While the order itself did not include the reasoning of the courts––as is usually the case with temporary rulings––in his concurring opinion Justice Brett Kavanaugh, stated that agents should be allowed to use these tactics as long as they were not the “only” basis for enforcement.
Please note that this decision is limited in scope and is temporary! There is still ongoing litigation.
Firing of Immigration Judges and Hiring of Temporary Immigration Judges without Experiences
The Trump administration has fired 107 immigration judges in the past few months, seemingly targeting them for speaking out on their work and following established procedures. This past month, they released a final rule that relaxes the requirements to be a temporary immigration judge. Previously, judges had to have judicial experience immigration; the Department of Justice (DOJ) can choose any attorney to serve as an immigration judge, including those with no immigration experience at all. This past month, President Trump appointed hundreds of military lawyers to serve as immigration judges.
USCIS enforcement powers
USCIS has created its own law enforcement branch of “special agents” who will have the authority to enforce immigration law, including to carry firearms, investigate, arrest and prosecute. This is a significant change: Congress purposely created departments with separate functions of adjudication and enforcement––with USCIS’s role being to review immigration cases––but those roles have now been merged. This is likely to both delay lawful immigration timelines, as more capacity is shifted to enforcement. It may also disincentivize people from seeking lawful status even if they are eligible, for fear of being targeted for enforcement.
Attacks on Lawful Immigration
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Updates
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, including:
- Venezuela 2021 TPS designation set to expire November 7, 2025.
- TPS for those who have 2021 or 2023 status that registered by 9/10/2025, OR have a pending re-registration application, is extended until October 2, 2026
- Haiti: Extended until February 3, 2026
- Afghanistan: TPS ended in July 2025
Litigation continues on all of these items, so this information may change in future weeks and months.
USCIS Policy Changes for Citizenship
The USCIS has also issued a number of policy changes designed to make the citizenship process more difficult, including:
- Policy Memorandum requiring USCIS to conduct an assessment of someone applying for citizenship on their moral character and “adherence to social norms.” The policy memo does not specify what it means by social norms or good moral character, which opens up the possibility that they will discriminate against certain identities.
- Policy Memorandum PM-602-0189, resuming personal or “neighborhood” investigations for people applying for citizenship. Previously, USCIS had largely waived this requirement by replacing it with biometric checks and criminal history checks. However, USCIS will no longer automatically waive neighborhood investigations and may interview neighbors of the applicant on a case-by-case basis. This runs the risk of opening applicants’ cases to those who may discriminate based on their status. Attorneys are working with applicants to submit letters of support from neighbors to get ahead of this issue.
- Policy Alert PA-2025-16, requiring UCSIC to investigate applicants’ social media for language that supports “anti-American” or antisemitic views. The policy does not specify what that covers, but may be meant to target those who have expressed first amendment-protected views or opinions on the government’s actions.
Good News
While this news can feel overwhelming, the good news is that the community is fighting back, and succeeding. Immigration attorneys and organizations have pursued litigation against the federal government and succeeded in many cases, including:
- Protecting Guatemalan migrant children in government custody from deportation: the federal government falsely claimed parents had requested the children’s return, but no evidence was found supporting that claim, so their attempt was blocked.
- Protecting access to federal benefits: a district judge has blocked attempts to make benefits like Head Start unavailable to undocumented immigrants.
In addition, community activism has been effective in observing and reporting potential violations and connecting families with information about their loved ones who have been detained. If you want to know how to get involved, see below!
Calls to Action
- Share Know Your Rights information with your local community. Download flyers and information icirr.org/fsn, or sign up to get trained on how to give Know Your Rights presentations in your community.
- Get involved in Rapid Response or Court Watch: reach out to ftsao@icirr.org to get connected!
- Follow @ICIRR to join rallies and marches in support of immigrant rights
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, October 21st at 1pm. Register at bit.ly/CIRRBriefing!