Keeping you informed on the latest immigration news.
USCIS Received Enough Supplemental H-2B Petitions to Reach Cap for Returning Workers
On February 13, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 18,490 H-2B visas made available under a temporary final rule for the first allocation of returning workers of...
DHS Shutdown Not Expected to Affect Most ICE, CBP, USCIS Operations
On February 14, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s funding lapsed due to a breakdown in spending bill negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over how DHS agencies conduct their operations. DHS is therefore technically in partial shutdown status,...
Steve Yale-Loehr quoted in El País on States vs. Federal Immigration Authority
In Deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis Reignite Legal Battle Between Democratic States and ICE Steve cautioned that immigration is a complex legal issue. "Immigration has long been considered a national policy, not one of 50 different states....
Steve Yale-Loehr Quoted on ICE Enforcement Shift
Steve was quoted by Newsday in These Long Island Brothers Came to the U.S. as Kids. ICE Deported Them to a Country They Hardly Know. He noted that arresting someone when they show up for a routine U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in was rare until the...
Group Files Complaint Against ‘Gold Card’ Program
On February 3, 2026, a group including the American Association of University Professors and others filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's "Gold Card" visa program. The complaint asks a U.S. district court for declaratory and injunctive relief against...
Texas Governor Freezes New H-1B Visas for State Agencies and Universities, Launches Investigation
On January 27, 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced an immediate freeze on new H-1B visas by all state agencies and universities and an investigation into "H-1B visa abuse." In a letter to state agency heads, Gov. Abbott said, "No state agency controlled by a...
Fifth Circuit Upholds Trump Administration’s Policy of Detention Without Release on Bond
On February 6, 2026, despite numerous rulings by lower courts across the United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the Trump administration's policy of mandatory detention of thousands of people in the court's jurisdiction (Texas and...
Congress Scraps Visas for Afghans Who Helped the United States
Last year, after an Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington, DC, killing one, President Trump paused the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program that provided a legal pathway to residence in the United States for Afghans who had worked with the U.S....
District Court Grants Stay of DHS Secretary Noem’s Decision to End Haitian TPS; Appeal Likely
Following a January 28, 2026, ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her statutory authority in her partial vacatur of Haiti's Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, on February 2, 2026, a...
Steve Yale-Loehr co-authored an op-ed published in The Hill
Miller Mayer’s Steve Yale-Loehr co-authored an op-ed in The Hill connecting today’s immigration debate to the Immigration Act of 1924. A timely perspective with important historical context. Read it: Back to the Future: Trump's Restrictions Echo the Immigration Act...
