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A new Department of Homeland Security rule took effect on September 15, 2026, and it changed the rules for J-1 visa holders who have overstayed their programs. For the first time, those holders now begin accruing "unlawful presence" on a fixed date — not just after a judge or agency formally finds a violation. A federal court in Washington, D.C., ruled in September 2026 that it could not block the rule from applying to one Colombian doctor caught in the middle of an ongoing lawsuit.

What if ICE has already arrested someone in your neighborhood — and you're wondering whether you could be next? On September 10, 2026, ICE New Orleans announced it had removed its 100,000th person this fiscal year, a pace that represents a 30% jump from FY 2025. That number is not just a statistic: it signals how aggressively removal operations are running right now across the country.

For the first time in US history, a federal court created in 1996 but never used was activated to deport someone. Nazira Haji Zada, 47, an Afghan national who lived in Fort Worth, Texas, was removed from the United States after admitting she supported her family's plan for an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day 2024. She is now permanently barred from returning.

DACA deportation risk in 2026: key policy changes, legal protections, deadlines, and steps to protect yourself. Updated guide for Dreamers.

You lost your H-1B job, and you were counting on those 60 days to find a new sponsor. DHS just proposed eliminating that grace period entirely — and the clock is already running on the public's chance to push back. If finalized, the rule would strip a key protection from hundreds of thousands of work visa holders across the US.

Pedro Francisco left his overnight security shift at the World Trade Center at 7 a.m. on September 11, 2001 — less than two hours before the first plane hit. Twenty-five years later, he and other immigrant survivors are still carrying the weight of that day. And they are still organizing.

What if someone you know was swept up in a weeklong ICE operation — and you have no idea what happens next? Between August 24 and 27, 2026, ICE and multiple Florida law enforcement agencies arrested 500 people in Fort Myers in one of the largest local enforcement actions this year. For anyone in Florida with an open immigration case or a prior order of removal, the stakes just got very real.

Every state in the US that offers in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants is now facing a federal lawsuit. In September 2026, the Department of Justice filed its final four complaints — against Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Arkansas, and Utah — bringing the total to 25. For undocumented students and their families, the question is no longer whether this fight is coming to their state, but how soon a court might rule.

What if the people you paid to bring you to safety locked you inside a metal freight car in 100-degree Texas heat? That is exactly what happened to eight migrants — including a child — found trapped inside a sealed autorack train car near Knippa, Texas, on August 30, 2026. A Border Patrol dog found them. Without that alert, the outcome could have been fatal.

Oscar Enrique Lopez Garcia and Juan Jose Rivera had lived in the United States for decades. Then, in October 2025, ICE detained them — with no bond hearing, no immigration judge, no chance to ask for release. In September 2026, a federal appeals court said that was illegal.

What if the government compares your asylum declaration to a dozen other applicants' stories — and you never get to question those people? The Board of Immigration Appeals answered that question on September 10, 2026, and the answer matters for anyone going through the asylum application process. In Matter of V-S-A-, the BIA reversed an immigration judge's grant of asylum and set clear rules for how "copycat declaration" evidence can be used against you in court.

You filed your complaint, waited for a hearing — and then a judge dismissed your entire case with no warning and no explanation. Alexander Gallo faced exactly that situation in a DC court. On September 10, 2026, a DC appeals court ruled that what happened to him was wrong, and the decision has real implications for anyone fighting a legal battle without a lawyer.

Arizona voters passed Proposition 314 in November 2024, giving the state new tools to police immigration — including a database check before anyone gets public benefits. A coalition of civil rights groups sued, saying the law was unconstitutional. In September 2026, the Arizona Court of Appeals disagreed and let the law stand.

Администрация Трампа предложила не считать нелегальных иммигрантов при переписи 2030 года — и заодно исключить часть легальных неиммигрантов с временным статусом. Это напрямую влияет на то, сколько мест в Конгрессе получат штаты с большим числом приезжих и сколько федеральных денег туда пойдёт. Конституционный спор уже неизбежен.

For years, children born in the US to foreign government employees faced a wall: they could not register for permanent residence. USCIS just knocked that wall down. A new rule that took effect September 4, 2026 opens the green card path for these children — but only those born on or after that date.

ICE Phoenix arrested two men in northern Arizona during the week of August 2, 2026 — one near Prescott, one near Flagstaff — both with serious criminal records. One of them had been deported and illegally reentered the country seven times since 1996. These cases show how ICE targets people with criminal histories, and what happens once someone is taken into custody.

You had a removal order filed against you years ago, and you've been living quietly since. A case out of Texas shows that ICE does not forget old orders — and that local sheriff's offices can now help enforce them. Here is what an ICE detainer actually does, and what your options are.

You came to the US on an F-1 student visa, you're working as a graduate assistant, and then your university downgrades your academic standing — and suddenly your ability to stay in the country is at risk. That is exactly what happened to Ehiremen Bennard Eriakha, a doctoral student at the University of Mississippi. In September 2026, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of his lawsuit, leaving him without his graduate assistantship and facing serious questions about his F-1 status.

An approved I-140 petition does NOT protect you from deportation — immigration courts and USCIS operate on completely separate tracks. Attorney Ilya Fishkin explains the risks, including the 3-year reentry bar that can trap immigrants who leave the US.

Missed your immigration court date? A deportation order isn't the end — you may have 180 days to file a motion to reopen, and the reason you missed matters more than you think.