On Tuesday, July 14th, 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federal policy and legal landscape around immigration is changing rapidly, so any of the information below may soon be out of date.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.
Immigration Enforcement Updates
This past week, ICE has claimed two more lives: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo of Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero of Biddeford, Maine, both of whom were shot and killed by ICE agents. We are devastated for the families and communities of Lorenzo and Joan, and outraged that ICE continues to kill our neighbors without any meaningful accountability.
ICE activity has increased in Chicago as well in the past several months. In May, detentions were nearly doubled from April, and those numbers have continued to increase in June and July. While their tactics are more discreet, agents are continuing to violate the law by conducting warrantless arrests at court, to name just one example.
While true accountability may feel frustratingly far away, we are laying the groundwork for eventual justice to be served in the future by continuing to document these violations, preserve the evidence, support families that are affected, and demand accountability from all levels of government.
SCOTUS Decisions
Birthright Citizenship
The Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship in a decision last month. While this is a victory, it is a complicated one because this result never should have been in question. That the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to all people born in the United States has been settled and repeatedly confirmed through over 125 years of case law. Every lower court that considered this executive order found it unconstitutional. The Supreme Court should never have considered this case in the first place.
What is more concerning is that only five justices agreed that the initial Executive Order was unlawful and a violation of the Constitution. The fact that it was that close is truly chilling, and a demonstration of how much work we have to do to reinforce the structures of our democracy.
TPS
On June 25th, SCOTUS issued a decision on TPS for Haiti and Syria to allow the Trump administration to proceed with TPS terminations with virtually no restraints. Despite the Trump administration’s repeated vile and racist language about Haitians, they determined that the administration’s termination of Haitian TPS was “race-neutral.”
As of today, the expiration date for work permits related to Haitian and Syrian TPS will be July 24th, 2026. This decision impacts a staggering 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. It is a devastating blow not only to these communities, but to the approximately 1.3 million people living and working in this country under TPS.
Sadly, this decision is likely to impact other TPS cases that are under pending litigation, including Burma, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Yemen. It’s important to note that the average TPS holder has lived in the US for over 20 years. If these terminations are also allowed to continue, we will likely witness the largest de-documentation attempt in U.S. history.
It bears repeating: the Trump administration is not just targeting people who are undocumented. It is repeatedly targeting lawful immigration and trying to take away legal immigration status from groups of people—many of whom have lived and worked here for decades, as the average TPS holder has lived in the U.S. for over twenty years—to further its campaign of mass detention and deportation.
Attorneys recommend that those whose TPS is impacted by this decision consult with an immigration attorney to determine whether they may be eligible for other relief.
Border Metering
The Supreme Court also issued a decision on CBP’s “metering” policy, which directs border officials to turn away asylum seekers at ports of entry. The plaintiffs in this case argued that turning people away at the thresholds of the border violated both the Immigration and Nationality Act and international law, which requires that immigration officers inspect and process asylum claims.
However, the Supreme Court decided that asylum seekers at ports of entry along the US- Mexico border could be turned away, as they have not officially “arrived in the United States” and have no statutory or legal right to asylum processing or immigration inspection until they physically cross the border.
It is worth noting that Congress mandated that immigration officers inspect and process asylum seekers after the U.S. failed to admit asylum seekers fleeing the Nazis in World War II, thus condemning them to death. This decision will undoubtedly lead to more deaths, either by turning people back to the life-threatening dangers they were fleeing or by directing them to unlawful border crossings under much more dangerous conditions.
Green Card Holders with Pending Criminal Charges
The Supreme Court also issued a decision on Blanche v. Lau, a case about what protections green card holders receive when they come home to the United States after traveling abroad.
Congress gives lawful permanent residents (LPRs) special protections when they travel because they have already gone through the application and vetting process to obtain their green card. When traveling, legal permanent residents cannot be subjected to the same requirements as those who are applying for admission to the U.S., because they have already been admitted.
However, the Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that border agents can essentially treat lawful permanent residents seeking admission. This gives CBP discretion to identify any potential criminal or related inadmissibility issue—which in the past, green card holders were protected from—and deny them entry. In practice, this means that CBP can now subject green card holders returning from travel abroad to additional inspection or removal based on criminal charges, whether or not those charges have been proven. This is another example of the administration’s intent to violate due process.
Immigration attorneys recommend that green card holders speak with immigration practitioners before traveling internationally to determine whether there may be any evidence of pending charges or interactions with law enforcement that may make them vulnerable.
Other Federal Court Updates
A recent decision by a federal court lifted the injunction that blocked the Trump Administration’s 2025 expansion of expedited removal.
Expedited removal allows immigration officers to deport individuals without a hearing before an immigration judge and was originally limited to the area near the US-Mexico border. Those most at risk are people who have not been admitted or paroled into the US, and who have not been continuously present in the U.S. for at least two years. The lawsuit challenging the due process violations of this expansion remains ongoing, but in the meantime, the administration may continue to apply expedited removal nationwide.
City Updates
On Friday, July 17th, the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights will host a hearing to discuss the following items:
- DHS misconduct in Chicago: Under Mayoral Executive Order XXXXX, CPD is responsible for investigating any potential violations of the law by DHS or other federal agents. However, it is unclear whether this executive order is being operationalized and followed by CPD. At the hearing, we will question CPD and City officials on the process for investigating complaints against DHS, and determine who is responsible for investigating and submitting evidence to the State’s Attorney’s Office
- CPD Enforcement of Street Vendor Violations: Recent CPD enforcement of street vendors has resulted in at least 1 deportation by DHS. We will question City officials to determine who is giving the direction for CPD to arrest and ticket, and how they can protect street vendors from immigration enforcement.
- Proposed Sale of Parking Meters to Stonepeak: Mayor Johnson intends to sell the Chicago Parking Meters to Stonepeak Partners, who own Omni Air International, which contracts with ICE for their inhumane deportation flights. City council must vote on this deal, so we will discuss the financial interest Stonepeak holds in the deportation machine and hear from a journalist who has investigated Omni’s deportation flights.
Good News!
- On June 25th, Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced the closure of the‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention center, which has become infamous for its inhumane conditions. While we are grateful that it has been closed, this is not fully a win: immigrants detained there were transferred to different detention centers without their families being notified.
- On July 2nd, a federal court ruled that people facing immigration detention have the right to meaningful due process protections and must be afforded a bond hearing within 90 days. That means the government can no longer detain people for a prolonged period without any justification. This decision will provide crucial due process protections for immigrants being held in states that have some of the largest detention center populations in the country, and in centers that have reported human rights abuses.
Calls to Action
There are several opportunities this month to make your voice heard by your city and federal representatives, and to support immigrants and refugees in our city!
- Stop additional funding for mass detention and deportation
- Tell your Alder: Chicago shouldn’t pay for ICE’s airline
- See this link: bit.ly/m/chirejectsstonepeak for:
- Recorded webinar on Omni Air International: youtube.com/watch?v=4L1UJJHOTAk
- Outreach toolkit: bit.ly/chicagorejectstonepeak
- Contact your Alderperson: coolsticker.xyz/z/dont-sell-our-parking-to-ICE
- Volunteer for Court Accompaniment
- ICE has been active outside courthouses, in defiance of Illinois State law. If you’d like to volunteer to accompany individuals and families to their court appearances, submit a volunteer interest form with the Sanctuary Working Group.
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.
The next immigration briefing will be on Tuesday, August 11th at 1pm! Register at bit.ly/CIRRBriefing. Illinois Immigration Info to find out how you can get more involved.