DEVELOPMENTS IN IMMIGRATION POLICY THIS WEEK
Here, we summarize some of the most important recent developments in immigration policy on the federal, legal, state, and local levels.
Federal
Diversity Visa Lottery Paused Following University Shootings
On December 18, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered a pause of the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program following the recent shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She linked the suspension to the alleged shooter, a Portuguese national who entered through the diversity visa lottery. DHS instructed consular posts and adjudicating agencies to halt decisions on new DV‑1 immigrant visas while conducting a security review of the program. The program provides up to 50,000 green cards annually to immigrants from countries with low rates of U.S. immigration.
The DV program was created by Congress in 1990 to diversify lawful immigration flows and operates within the broader quota system that limits each country to seven percent of annual green cards. Approximately 20 million people applied for the 2025 DV lottery, and Portuguese citizens won only 38 slots. Those selected may apply for a green card but must undergo vetting to be admitted to the United States. President Trump and some congressional Republicans have long called for eliminating the program entirely.
Trump Further Expands Travel Ban to 39 Countries
President Trump issued a proclamation on December 16 that further expands his administration’s travel ban, restricting entry from a total of 39 countries. The order builds on prior iterations of the travel ban by suspending or limiting visa issuance for additional categories of travelers, including many family and employment-based applicants, and by tightening vetting requirements for countries that the administration says have inadequate information‑sharing or security protocols. A White House fact sheet frames the expansion as a response to national security and public safety risks following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., while advocates note that many of the newly listed countries have no clear connection to that incident. Refugee and faith‑based organizations, including Global Refuge, have condemned the move as part of a broader pattern of restrictions that will separate families, block refugee admissions, and sharply curtail mobility for people from already marginalized regions.
The rollout comes amid a broader security framing that includes a separate executive order issued on December 15 that treats fentanyl trafficking as a weapons of mass destruction threat and directs additional sanctions and visa restrictions. At the same time, the State Department has further updated and expanded the list of countries whose nationals can be required to post substantial visa bonds as a condition of receiving certain temporary visas, adding a significant financial hurdle for some travelers.
Border Patrol Adjusts Raids Strategy Amid Political Pressure
Amid increasingly negative polling on immigration enforcement tactics, the Trump administration is adjusting its strategy. A recent AP-NORC poll shows that President Trump’s approval on immigration has fallen from 49% in March to 38% in December. Sources from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed on December 12 that Border Patrol teams under Commander Gregory Bovino are changing their tactics. Agents will now "be narrowing their focus to specific targets, such as illegal immigrants convicted of heinous crimes," rather than "sweeping raids like those that have taken place at locations including Home Depot." Such activities, which have taken place in cities across the U.S., including Chicago and Los Angeles, have sparked widespread outrage as images are released depicting masked border patrol agents arresting people in public. Ongoing operations, such as ‘Catahoula Crunch’ in New Orleans are expected to continue.
DHS Ends Key Family Reunification Programs and TPS for Ethiopia
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is terminating multiple family reunification parole programs, significantly narrowing lawful pathways for affected families. DHS issued an alert on December 12 ending family reunification parole processes for nationals and their relatives from Cuba, Haiti, and several other countries, claiming it was "ending the abuse of the humanitarian parole process," which had allowed certain beneficiaries of approved immigrant visa petitions to enter and wait in the United States with their families while visas became available. The termination will eliminate family reunification programs that have served as a key legal channel for family-based migration.
Separately, DHS published a rule on December 15 formally ending the designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The change will strip protection from thousands of Ethiopians who have been allowed to live and work in the United States because of ongoing armed conflict and humanitarian crises in their home country. Advocates in states like Colorado report that Ethiopian communities are "panicking" as they confront the loss of work authorization and protection from deportation, with many facing imminent deadlines to either depart, try to shift to another status, or fall into undocumented status.
ICE Uses TSA Passenger Data in Immigration Enforcement Operations
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger data to identify and detain people for deportation at airports since at least December 2025, with the practice detailed in reporting published on December 12. TSA has shared travelers’ names, dates of birth, photographs, and flight details with ICE, allowing immigration agents to flag individuals with existing removal orders or other targets and meet them at checkpoints, gates, or arrival areas for arrest. The effort goes beyond traditional security watchlist screening and has raised alarms among civil liberties advocates and some members of Congress who say it effectively turns routine air travel into a venue for immigration enforcement without clear public notice or safeguards.
In San Diego, travelers and local advocates began publicly voicing concerns in mid-December after learning that information collected for aviation security was being repurposed for deportation operations, including when families traveled for holidays or emergencies. TSA has said that sharing information with other federal agencies can be permitted for law enforcement purposes, but critics argue that using security screening data to advance the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda undermines trust in airport security processes and may disproportionately affect immigrant communities who already face heightened surveillance. Privacy and immigrant rights organizations are now pressing for clarification about what data has been shared since the program began, under what legal authority, and what limits, if any, apply to ICE’s use of passenger information in civil immigration enforcement.
Legal
Kilmar Abrego García Released from ICE Custody, Legal Fight Continues
Kilmar Abrego García, a construction worker and father of three U.S. citizen children, was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on December 11 after months of public outcry and litigation over his detention and prior wrongful deportation. His case drew national attention after he was erroneously deported to El Salvador and imprisoned at the CECOT megaprison. The Trump administration later admitted his removal was an "administrative error," even as it pursued a federal human smuggling indictment that his lawyers say was filed vindictively in response to his civil suit. Following his release from a Maryland detention facility, Abrego García spoke about the toll of prolonged separation from his family and stressed that "this is not just about me" but about other immigrants facing similar injustices.
One day after his release, a federal judge in Maryland issued an order barring ICE from rearresting Abrego García at future check-ins while his legal challenges proceed, sharply criticizing the government for holding him "without lawful authority" and for "affirmatively" misleading the court about third country options. In a December 15 filing, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that he can still be detained under separate statutory authority and, if he disagrees, can seek release through a bond hearing, even though the administration’s own July policy generally eliminates bond eligibility for many people in ICE detention and directs that they be held for the duration of their proceedings. This tension between DOJ’s position in his case and the broader no bond policy underscores advocates’ concerns about prolonged and potentially retaliatory immigration detention, as Abrego García and his legal team focus on securing permanent protection and accountability for the wrongful deportation that uprooted him from his family.
Federal Judge Blocks Limits on Congressional Visits to ICE Facilities
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s limits on congressional visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities on December 17, restoring broader access for members of Congress while litigation over the policy continues. The access rules imposed by the Department of Homeland Security in late June 2025, following a contentious visit to Newark’s Delaney Hall facility, required lawmakers to give seven days’ notice before entering an ICE facility and added other logistical constraints, which the court found effectively prevented members from observing real-time conditions in facilities. In the ruling, the judge rejected the Justice Department’s request to apply the decision only to the dozen House Democrats who sued, and instead struck down the policy for all members of Congress, explaining that fully invalidating an unlawful agency rule is the usual approach in the D.C. Circuit.
The decision follows months of escalating tension between the administration and members of Congress over oversight of detention conditions, including the June 2025 clash at Delaney Hall that led to criminal charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver after lawmakers intervened during an ICE encounter with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. The ruling reinforces Congress’s statutory right to inspect federal detention facilities promptly and in person, at a time when lawmakers in both parties have raised concerns about ICE’s enforcement activities away from detention centers as well, including vehicle stops and other encounters in communities, such as an incident in Minnesota earlier this month in which Rep. Ilhan Omar said her son was pulled over by ICE, an event the agency claims to have "zero record" of.
BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED
Naturalization and Oath Ceremony Protection Act
The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to guarantee individuals approved for naturalization a statutory right to complete their oath ceremonies without arbitrary cancellations or nationality-based exclusions and would require due process for any interruptions and establish uniform national standards for citizenship ceremonies.
Sponsored by Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) (0 cosponsors)
12/18/2025 Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Markey
12/18/2025 Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the President to set a minimum annual goal for the number of refugees to be admitted, and for other purposes
Sponsored by Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) (18 cosponsors)
12/17/2025 Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Markey
12/17/2025 Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
A bill to prevent any alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence from obtaining in-State tuition rates at public institutions of higher education, and for other purposes
Sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) (0 cosponsors)
12/16/2025 Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Cotton
12/16/2025 Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify eligibility for asylum, and for other purposes
The bill would amend the INA to change criteria for asylum eligibility, tightening which noncitizens can qualify for asylum protections.
Sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) (0 cosponsors)
12/16/2025 Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Cotton
12/16/2025 Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Kayla Hamilton Act
The bill would amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to require the Department of Health and Human Services to consider additional factors when placing unaccompanied children, including mandatory consideration of safety factors, criminal background checks of sponsors and household members, restrictions on placement with individuals unlawfully present in the United States, and requirements for examining children 12 and older for gang affiliation and requesting criminal records from their countries of origin.
Sponsored by Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC)
07/14/2025 Introduced in the House by Rep. Fry
10/17/2025 Reported (Amended) by the House Committee on the Judiciary (H. Rept. 119-345)
12/16/2025 Passed the House by a vote of 225-201
12/17/2025 Received in the Senate
To discontinue a Federal program that authorizes State and local law enforcement officers to investigate, apprehend, and detain aliens in accordance with a written agreement with the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to clarify that immigration enforcement is solely a function of the Federal Government
The bill would discontinue the INA section 287(g) program authorizing state and local 287(g) agreements with ICE and would clarify in statute that immigration enforcement authority lies exclusively with the federal government.
Sponsored by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) (15 cosponsors)
12/18/2025 Introduced in the House by Rep. Quigley
12/18/2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
A bill to require the imposition of visa sanctions with respect to each foreign person the President determines has performed or otherwise facilitated chemical or surgical mutilations of United States minors, and for other purposes
Sponsored by Rep. Addison P. McDowell (R-NC) (6 cosponsors)
12/18/2025 Introduced in the House by Rep. McDowell
12/18/2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the President to set a minimum annual goal for the number of refugees to be admitted, and for other purposes
This is the House companion bill to S. 3535.
Sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) (11 cosponsors)
12/18/2025 Introduced in the House by Rep. Lofgren
12/18/2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
A bill to amend section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to prohibit the provision of Federal financial assistance to States and public institutions of higher education that provide certain higher education benefits to aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States, and for other purposes
Sponsored by Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) (0 cosponsors)
12/18/2025 Introduced in the House by Rep. Hunt
12/18/2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary and, in addition, to the Committees on Education and the Workforce and Oversight and Accountability
America First Act
The bill would prohibit noncitizens from receiving specified federal public benefits, including limiting Medicaid coverage for parolees and TPS recipients, restricting EITC eligibility, and prohibiting federal funding for health centers that serve individuals not lawfully present.
Sponsored by Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) (0 cosponsors)
12/18/2025 Introduced in the House by Rep. Fine
12/18/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are in holiday recess until January 5 and January 6, 2026, respectively.
UPCOMING HEARINGS AND MARKUPS
Reports by bodies such as the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General provide invaluable information on immigration policy and practice. Here, we give brief summaries of new immigration-related reports, with links to the resources themselves in case you want to learn more.
GAO found that USCIS and CBP identified fraud risks in large-scale humanitarian parole processes (including Uniting for Ukraine) from May 2022 through September 2024, but DHS lacked comprehensive documentation, risk assessment, and lessons learned analysis to strengthen future parole programs and avoid similar challenges.
GAO reported on DHS's final rule removing the automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain categories of noncitizens with timely filed renewal applications, designating it as a major rule under the Congressional Review Act.
CRS reported that immigration courts received approximately 831,000 defensive asylum applications in FY2025 with over 2.4 million pending, and found that recent policy changes allowing adjudicators to pretermit legally deficient applications without a hearing contributed to rising "not adjudicated" outcomes.
SPOTLIGHT ON FORUM RESOURCES
The Forum is constantly publishing new policy-focused resources that engage with some of the most topical issues around immigration today. Here are a few that are particularly relevant this week:
Our new analysis finds that, after comparing the number of nonimmigrant work visas[ issued during the Biden administration in 2024 with those issued under the Trump administration during the same months in 2025, we can see that the Biden administration issued 3.3% more visas overall.
Our explainer details the new Gold Card program, which the Trump administration has promoted as a way to attract investment and strengthen the economy. We also explain how it raises fundamental questions about fairness and legality.
Our explainer details a new DHS proposal that would revoke the 2022 public-charge rule and its long-standing definitions, giving immigration officers much broader discretion to decide who is likely to become a public charge. It also explains how this shift could expand the types of benefits and personal factors weighed in admissibility decisions, increase uncertainty and inconsistency in case outcomes, and intensify chilling effects on immigrant families’ use of essential public programs.
*As of publication (12/19/25 at 3:30PM EST)
This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact Nicci Mattey, Senior Policy & Advocacy Associate at the Forum, with questions, comments, and suggestions for additional items to be included. Nicci can be reached at [email protected]. Thank you.
