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Immigration Debrief: September 2026

Chicago Shouldn't Pay for ICE's Airline on a dark blue backgrond

On Tuesday, September 8th, 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federal policy and legal landscape around immigration is changing rapidly, so any of the information below may soon be out of date.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.

As we approach the one-year mark of Midway Blitz, we continue to see blatant violations of due process at every stage of the immigration process. Here are some of the main trends we’ve seen in the past month:

  • Increase in Detentions of Children: immigrant children with pending and approved applications with USCIS are being given orders of removal at a greater frequency this year. Illinois Elected Officials held a press conference last week to raise the alarm about due process violations for children at Chicago Immigration Court. An Illinois immigration judge ordered the removal of 9 children at a hearing last week. These children had been found by state court to have been abused, abandoned, or neglected in their home country, and they had pending applications for Special Juvenile Status, which is designed to protect children from being deported back into dangerous conditions.
  • Mandatory Electronic Filing: USCIS is now requiring the electronic filling of forms, which is a huge shift. Previously, folks could apply either online or by mail. Now, clients who do not have access to computers or online accounts––which many immigration clients do not––no longer have the option to apply by mail. This is yet another obstacle put in place to prevent people from applying to relief they are eligible for.

We encourage members of the community to keep contacting your Congressional representatives about these due process violations! If you are vulnerable to immigration enforcement, consult with an attorney or accredited representative.

Federal Policy Updates

Public Charge

Effective September 18th, there will be a new public charge police in place.

As a reminder, public charge is part of the process when someone applies for a green card or a visa to enter the United States. During this process, a government officer looks at whether the person is likely to primarily depend on the government for support in the future, as a reason to deny them immigration benefits. In the past, this has been used to deny visas to Jewish people fleeing the Holocaust, people with disabilities, and more.

  • The public charge rule applies to:
    • Anyone applying for a green card through a family-based pathway;
    • Anyone with an employment-based green card
    • Anyone applying for a visa or admission from abroad,
    • Green card holder who leave the country for more than 6 consecutive months
  • The public charge rule DOES NOT apply to:
    • U.S. citizens 
    • Green card holders
    • Anyone getting their green cards based on asylum, refugee status, U-Visa, T-Visa, SIJS, etc.
    • Anyone applying for naturalization, DACA renewals, TPS, etc.

For a longer list of exempt statuses see this link, but the bottom line is that thankfully, most immigrants are not subject to the public charge test.

Traditionally, the public charge test considered whether applicants used financial assistance benefits in the past, and only included two types of assistance: cash assistance from the government (such as TANF or SSI) and long-term institutionalization paid for by the government (such as nursing home care paid for by Medicaid). They were also required to consider factors like age, health, income and resources, education, and work history before making a determination.

However, in the updated 2026 Final Public Charge Rule, immigration officials will be allowed to count a much broader set of circumstances against potential applicants, including:

  • Any type of means-tested public benefit against an applicant––not just cash assistance or long-term institutionalization––which could include benefits like SNAP or Medicaid, though the guidance but does not name any specific benefit programs;
    • *Enrollment in programs prior to 9/18/2026 should not be counted
  • The use of benefits by the applicant’s dependent family members, as proof of their financial status 

The guidance removes regulatory guardrails, and will likely lead to even more confusion, inconsistencies in adjudications, and an overall chilling effect on applications for immigration benefits.

You can check out the Public Charge Regulation Toolkit for Protecting Immigrant Families to learn more, or email pifillinois@legalcouncil.org with questions about public charge and/or to get on the PIF-IL mailing list.

Immigration Visa Processing

The public charge bar is also impacting the consular process, which roughly 50% of all lawful permanent residents in the US have had to undergo.

Here in the US, visa petitions are by and large handled by USCIS. But consular processing is managed by the Department of State, and they make decisions on visas and residencies through consular processing.

But even though the USCIS and the State Department are different entities––the USCIS is responsible for petitions in the U.S., and the State Department handles petitions from abroad–– it appears that the State Department is now taking public charge guidance into account when they are making decisions. The State Department has been cancelling immigrant visa interviews all over the world, and there is a freeze on these interviews until further notice, while State Department officers are trained on the updated Public Charge guidance.

Thankfully, we did get some good news regarding this freeze earlier this month: the Catholic Legal Immigration Network sued the State Department challenging the pause on immigration processing for citizens of 75 countries based on baseless Public Charge concerns, claiming that the administration had no basis in evidence to claim people from those countries were more likely to become public charges.

On August 22nd the US district Court for the Southern District of New York found that this 75 country visa issuance suspension was illegal and discriminatory, and vacated the ban. The separate 39-country security-based visa ban unfortunately also remains in effect.

DACA and Advance Parole

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently made a decision that anyone who leaves the U.S. with Advanced Parole that has over 180 days of unlawful presence will now trigger 3-10 year bars on admissibility. 

Before this decision, departing on Advanced Parole did not trigger admissibility, as long as the person returned on time with Advanced Parole. In 2012, a decision was issued clarifying that re-entering the US on Advance Parole does not count as a formal “departure” for immigration purposes. That represented an opportunity for many immigrants who have been in the country without lawful status for longer than 180 days, like DACA recipients. If advance parole didn’t trigger inadmissibility, those eligible for advanced parole might have the opportunity to obtain lawful admission, by being inspected and admitted at the border. Lawful admission is one of the biggest barriers to achieving lawful status, so this decision made adjustment of status a possibility for those who originally entered without inspection (many of whom entered as children, and had no choice in that decision). 

As a reminder, advanced parole isn’t open to everyone. You have to be eligible in order for it to be granted. Some examples of eligibility include an emergency abroad while your residency petition is pending, (e.g. a close relative dying). But this was still a lifeline for those with no other path to gaining lawful status––particularly for DACA recipients who, if not for that unlawful entry when they were children, would likely be eligible to have an immediate relative petition on their behalf.

As of August 13th, leaving and re-entering the US on Advance Parole is no longer an option for those with over 180 days of unlawful presence (which includes basically all DACA recipients). Anyone who took a trip outside the country on Advanced Parole before this decision should not be affected. Moving forward, departing on Advance Parole is not advised for anyone with significant unlawful presence, including DACA recipients.

In other DACA news: initial applications for DACA status are still not being processed, and we continue to see delays, and we continue to see delays in processing renewals and work permits.

Temporary Protected Status

We continue to see TPS terminations, as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump administration to proceed with its termination of Syrian and Haitian TPS. 

Ethiopia is the latest country affected by these terminations: TPS for Ethiopians has ended as of August 18, 2026. TPS has now been terminated in thirteen countries, including:

  • Afghanistan 
  • Burma
  • Cameroon
  • Ethiopia
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Nepal
  • Nicaragua
  • Somalia 
  • South Sudan 
  • Syria
  • Venezuela 
  • Yemen

TPS is currently still valid in the following countries as of today, September 9th 2026:

  • El Salvador TPS current through September 9, 2026. Automatic extensions are valid.
  • Lebanon TPS is current through November 27, 2026
  • Sudan TPS is current through October 19, 2026
  • Ukraine TPS is current through October 18, 2026

Those without status or who will soon lose status are encouraged to speak to a trusted immigration attorney to discuss options. 

Good News!

On August 21st, a federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s ban on issuing immigrant visas to people from 75 countries. 

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!

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, October 13th at 1pm! Register at bit.ly/CIRRBriefing.

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