Week ending September 25, 2026
ICE stops showing many final-order detainees in its online locator. The Associated Press reported September 21 that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stopped publicly displaying the locations of many detainees with final removal orders beginning September 15. Attorneys reported clients suddenly disappearing from the locator even though they remained detained. ICE told AP that final-order detainees are being prioritized for removal but did not confirm or deny the change itself.
White House orders enhanced H-1B scrutiny when employers have recently laid off U.S. workers. A September 18 executive order directs State, Labor, and DHS to consider an H-1B petitioner’s recent or planned layoffs of similarly situated U.S. workers when reviewing H-1B matters. It also directs greater interagency sharing of wage, industry, employment, and employer information.
Administration extends the controversial $100,000 H-1B requirement another year. A separate September 18 presidential proclamation extends until September 21, 2027 the entry restriction tied to a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B petitions involving workers outside the United States. The underlying policy remains in litigation.
DOS expands social-media screening to TN, TD and journalist visa applicants. The U.S. Department of State announced that beginning October 1, its online-presence review will expand to TN, TD and I visa applicants. DOS instructs applicants in those categories to set all social-media profiles to public or open. Similar screening already applies to F/M students, J exchange visitors, H-1B/H-3 workers and certain dependents, K applicants, religious workers, and S/T/U applicants, among others.
Administration says it will ask the Supreme Court to restore rapid third-country removals. Last week’s First Circuit ruling largely upheld an injunction requiring DHS to give people a meaningful opportunity to raise persecution or torture concerns before removal to a country other than their own. On September 24, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the administration will seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court of the United States.
State Department launches a new online visa-fraud reporting system. DOS has added an online form allowing members of the public to report suspected fraud involving U.S. visa applications. The Department says reports should include as much identifying and application-specific information as possible so allegations can be investigated.
State Department acknowledges a CEAC technical problem affecting immigrant-visa applicants. On September 23, DOS acknowledged that some users are receiving a Cloudflare blocking error when trying to use CEAC. DOS says it is working on the problem and advises applicants who receive the error to try again later.
An ICE shooting in Austin raises both detention and medical-care concerns. An ICE officer shot Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez during an enforcement operation in Austin on September 20. DHS says he was subject to a removal order; his attorney disputes portions of the government’s account. After hospitalization, he was transferred to ICE detention, where he says a bullet remains lodged in his back and that he has received inadequate medical care. The shooting itself remains under investigation.
