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Immigration Debrief: March 2026

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On Tuesday, March 10th, the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a virtual Immigration Briefing with our community partners to cover the most recent updates in immigration.

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federal policy and legal landscape around immigration is changing rapidly, so any of the information below may soon be out of date.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/legal to get connected with legal support.

The administration continues to close off lawful immigration pathways, to the detriment of our country and communities. The travel ban has essentially closed off the country to the majority of the globe. USCIS has shifted from administering immigration benefits to dedicating its resources to fraud prevention and detection––leaving the many folks who are following the appropriate process for immigration in indefinite limbo. Delays and barriers to employment authorization are making it difficult for asylum seekers to work while their cases are pending. And the administration’s targeting of refugees is putting those who already went through hardship to successfully resettle in our communities at risk of detention.

Targeting Refugees

DHS is increasingly targeting refugees, not only ending refugee admissions, but also attacking refugees that have already resettled into our communities. 

DHS has issued a series of policy memos and practices attacking refugees:

  • November 2025: USCIS announced a policy requiring comprehensive review and reinterview of all refugees admitted under Biden––even though those refugees had already been comprehensively vetted.
  • December 2025: ICE internally rescinded the 2010 policy that prohibited detention of refugees solely on the basis that they had not adjusted their status to lawful permanent resident.
  • February 2026: DHS issued a policy memo confirming that if a refugee does not submit an application for lawful permanent residence after one year in the United States, they can be detained for an unspecified amount of time until DHS completes the inspection and examination––with no bond available.

The administration’s goal is to terminate refugee status for as many people as possible, and in so doing, they are intentionally and willfully putting people who have already undergone immense hardships to get here at risk of further trauma in the form of detention or deportation.

These efforts are almost certainly unlawful. Government agencies can only terminate refugee status for people who did not meet the definition of refugees when they were granted that status. In most cases, that would mean that those people committed fraud to gain refugee status, and the reality is that there is no evidence of widespread fraud in refugee status. That has not stopped the federal government from targeting and detaining refugees, as we saw in 

Operation PARRIS (Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) in Minnesota.

In Minnesota, immigration enforcement targeted refugees who were not yet lawful permanent residents, either because they had not yet filed an application, or because their application was still pending.

ICE agents conducted mass arrests and transferred adults and children to Texas. As of February 27th, litigation (UHA v. Bondi) has stopped mass arrests, and federal judges have ordered the release of refugees that were targeted in Minnesota.

While this is good news, immigration attorneys recommend that refugee families create emergency family plans in case they are detained, as a pending application is unfortunately not a guarantee against detention. 

Access to Bond

The administration also continues to attack access to bond for immigrants who are detained. 

  • July 2025: DHS issued a policy memo requiring mandatory detention, without eligibility for bond, for individuals who entered the United States without permission.
  • September 2025: Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) holds that immigration judges lack authority to grant bond to individuals who entered the United States without permission, no matter how long they have been in the United States.
  • December 2025–February 2026: A class action lawsuit was filed (Maldonado-Bautista v. DHS), and a district court judge ruled that class members nationwide are entitled to bond hearings. 
  • March 2026: 9th Circuit judge paused the District Court’s declaratory judgment.

This litigation is still ongoing!

Immigration Policy Updates

Asylum EADs

A proposed rule from DHS would modify the employment authorization (EAD) process for asylum applicants. This rule would:

  • Extend the waiting period to apply for EADs from 150 days to 365 days. 
  • Change EAD application processing time requirements.
  • Create pauses on new EAD applications when there are significant processing backlogs.
  • Add Stricter eligibility requirements. 

This rule could drastically delay access to EADs for asylum seekers, and would create unpredictability around EAD issuance––which hurts employers as well as asylum seekers.

This rule is open for public comment until April 24th! See the Calls to Action section below for a link to submit your public comment.

TPS Updates

Here are the latest updates to TPS:

  • Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua TPS: TPS was allowed to terminate as of February 2026.
  • Yemen TPS: Terminated effective May 4th.

Reminder: TPS changes happen often, so this information may be out of date after today! 

DACA

As of today, the administration has not proposed any new changes to the DACA program! Current DACA recipients can continue to renew their DACA status. While nothing has changed, and current DACA recipients can continue to renew their DACA, it is important to understand what the current state of DACA is and what can change in the future. 

Check out the resources below for DACA guidance, like when to renew:

There have also been reports of EAD processing delays for DACA recipients. There may be a variety of reasons for those delays, including increased vetting procedures. Attorneys recommend reaching out to an immigration attorney, as well as their Congressperson for help navigating USCIS.

Local Updates

City Legislative Updates

CIRR introduced several pieces of legislation at the last City Council meeting, including:

  • An order (Or2026-0023367) calling for comprehensive data on any and all interactions between city employees and federal agents regarding immigration enforcement from January 20th, 2025 to 30 days after the order’s passage. This order builds on our work from last year to give the public transparent information on how the city is interacting with federal immigration enforcement agents. 
  • An order (Or2026-0023360) calling for an analysis on which city contractors profit from federal immigration enforcement, so we can consider how to use city funds in a way that does not promote the cruel and unlawful activities of DHS.
  • An ordinance (O2026-0023359) that would amend the responsibilities of the powers and duties of the Executive Director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) to include reviewing the city’s systems for communicating emergency information to the public related to hazardous conditions created by federal immigration enforcement activities. 
  • An ordinance (O2026-0023361) that would provide towing relief for vehicles that were impacted by immigration enforcement. During Operation Midway Blitz, we heard from a number of neighbors who noted that the vehicles of those abducted were abandoned and subject to towing. This ordinance would ensure that no one is unnecessarily penalized from aggressive towing for having been detained.

Cook County State Attorney’s Office Updates

CCSAO released Federal Immigration Enforcement Action Response Protocol, with approval from IL Attorney General. The protocol will not proactively prosecute; instead, they will only prosecute if requested to by local law enforcement agencies. It also only considers prosecution if there is adequate evidence that there was an example of death, shooting, acts of violence, or use of force that may be a felony criminal act.

Many in the community see the protocol as too narrow in scope, and an abandonment of the State Attorney’s Office duty to exercise its full ability to proactively prosecute. Many are calling for a Special Prosecutor Appointment.

9 other District Attorneys will also “share strategies for pushing back against the lawless actions of federal forces in states and cities around the country.”

We will continue monitoring and share what we learn!

State Legislative Updates

State legislators are working on several pieces of legislation that are attempting to shore up access to food and healthcare for immigrants in our community: 

  • HB4831/SB3167: Food Assistance for Lawfully Present Immigrants Losing SNAP
  • HB4824/SB3462: Sustaining Health Coverage for Humanitarian Immigrants 

See the Calls to Action section below to sign on in support of both of these bills!

Good News!

At our last briefing, we spoke about the BIA rule that would erode due process by making deportation order appeals discretionary, instead of mandatory. Thankfully, a federal court blocked key portions of the rule!

As of today, the IRS is prohibited by court order from sharing taxpayer data with immigration enforcement, and DHS is prohibited from using any data it previously received. Find out more at the NILC Data Privacy and Federal Taxes for Immigrant Taxpayers.

Calls to Action

There are a lot of ways to get involved to support our immigrant and refugee communities! There are several opportunities this month to make your voice heard by your city and federal representatives:

For more on how you can support immigrants and refugees in our communities, visit the CIRR Protecting Immigrant Rights page and Illinois Immigration Info to find out how you can get more involved.

We also have a number of trainings and workshops coming up for both immigrants and members of the community who want to learn how to support immigrants in their community:

  • Empoderados y Protegidos: un Taller para Empresarios Inmigrantes: Tuesday, March 31st, 9:30–11:30AM
  • Virtual Train the Trainer: Short-term Guardianship
    • Wednesday, April 15th, 12–1PM (English) 
    • Friday, April 17th 12–1PM (Spanish)
    • Register: bit.ly/CIRRTrainer
  • Emergency Family Planning: April 7th, 6–7PM
  • Virtual Travel Ban Workshop: Thursday, April 16th, 6–7pm

Learn more about these and other upcoming events at 40thward.org/CIRREvents!

The next immigration briefing will be on Tuesday, April 14th at 1pm! Register at bit.ly/CIRRBriefing.

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