Estimated: 6 minute readPosted on

December Immigration Briefing

graphic, details at bottom of post

On Tuesday, December 10th, the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a virtual Immigration Briefing with our community partners. The briefing covered our learnings from the first year under the Trump administration, and updates on federal litigation and USCIS policy changes.

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federal policy and legal landscape around immigration is changing rapidly, so any of the information below may soon be out of date.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.

2025 in Review

In January 2025, President Trump was sworn into his 2nd term on a promise to conduct a campaign of mass deportation, family separation, travel bans, expansion of the border wall, ending birthright citizenship, and more. 

He has more than lived up to his word in his campaign of terror on our immigrant communities. The number of immigrants in detention has grown to its highest level in history, the vast majority of whom have committed no crime. These numbers are projected to grow, as President Trump and members of Congress awarded $75 billion to fund this ongoing campaign of terror on our communities. 

We’ve seen this first hand in Chicago, as we have witnessed reckless and unconstitutional immigration enforcement, including a raid on a Southside apartment building against citizens and non-citizens alike, including children who were separated from their parents, the killing of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, the tear-gassing of our neighborhoods, and the indiscriminate abduction of landscapers, street vendors, construction workers, daycare teachers, and other neighbors who play an invaluable and irreplaceable role in our communities.

At the same time, the Trump administration has chipped away at legal immigration pathways, by indiscriminately ending temporary protected status, and leaving thousands without status, limiting asylum access, and most recently, pausing the cases of anyone from the 19 countries that they have listed in their travel bans. 

But there are also reasons to be hopeful. Chicago has been a case study for the idea that the most effective resistance begins at the level of our streets and neighborhoods. Neighbors have turned up by the hundreds to support and protect their neighbors by organizing Know Your Rights trainings and canvasses, conducting street patrols to warn neighbors of ICE activity in the area, running errands for neighbors who are afraid to leave their homes. Organizations worked together to staff the ICIRR hotline, to dispatch information to rapid response networks, and to create resources for immigrants who need support. The pushback from everyday Chicagoans has been so effective that it is now being used as a model by other cities. 

We are deeply proud to be part of the work of standing up for the rights of immigrants in our community, and we look forward to working together to respond even more effectively next year, as we anticipate a continued ramp up in immigration enforcement. In the meantime, here are some of the most recent updates on immigration from the past month.

Immigration Policy Updates

Pause on Cases from Travel Ban Countries

This past month, the administration announced a series of extreme and restrictive measures, including a pause on any immigration cases from countries that are listed in the travel ban.

Nationals of countries including Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, are now facing a reexamination of any benefits they have been approved for since January 2021. Refugees are similarly facing an arduous reinterview process if they arrived during the Biden administration. This has resulted in people at the brink of receiving their citizenship having their naturalization ceremonies cancelled, immigrants married to U.S. citizens having their green card applications put on hold, and those with pending applications being put on indefinite hold. 

Given the likely increase in immigration enforcement in spring, these unnecessary and inhumane delays put people who have taken all the legal steps to gain immigration status at risk of detainment and deportation.

End of Automatic Renewal of Employment Authorization Documents

The Trump administration is also making it more difficult for those with legal work permits, by reducing the validity of Employment Authorization Documents from 5 years to 18 months. The current five-year period was designed to avoid impacting the workforce, and has put people in a position where they have to cease working while they wait for their renewal to be processed.

. 

Given the massive backlogs at USCIS’s backlogs, it is likely that people will lose their authorization to work while waiting for renewal. As a result, we expect more families to have a harder time making ends meet, and more disruptions to the small businesses that depend on these workers.

Enforcement at USCIS

We have also heard reports of arrests at USCIS interviews, though they are not yet widespread. These arrests have so far happened mostly in California, and have targeted people doing 1-485 visa interviews, but have overstayed their visas. People who are out of status are more at risk, but there is a fear that the practice may expand.

Immigration attorneys recommend seeking legal assistance, even if you don’t believe you have a complicated case. They also recommend that people who may be at risk make an emergency plan in the event they are detained.

TPS Updates

The Trump administration has also terminated more Temporary Protected Statuses (TPS), including:

  • Syria TPS was terminated on November 21st, 2025, but was blocked pending litigation, so TPS remains in place until further notice. The removal of this status would impact over 6,000 Syrians.
  • Haiti TPS is scheduled to be terminated February 3rd, 2026, pending litigation, which would impact an astonishing 330K
  • Burma/Myanmar is scheduled to be terminated on January 26th, 2026.

If you are a recipient of TPS, immigration attorneys strongly recommend getting screened for other forms of immigration relief..

Federal Litigation Updates

Taxpayer Information Sharing

A federal judge blocked the IRS from sharing taxpayer information with DHS/ICE, after determining that it was unlawful, violating provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.”.

Bond Hearings

This case challenges ICE’s new policy regarding who is eligible for seeking a bond hearing. This guidance has subjected many people to mandatory detention, breaking with legal precedent. In late November, a judge did grant partial summary judgment for the four petitioners, ordering that they have access to 

This past month, a federal judge ruled that the government’s interpretation of the law was wrong and that detainees are entitled to bond hearings. She also certified a nationwide class of noncitizens, which requires the Trump administration to provide bond hearings to those who are currently in mandatory detention.

Birthright Citizenship

The Birthright Citizenship case is now headed for the Supreme Court in spring 2026. For now, the Constitutional right to citizenship for anyone born in America remains, but the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case next year.

This past month, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on the Court Order for ICE to release hundreds of Chicagoans who had been arrested without warrants or probable cause. The 7th Circuit heard oral arguments last Wednesday, and we are currently awaiting their decision. In the meantime, those who were arrested without warrants or probable cause have been held in unsanitary, inhumane detention centers, hundreds of whom have signed stipulated removal orders or taken the option to voluntarily depart rather than continue to suffer these conditions.

Good News

HB 1312—which restricts courthouse arrests and offers legal recourse for people whose rights may have been violated by federal agents—was signed into law by Governor Pritzker this morning!

In addition, Senator Durbin reintroduced the Dream Act, which would allow noncitizens without legal status who were brought to the United States as children—aka, Dreamers—to earn legal permanent residence if they meet certain educational, military service, or work requirements.. These young people, known as Dreamers, have lived in America since they were children, built their lives here, and are American in every way except for their immigration status. However, under current law there is often no chance for them to ever become citizens and fulfill their potential.

Calls to Action

First, a special call to action: we as a Committee would love your feedback! Let us know what you’d like to see in immigration briefings next year by taking our survey.

Here are some other ways you can get involved to help protect our neighbors:

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 will be in 2026! We will announce the first 2026 briefing date in January.

Share this post:

Share on LinkedIn