Take Care LedgerA dated, sourced record of the second Trump administration

Travel Bans, Refugees and Denaturalization

Updated2026-11-09 Covers2025-01-20 to 2026-11-06

Summary

The administration stopped admitting refugees. Then it set a limit of 7,500 refugees for fiscal 2026 (the government’s budget year). The slots were allocated “primarily among Afrikaners,” a white South African group. Of the first 4,499 refugees admitted after that, 4,496 were from South Africa.1,2 In May 2026, an emergency decision raised the limit to 17,500. That year 16,292 refugees were admitted, almost all from South Africa.54 The administration expanded a travel ban to 39 countries.3 It ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or parole for over a million people. Both programs had let people stay and work in the country legally for a time. It also sent more than 25,000 people to countries other than their own.4,5 After a November 2025 shooting, it froze asylum decisions.118 It put a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions, which employers file to hire skilled foreign workers.7 It set number goals for denaturalization, which means taking away the citizenship of people who became citizens after birth.8 The Justice Department (DOJ) reported 123 denaturalization lawsuits filed by August 2026.91,113 Lower courts cancelled several measures. These included the asylum proclamation, the benefits freeze, the 75-country visa pause and the agency policies that carry out the H-1B fee. Trump extended that fee by a year in September 2026.88,89 The Supreme Court let the TPS, parole and third-country removal policies go ahead. It mostly did this through emergency orders without majority opinions.9,10,5

Background

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)57 is the main federal immigration law. One part of it lets the President stop whole classes of noncitizens from entering the country (8 U.S.C. § 1182(f)).58 Trump used it for his 2017 travel ban.7,11 The Refugee Act of 198059 governs refugee admissions. It defines a refugee as a person with a “well-founded fear of persecution” (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(42)).86 The yearly limit on refugees had been 125,000.2 Two programs let people from countries in crisis live and work legally for set periods. They are TPS (8 U.S.C. §1254a)60 and humanitarian parole (8 U.S.C. §1182(d)(5)(A)).61 The INA lists the countries a person may be removed to, including the countries of citizenship, birth and past residence. Removal to a country with no listed connection is allowed only when removal to each listed country is “impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible” (8 U.S.C. §1231(b)(2)(E)(vii)).62 U.S. law and the Convention Against Torture,63 an international treaty, bar sending people to a country where they would face torture. This duty is called non-refoulement, meaning no forced return to danger.12 A federal law lets the government sue to take away citizenship that was gained illegally, or by hiding facts or lying on purpose (8 U.S.C. §1451).64

On Jan 20, 2025 Trump signed three measures. Executive Order (EO) 14161 ordered stricter visa screening. (An executive order is a written order from the President to the agencies he runs.) EO 14163 stopped refugee admissions. It left tens of thousands of people in the processing pipeline unable to travel, some of them already approved. An “Invasion” proclamation stopped asylum at the southern border. It cited the Guarantee Clause (Art. IV §4),65 the part of the Constitution in which the United States promises to protect each state against invasion.13,1,14

What happened

Refugees

EO 14204 (Feb 7, 2025) stopped foreign aid to South Africa. It gave three reasons. One was South Africa’s Expropriation Act, a law on when the government may take property. The others were South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and its ties to Iran. The order told the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to put Afrikaner refugees first. Meanwhile, the general refugee program stayed stopped under EO 14163.15,52 In Pacito v. Trump,69 Judge Jamal Whitehead (W.D. Wash.) blocked EO 14163 (Feb 25–28, 2025). He also blocked the ending of the government’s agreements with refugee resettlement agencies (Mar 24). On Apr 11, he said the government had not complied. He ordered it to resume processing people who had been conditionally approved before Jan 20, 2025.53,102,103 In July 2025, the Ninth Circuit appeals court paused processing and admissions. By then an estimated hundred-plus refugees had entered. On Jul 18 the court paused Whitehead’s July 14 order, which had set up a framework for processing those refugees. On Mar 5, 2026 it held that the President likely had power under 8 U.S.C. §1182(f) to stop the program entirely. It upheld only the order to fund services that the law requires for refugees already admitted.53,104,105

On May 12, 2025 the first 59 Afrikaners arrived on a government-chartered plane. Admissions were still stopped for everyone else. Trump described the program as a response to “genocide,” a claim South Africa denies.16 On Sept 30, 2025 Presidential Determination 2025-14 moved grants and contracts for refugees’ first resettlement. (A presidential determination is a formal decision by the President.) These grants and contracts are with nonprofit agencies. They moved from the State Department to the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The determination called the move “a return to the clear statutory structure originally established by the Refugee Act of 1980.”87 Also on Sept 30, Presidential Determination 2025-13 set the fiscal 2026 limit at 7,500, the lowest in the program’s history. The limit, announced Oct 30, was “primarily” for Afrikaners. From October 2025 through the end of March 2026, 4,499 refugees were admitted. Of those, 4,496 were from South Africa and three from Afghanistan.2 On May 21, 2026 emergency Presidential Determination 2026-14 raised the fiscal 2026 limit to 17,500, with every added slot for Afrikaners. It relied on INA §207(b),68 which allows a higher limit in a refugee emergency. It cited “racially motivated violence” by South Africa’s government. That government calls the “white genocide” claim discredited. That year 16,292 were admitted.54 On Sept 25, 2026 Presidential Determination 2026-24 allowed up to 17,500 admissions for fiscal 2027, “primarily” Afrikaners. It kept them subject to the EO 14163 suspension and the 39-country proclamation. It also allowed refugees to be processed inside their own country under INA §101(a)(42)(B)86.92,46

On Dec 18, 2025 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cancelled a 2010 policy. That policy said not to detain refugees who had not gotten green cards a year after admission. (A green card makes someone a lawful permanent resident.) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) then launched “Operation PARRIS” (Jan 9, 2026). It targeted Minnesota’s 5,600 refugees who had not yet gotten green cards. A Minnesota court blocked the arrests in U.H.A. v. Bondi.96 On Feb 18, 2026 acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow ordered ICE to arrest and detain such refugees.96 On Mar 23 a Massachusetts federal court paused the memo in Jean A. v. Noem, finding it against the law. The court used a federal law that lets courts pause agency actions while a case goes on (5 U.S.C. §705).98,119

Travel bans and visa restrictions

On June 4, 2025 Trump signed two proclamations using his power to suspend entry (INA §212(f)). A proclamation is a formal public announcement by the President. Proclamation 10948 stopped entry of student and exchange visitors (F, M and J visa holders) sponsored by Harvard. A court blocked it on June 23 (see Student Visas and Speech-Based Removals).56,122 Starting June 9, Proclamation 10949 fully stopped entry for people from 12 countries. It partly stopped entry for people from seven more, covering immigrants and B, F, M and J visas. There were exceptions for green-card holders, adoptions and Afghan special immigrant visas. Immediate relatives (close family members) were also exempt if they proved the relationship by “clear and convincing evidence.”11 On Aug 21, 2025 the State Department said all 55 million+ visa holders are under “continuous vetting” for reasons to cancel their visas.21 On Dec 16 Proclamation 10998 expanded the ban to 39 countries from Jan 1, 2026, with no exceptions for adoptions or immediate relatives. The diversity-visa lottery, which gives out visas by random drawing, was paused Dec 19.3,17

On Jan 14, 2026 the State Department stopped immigrant visas for 75 countries. It said their immigrants “take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.” It said it was reviewing its procedures under the public-charge bar.66 That rule keeps out people likely to depend on government support.18,19 On May 22, 2026 USCIS said people on temporary visas must leave the country to apply for green cards. On Oct 5, 2026 unions, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and applicants sued over the rule. USCIS called the suit “frivolous.”20 On Aug 6, 2026 EO 14419, “Ending Birth Tourism,” told State and DHS to deny visas to some foreigners and bar them for good. These are foreigners judged to be traveling “for the purpose of” giving birth in the U.S. The White House said this order and the companion order EO 14418 fit the “historical exceptions” that the Supreme Court recognized in its birthright-citizenship ruling, Trump v. Barbara70.55

TPS and parole

On May 19, 2025 the Supreme Court cleared the way to end TPS for ~350,000 Venezuelans. On May 30 it let DHS end parole for more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.22,9 On Sept 5 Judge Edward Chen blocked the Venezuelan and Haitian terminations. On Oct 3 the Supreme Court paused his Sept 5 final judgment on Venezuela. Justices Sotomayor and Kagan would have denied the government’s request, and Justice Jackson dissented.23,24 On Dec 2 Trump called Somali immigrants “garbage” at a Cabinet meeting. DHS then ended Somalia’s TPS.25 By Dec 29 more than 1.5 million people had lost or were losing status.4 On June 25, 2026, in Mullin v. Doe,67 the Court ruled 6–3 on two points. Courts may not review TPS terminations except on constitutional grounds. And the Haitian plaintiffs had not shown racial animus, meaning hostility based on race.26,27 The case then went back to the federal trial court in Washington (D.D.C.). On Aug 5 that court confirmed that its pause of Haiti’s termination “is no longer in effect.” The plaintiffs’ equal-protection claim, which says the government treated them unequally, continues.101

Third-country removals

On Feb 12–25, 2025 military flights took about 300 deportees to Panama12 and 200 to Costa Rica.117 Judge Brian Murphy ruled on removals to third countries, meaning countries other than a person’s own. He required a “meaningful opportunity” to raise torture claims before any such removal.28 On May 20 eight men were flown toward South Sudan. Murphy found the removal violated his order. The men were held about six weeks in a converted shipping container in Djibouti.29 On June 23 the Supreme Court paused (stayed) his injunction without explanation. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dissented. She called the stay a “gross abuse” of equitable discretion, the Court’s power to grant fair relief.10 On Jul 3 the Court said its stay also blocked Murphy’s follow-up order covering the eight men held in Djibouti. DHS deported them to South Sudan on Jul 5.10,106 Eswatini (July 15), Rwanda and Ghana followed. Ghana sent at least 22 deportees on to their home countries. Some had U.S. court orders protecting them from torture. Judge Tanya Chutkan called this “an end run” around U.S. obligations. But she found she lacked jurisdiction, meaning the power to decide the case.30 Sen. Jeanne Shaheen questioned a $7.5M payment to Equatorial Guinea (Nov 10). Afterward, a report by the minority-party members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee found $32M+ paid to foreign governments. The deals covered ~300 deportees.31

On Feb 25, 2026 Murphy issued a final judgment in D.V.D. v. DHS. It cancelled DHS’s Mar 30, 2025 guidance on third-country removals and a Jul 9, 2025 ICE memo. The judgment requires “meaningful notice,” and a “meaningful opportunity” to raise a claim about the specific country. It also requires a first attempt at removal to the designated or alternative country. Murphy noted that at least six class members had been put on the South Sudan flight in “willful violation” of his order. DHS said, “we are confident we will be vindicated again.”99 In spring 2026 flights reached Uganda32 and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).120 In November 2026 a federal court in Manhattan (S.D.N.Y.) stepped in for detained Afghans. On Nov 3 Judge Valerie Caproni barred removing them to Afghanistan or Pakistan through Nov 7.123 On Nov 6 Judge Victor Marrero extended the bar for five Afghans to Pakistan, Afghanistan “or any other third country pending further order of this Court.” The government must give one week’s notice before deporting them.124

Asylum and the post-shooting freeze

On July 2, 2025 Judge Randolph Moss struck down the Invasion proclamation.33 On Apr 24, 2026 the D.C. Circuit appeals court agreed with him in RAICES v. Noem. It held that neither §1182(f) nor an Art. IV §4 “invasion” finding lets the President override the INA’s procedures. These are the procedures for asylum, for withholding of removal and under the Convention Against Torture. Nor can the President create fast-track (summary) removal procedures without Congress. In 2025 a different panel had handled a request to pause Moss’s ruling. That panel took the view that the proclamation could work as a blanket denial of asylum. The court declined to adopt that view.100

On Nov 26, 2025 Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan evacuee granted asylum in April 2025, shot two Guard members near the White House. He killed Spc. Sarah Beckstrom.34 By Nov 28 USCIS had stopped Afghan applications and all asylum decisions. It ordered a new review of green cards from 19 countries.6,118 Naturalization ceremonies, where people become citizens, were cancelled mid-process.35 On Mar 30, 2026 USCIS lifted the hold for “thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non high-risk countries”. It did not list the high-risk countries.118

Denaturalization

On Nov 27, 2025 Trump wrote that he would “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.”36 Internal guidance then asked USCIS field offices to send 100 to 200 possible denaturalization cases a month to DOJ. By DOJ’s count, 102 cases were filed over his entire first term. On Dec 24, 2025 NPR reported on a USCIS document first obtained by The New York Times. It set a quota of 100 to 200 a month.36,8 A DOJ official spoke to CBS on Jun 18, 2026. The department planned at least 250 cases in fiscal 2026, against about 11 a year from 1990 to 2017.37 DOJ announced batches of 12 (May 8, 2026), 10 (Jul 20) and 25 (Aug 3) complaints. With the last batch, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate called it “the largest denaturalization surge in recorded history,” and DOJ gave a total. It put the complaints filed since Jan 20, 2025 at 123.91,111,112,113 On Oct 5, 2026 it announced 40 more, the largest batch of the term. They were filed between late August and early October. Attorney General Blanche said they “represent serious criminal offenders.”37,114 DOJ releases report four judgments taking away citizenship. Two were contested (Mar 23 and 24, 2026). In two, the person agreed (Oct 13 and 14, 2026). This is not a complete count.91,109,110,115,116

Pricing visas

On Sept 19, 2025 EO 14351 offered a green card for a $1M “gift.” This is the Gold Card, first floated at $5M on Feb 25.38,107 A proclamation put a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions.7 The card launched Dec 10. On Apr 23, 2026 Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified that one card had been approved.39,108 The AAUP sued on Feb 3, 2026 (AAUP v. DHS, D.D.C.). It argues that treating a $1M payment as proof of eligibility for EB-1 and EB-2 visas breaks the INA. These are green-card categories for highly skilled workers. The suit also argues the government skipped the required public notice and comment.90 Judge Sorokin ruled the H-1B fee unlawful (June 8, 2026).41 Then on Sept 18 Trump extended the fee for 12 months by Proclamation 11069, which does not mention any court ruling. It reports that the largest IT staffing firms cut H-1B registrations by 92%.88 On Sept 30 a federal court in Global Nurse Force v. Noem (N.D. Cal.) cancelled the agency policies that carry out the fee. The AAUP, a plaintiff, said the ruling does not “legally invalidate” the proclamation.89 On Oct 7–8, 2026 DHS called student work permits a “pipeline for cheap foreign labor,” and proposed a $70,000 fee for them. The permits are known as Optional Practical Training (OPT).40 Vice President JD Vance suspended Microsoft from sponsoring foreign workers, citing alleged fraud.121

Key dates

Why it matters

Entry-suspension and fee authority (8 U.S.C. §1182(f); Art. I §8 cl. 1). 8 U.S.C. §1182(f) lets the President suspend entry of classes of noncitizens. In Trump v. Hawaii (2018),72 the Supreme Court upheld the 2017 travel ban under it. One legal question is how far that power reaches when it conflicts with other parts of the INA. One example is the right of a noncitizen who is physically in the country to apply for asylum (8 U.S.C. §1158(a)(1)).73 Another question is whether the power supports fees. Fees fall under Congress’s power to tax (Art. I §8 cl. 1).74 The Invasion proclamation relied on the Guarantee Clause (Art. IV §4). Judge Moss rejected both its grounds in the immigration laws and its Guarantee Clause grounds. He looked at the immigration laws, Article II and Article IV. He held that none of them can be read to grant “the President or his delegees authority to adopt an alternative immigration system, which supplants the statutes that Congress has enacted,” and the D.C. Circuit affirmed on Apr 24, 2026.14,33,48,100 Judge Sorokin held on June 8, 2026 that the H-1B fee was a tax. He held that Congress had not given the President power to impose it. Proclamation 11069 again relies on §212(f) and INA §215(a) (8 U.S.C. §1185(a)).95 The Global Nurse Force court found the plaintiffs likely to show that the agencies skipped a required step. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the law that sets the rules agencies must follow, requires public notice and a chance to comment before new rules (5 U.S.C. §553)94.41,88,89 Judge Burroughs wrote that Proclamation 10948, which applied §1182(f) to one university’s students, is “inexplicable by anything but animus.”122 The record here does not include the law that EO 14419 says it relies on.55 On June 5, 2026, Chief Judge McConnell struck down the related benefits freeze. He found “pretextual concerns of ‘national security’ that mask anti-immigrant sentiments.” (A pretext is a stated reason that hides the real one.)42 State justified the 75-country visa pause under the public-charge bar (8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(4)). That rule calls for a decision about each individual person. A New York court overturned the pause in August 2026.18,45

Refugee Act (8 U.S.C. §§1101(a)(42), 1157, 1159(a)). The Act’s persecution standard (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(42)) applies to each refugee one by one. The President sets the yearly limit under 8 U.S.C. §1157, which also allows an emergency increase for an “unforeseen emergency refugee situation” (§1157(b)). PD 2026-14 relied on that clause.54 PD 2025-14 relied on a part of the Refugee Act about refugees’ first resettlement. That part gives the job to the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (8 U.S.C. §1522(b)(1))93.87 In Pacito the Ninth Circuit read §1182(f) to allow stopping admissions entirely. But it required funding of the services the Act requires for refugees already admitted.53,105 The administration’s stated reason was Trump’s description of a “genocide” of white South Africans, which South Africa denies. Its FY2027 notice cites farm seizures and “hateful rhetoric” in South Africa.16,46 The State Department’s 2024 human-rights report on South Africa, released in August 2025, said the situation had “significantly worsened.” It called the Expropriation Bill “a substantially worrying step towards land expropriation of Afrikaners.”2 A federal law requires a refugee without a green card to “return or be returned to the custody” of DHS after one year for inspection (8 U.S.C. §1159(a)).97 DHS reads this as requiring detention. USCIS said the alternative “would be to allow fugitive aliens to run rampant,” and the courts in U.H.A. and Jean A. rejected DHS’s reading.96,119

TPS and parole (8 U.S.C. §§1254a, 1182(d)(5)(A); Fifth Amendment equal protection). TPS terminations under 8 U.S.C. §1254a raise two questions. First, does the law’s limit on court review (§1254a(b)(5)(A)) close the courts to challenges not based on the Constitution? Second, does a termination break the Fifth Amendment’s promise of equal protection75 if racial animus was a “motivating factor”? That test comes from Arlington Heights (1977).76 A district judge blocked Haiti’s termination, finding it may have been grounded in “racial animus.” In Mullin v. Doe (June 25, 2026) the Supreme Court held 6–3 that the law bars claims not based on the Constitution. It also held that the race claim was unlikely to succeed because the government gave a race-neutral explanation.27,26 The parole terminations under 8 U.S.C. §1182(d)(5)(A) went ahead after the Court’s unsigned stay order in Noem v. Doe77 (May 30, 2025). Justice Jackson dissented, joined by Justice Sotomayor.9

Third-country removal (8 U.S.C. §1231(b)(2)(E); Convention Against Torture; Due Process Clause). Three rules apply. The first is 8 U.S.C. §1231(b)(2)(E). The second is the Convention Against Torture’s bar on returning people to torture (Art. 3, put into U.S. law by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 199878). The third is the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, which requires fair legal steps. Murphy read it to require notice and a meaningful chance to raise claims based on fear. The 1st Circuit appeals court upheld his February 2026 final judgment. The Supreme Court paused his injunction (June 23, 2025) and his judgment (Sept 29, 2026). It set the case for argument in December.99,10,5 The record here does not include the administration’s stated legal basis. Erwin Chemerinsky quoted Justice Sotomayor’s dissent. It called the judgment the Court paused “an order it has repeatedly defied,” referring to the government.43 The Senate Foreign Relations minority report concluded that third countries were used “to circumvent U.S. immigration law.”31

Post-shooting holds (USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192). USCIS issued the holds in a policy memo. The administration tied them to the Nov 26 shooting. It also tied them to Trump’s call to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries.”35,118,34

Denaturalization (8 U.S.C. §1451; Fourteenth Amendment). In a civil denaturalization case under 8 U.S.C. §1451, the government must prove its case by “clear, unequivocal, and convincing” evidence. That high standard comes from Schneiderman v. United States (1943).79 In Afroyim v. Rusk (1967),80 the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment81 bars Congress from taking away citizenship without the citizen’s consent. In each case, the legal question is whether citizenship was gained illegally or by misrepresentation. DOJ’s position is that the October 2026 defendants “represent serious criminal offenders”. The record includes four judgments and no complete count of cases decided.37,91 A person who loses a denaturalization case goes back to green-card status and can face removal.37

Returning green-card holders (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(13)(C)). Separately, the Supreme Court decided Blanche v. Lau82 (June 23, 2026, 6–3). The case is about green-card holders coming back into the country. Border officers may treat such a person as applying for admission if the person committed a crime of moral turpitude. The Court held that officers need not show by clear and convincing evidence that the person committed such a crime (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(13)(C))83. Justice Jackson, dissenting, called it “a massive blank check.”44

Gold Card (INA employment-based visa categories, 8 U.S.C. §1153(b)). Congress sets the categories of immigrant visas in the INA. EO 14351 offers green cards in the EB-1/EB-285 categories in exchange for a $1M “gift.” Commerce Secretary Lutnick said the money could pay down the national debt.38 Congress has not approved the tax exemption for the proposed $5M “Platinum” card.39 The legal question is whether the executive branch may tie a visa category set by law to a payment that Congress did not pass. AAUP v. DHS raises it. The government has asked the court to dismiss the case, and that request is pending.90

Outcome

Where things stand

Most entry limits remain in force. The 39-country travel ban has applied since Jan 1, 2026, and no court has struck down the proclamation itself. Court rulings have dealt only with the related benefits freeze and visa pause.3,42,45 Under Pacito the refugee suspension stays in force. HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement runs refugees’ first resettlement.53,105,87 Nearly 350,000 Haitians lost TPS in July 2026.27 Third-country removals started again under the Supreme Court’s Sept 29, 2026 stay, and 25,000+ people have been sent to at least 29 countries.5,47 A federal judge in Manhattan has barred the removal of five detained Afghans to Pakistan, Afghanistan or any other third country until he orders otherwise.124 Courts cancelled the asylum proclamation, the benefits freeze, the 75-country pause and the agency policies that carry out the H-1B fee.100,42,45,89

Gaps in the record: There is no complete count of denaturalization cases decided. It is not known whether the Supreme Court will review RAICES v. Noem. Rulings are still awaited on the H-1B proclamation itself and in AAUP v. DHS. Rulings are also awaited in AAUP v. Mullin and after the December third-country argument. It is not yet known whether the OPT fee will become final.

Status

Item Status Latest development (date) What would change it
39-country travel ban (Proclamation 10998) In force Applied since Jan 1, 2026; no ruling against the proclamation itself3 —
Refugee admissions suspension (EO 14163) In force Ninth Circuit upheld it but required funding of services for refugees already admitted (Mar 5, 2026)53,105 —
Fiscal 2027 refugee limit (PD 2026-24) In force Up to 17,500, “primarily” Afrikaners, at a projected $500M (Sept 25, 2026), after 16,292 admissions in fiscal 202646,92,54 —
Refugee-detention memo (Feb 18, 2026) Blocked (Jean A. v. Noem, D. Mass., Mar 23, 2026) Still paused as of Oct 26, 2026; the government is defending it119 —
TPS terminations (Venezuela, Haiti, Somalia) In force Mullin v. Doe (June 25, 2026); Haiti pause lifted Aug 5; Somalia’s termination took effect Aug 14, 202626,101,25 Haitian equal-protection claim back in the trial court (D.D.C.)101
Parole terminations (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela) In force Supreme Court stay (May 30, 2025)9 —
Third-country removals (D.V.D. v. DHS) Pending (Supreme Court; December 2026 argument) Judgment paused and removals resumed Sept 29, 20265,47 A Supreme Court ruling after argument47
Removal of five detained Afghans (Project Rousseau suit, S.D.N.Y.) Blocked (Marrero, Nov 6, 2026) Bar extended to Pakistan, Afghanistan “or any other third country”; one week’s notice required; briefing on a preliminary injunction pending123,124 A ruling on a preliminary injunction
Asylum “Invasion” proclamation Blocked (Judge Moss, July 2, 2025; affirmed by D.C. Circuit, Apr 24, 2026) Mullin v. Al Otro Lado84 revived asylum “metering,” which limits how many asylum seekers are taken in at border crossings each day (June 25, 2026)100,49 Any Supreme Court review of RAICES v. Noem
Post-shooting asylum-decision freeze Reversed (in part, March 2026) Holds remain for “high-risk” countries USCIS has not listed (Mar 30, 2026)118 —
39-country benefits freeze Blocked (Chief Judge McConnell, June 5, 2026) Struck down42 —
75-country immigrant-visa pause Blocked (New York court, August 2026) State then paused visa appointments worldwide, citing “training”45 —
2027 diversity-visa lottery pause Blocked (court order, Oct 14, 2026) Lottery ordered reopened50 —
Rule requiring green-card applicants to leave the U.S. In force AAUP v. Mullin filed Oct 5, 202620,71 A ruling in AAUP v. Mullin71
H-1B fee proclamation (11069) In force Extended through Sept 21, 2027 (Sept 18, 2026)88 A ruling on the proclamation itself
Agency policies implementing the H-1B fee Blocked (Global Nurse Force v. Noem, N.D. Cal., Sept 30, 2026) Cancelled; Sorokin had ruled the fee unlawful June 8, 202689,41 —
Gold Card (EO 14351) In force One approval (Lutnick, Apr 23, 2026) and 338 applicants; the government’s request to dismiss AAUP v. DHS is pending39,108,90 A ruling in AAUP v. DHS90
$70,000 OPT fee Pending (DHS rulemaking; comments close Nov 9, 2026) Proposed Oct 7–8, 202640,51 A final rule51
Proclamation 10948 (Harvard students) Blocked (preliminary injunction, June 23, 2025) Blocked by court order122 —
EO 14419 (“Ending Birth Tourism”) In force No ruling reported55 —
Denaturalization cases Pending (federal district courts) 123 complaints by Aug 3, 2026; 40 more announced Oct 5; four judgments found in DOJ releases (Mar 23 and 24, Oct 13 and 14, 2026)91,37,113,114,109,110,115,116 Rulings in individual cases

Who is affected

These policies affect noncitizens abroad and in the United States. They do so through entry bans, ended status, removals, holds and fees. Refugee applicants were kept out by the admissions suspension, while Afrikaners were admitted under limits set mainly for them. People from 39 countries are barred or limited at entry. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and parolees lost permission to live and work in the country. Deportees were sent to countries other than their own. Asylum seekers faced a suspended border process and a decision freeze. Naturalized citizens face suits to take away their citizenship. Employers face a $100,000 fee on new H-1B worker petitions.1,2,54,3,4,5,33,118,35,91,7

Key players

Related: Alien Enemies Act and CECOT, Conflicts Between the Executive and the Courts, Student Visas and Speech-Based Removals and Detention and Deaths in Custody.

Chronology

Sources

  1. UCSB American Presidency Project: EO 14163 · PBS NewsHour: Trump suspended the refugee program. Why is he inviting white South Africans…? · Timeline 2025-01-20 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  2. Federal Register: FY2026 refugee determination · CBC: South Africa refugees · Timeline 2025-09-30 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. White House fact sheet · Newsweek: harder for Americans to adopt · Timeline 2025-12-16 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  4. WLRN: Trump canceled temporary legal status for more than 1.5 million immigrants in 2025 · Timeline 2025-12-29 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  5. The Hill: SCOTUS allows third-country deportations · Al Jazeera: SCOTUS allows third-country deportations · Timeline 2026-09-29 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  6. Axios: Afghan immigration halted · CNN: re-examining green-card holders from 19 countries · Timeline 2025-11-27 → ledger ↩↩

  7. Reason/Volokh: harmful and illegal plan · Reason: $100,000 visa · Timeline 2025-09-19 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  8. Vera Institute: “Weaponizing the System” · Timeline 2025-12-(late) → ledger ↩↩

  9. Supreme Court: Noem v. Doe stay order, 24A1079 (PDF) · SCOTUSblog: SCOTUS allows DHS to end parole · Timeline 2025-05-30 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  10. Supreme Court: DHS v. D.V.D. stay order, 24A1153 (PDF) · SCOTUSblog: DVD third-country deportations · Timeline 2025-06-23 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  11. Federal Register: Proclamation 10949 · Reason/Volokh (commentary): Trump’s “massively cruel” new travel ban · Timeline 2025-06-04 → ledger ↩↩↩

  12. NYT: deportations to Panama · NYT: migrants moved to Panama jungle camp · Timeline 2025-02-12 → ledger ↩↩↩

  13. Federal Register: 2025 executive orders (EO 14161) · Timeline 2025-01-20 → ledger ↩↩

  14. NPR: judge rules against Trump asylum ban · PBS NewsHour: judge blocks Trump order barring asylum access · Timeline 2025-01-20 → ledger ↩↩

  15. CNN: Oval Office ambush · NPR: shock and anger in South Africa · Timeline 2025-05-21 → ledger ↩

  16. NPR: White South African Afrikaner refugees arrive on government-chartered plane · CNN: White South Africans granted refugee status arrive in US · Timeline 2025-05-12 → ledger ↩↩

  17. Bloomberg: green card lottery suspended · Timeline 2025-12-16 → ledger ↩↩

  18. NBC News: U.S. to stop issuing immigrant visas for 75 countries · Timeline 2026-01-14 → ledger ↩↩↩

  19. State Dept: immigrant visa processing pause · Timeline 2025-12-16 → ledger ↩↩

  20. NBC: Visa holders must return home for green cards · American Immigration Council: Lawsuit challenges USCIS green card policies · Timeline 2026-05-22 → ledger ↩↩

  21. AP (via PBS NewsHour): Trump administration vetting all 55 million U.S. visa holders · Timeline 2025-08-21 → ledger ↩

  22. Al Jazeera: Supreme Court clears way to end TPS for Venezuelans · Timeline 2025-05-19 → ledger ↩↩

  23. NPR: judge blocks ending protections for Venezuelans, Haitians · Timeline 2025-09-05 → ledger ↩

  24. Supreme Court: Noem v. National TPS Alliance stay order, 25A326 (PDF) · USCIS: SC order TPS Venezuela update · Timeline 2025-10-03 → ledger ↩

  25. NYT: Trump on Somalia · USCIS: TPS Somalia · Timeline 2025-12-02 → ledger ↩↩↩

  26. CRS: Mullin v. Doe · Constitution Center: Justices end protected status, define asylum border status · Timeline 2026-06-25 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  27. Supreme Court: Mullin v. Doe, No. 25-1083 (opinion, June 25, 2026) · NPR: For thousands of Haitians, end of protected status brings fear, grief and defiance · Timeline 2026-04-29 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  28. Reuters: judge blocks fast-tracked deportations · Timeline 2025-03-31 → ledger ↩↩

  29. NBC News: lawyers battle deporting immigrants to South Sudan · The Intercept: ICE deportation, Louisiana, South Sudan · Timeline 2025-05-20 → ledger ↩↩

  30. BBC: deported to Eswatini · Reuters: Ghana took deported West Africans, then forced them home · Timeline 2025-07-15 → ledger ↩↩

  31. Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Shaheen calls for answers on $7.5M to Equatorial Guinea · Guardian: US paid $32M to five countries · Timeline 2025-11-10 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  32. Guardian: Uganda receives first flight · Timeline 2026-04-02 → ledger ↩

  33. Judge Moss opinion, RAICES v. Noem (PDF) · NPR: judge rules against Trump asylum ban · Timeline 2025-07-02 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  34. CNN: Afghan national who previously worked with the CIA named as suspect in DC National Guard shooting · NPR: Trump administration pausing all asylum decisions after National Guard shooting · Timeline 2025-11-26 → ledger ↩↩

  35. USCIS PM-602-0192 (PDF) · NBC News: citizenship ceremonies cancelled · Timeline 2025-12-02 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  36. Axios: Trump naturalized citizenship · NBC News: admin expanding denaturalization effort · Timeline 2025-11-27 → ledger ↩↩↩

  37. CBS News: U.S. planning aggressive expansion of denaturalization push, aiming for 250 cases · The Hill (via Yahoo): DOJ files record number of cases to strip Americans of citizenship · Timeline 2026-06-18 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  38. Federal Register: The Gold Card · Politico: Trump gold card visa · Timeline 2025-02-25 → ledger ↩↩

  39. CNN: Gold Card launches at $1M · The Hill: Lutnick says one approved · Timeline 2025-12-10 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  40. PBS: $70,000 fee for international students · Timeline 2026-10-07 → ledger ↩↩

  41. Reuters: H-1B fee unlawful, judge rules · Timeline 2026-06-08 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  42. PBS/AP: Judge strikes down policy halting asylum decisions for 39 countries · Timeline 2026-06-05 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  43. SCOTUSblog: the Court’s blessing of third-country removals · Timeline 2026-09-29 → ledger ↩

  44. NBC: Supreme Court sides with administration on green card holders · Timeline 2026-06-23 → ledger ↩

  45. ABC7 New York (AP): Federal judge strikes down visa ban pushed by Trump administration · Reuters: Trump administration issues pause on immigrant visa appointments for applicants worldwide · Timeline 2026-08-21 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  46. CBS News: Trump administration to welcome up to 17,500 more White South Africans as refugees · Timeline 2026-09-22 → ledger ↩↩↩

  47. SCOTUSblog: Opening the book on OT2026 · Timeline 2026-10-05 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  48. Courthouse News: DC Circuit · Timeline 2025-07-02 → ledger ↩

  49. Reuters: Court sides with Trump in asylum case · Timeline 2026-06-25 → ledger ↩

  50. Courthouse News: ordered to reinstate 2027 green card lottery · Timeline 2026-10-14 → ledger ↩↩

  51. Federal Register: Optional Practical Training Fees (proposed rule) (published Oct 8; comments close Nov 9, 2026) · Timeline 2026-10-07 → ledger ↩↩

  52. Federal Register: EO 14204 · AILA: Presidential Determination increasing FY26 refugee admissions · Timeline 2025-02-07 → ledger ↩

  53. Refugee Rights (IRAP): Ninth Circuit Rules Government Must Fund Domestic Refugee Resettlement Services · Just Security: Litigation Tracker (Pacito v. Trump, W.D. Wash. 2:25-cv-00255) · Timeline 2025-02-25 → 2026-03-05 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  54. Federal Register: Emergency PD on Refugee Admissions for FY2026 · CNN: Trump administration proposes admitting more White South African refugees · CRS: U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in FY2025 and FY2026 · Timeline 2026-05-21 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  55. Federal Register: EO 14419 · White House fact sheet: Ends birth tourism and protects the meaning and value of American citizenship · Timeline 2026-08-06 → ledger ↩↩↩

  56. Federal Register: Proclamation 10948 · Harvard Crimson: preliminary injunction blocking entry ban · NPR: Judge puts temporary hold on Trump’s latest ban on Harvard’s foreign students · Timeline 2025-06-04 → ledger ↩↩

  57. LII: 8 U.S. Code Chapter 12, Immigration and Nationality legal authority ↩

  58. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1182, Inadmissible aliens — legal authority (text of the provision; §1182(f), INA §212(f), lets the President suspend entry of any class of aliens) ↩

  59. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1101 (notes: short title, Refugee Act of 1980, Pub. L. 96-212) legal authority ↩

  60. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1254a, Temporary protected status — legal authority (text of the provision; §1254a(b)(5)(A) bars judicial review of designations and terminations) ↩

  61. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1182(d)(5)(A) legal authority ↩

  62. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1231, Detention and removal of aliens ordered removed — legal authority (text of the provision; §1231(b)(2)(E)(vii) permits removal to another country if removal to the listed countries is “impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible”) ↩

  63. UN Treaty Collection: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) legal authority ↩

  64. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1451, Revocation of naturalization legal authority ↩

  65. LII: U.S. Constitution, Article IV legal authority ↩

  66. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(4), Public charge legal authority ↩

  67. Supreme Court: Mullin v. Doe, No. 25-1083 (June 25, 2026) — legal authority (opinion; §1254a(b)(5)(A) bars non-constitutional TPS claims; equal-protection claim unlikely to succeed) ↩

  68. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1157, Annual admission of refugees and admission of emergency situation refugees — legal authority (text of the provision; INA §207, with §1157(b) on an “unforeseen emergency refugee situation”) ↩

  69. Ninth Circuit: Pacito v. Trump, Nos. 25-1313, 25-1939 (Mar 5, 2026) legal authority ↩

  70. Supreme Court: Trump v. Barbara, No. 25-365 (June 30, 2026) legal authority ↩

  71. American Immigration Council: Complaint, AAUP v. Mullin, No. 1:26-cv-14527 (D. Mass., filed Oct 5, 2026) legal authority ↩↩

  72. LII: Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667 (2018) — legal authority (opinion; upheld Proclamation 9645 under §§1182(f) and 1185(a)) ↩

  73. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1158, Asylum — legal authority (text of the provision; §1158(a)(1) lets any alien physically present or arriving apply for asylum) ↩

  74. LII: U.S. Constitution, Article I legal authority ↩

  75. LII: Fifth Amendment, U.S. Constitution legal authority ↩

  76. LII: Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., 429 U.S. 252 (1977) legal authority ↩

  77. Supreme Court: Noem v. Doe, No. 24A1079 (May 30, 2025) legal authority ↩

  78. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1231 (note: FARRA 1998, Pub. L. 105-277, div. G, §2242) legal authority ↩

  79. LII: Schneiderman v. United States, 320 U.S. 118 (1943) legal authority ↩

  80. LII: Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967) legal authority ↩

  81. LII: Fourteenth Amendment, U.S. Constitution legal authority ↩

  82. Supreme Court: Blanche v. Lau, No. 25-429 (June 23, 2026) legal authority ↩

  83. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(13)(C) legal authority ↩

  84. Supreme Court: Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, No. 25-5 (June 25, 2026) — legal authority (opinion; an alien “arrives in the United States” under §§1158(a)(1) and 1225(a) only on crossing the border) ↩

  85. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1153, Allocation of immigrant visas — legal authority (text of the provision; §1153(b)(1)–(2), the EB-1 and EB-2 categories) ↩

  86. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(42) legal authority ↩↩

  87. Federal Register: PD on Transferring the U.S. Program of Initial Refugee Resettlement · Timeline 2025-09-30 → ledger ↩↩↩

  88. Federal Register: Proclamation 11069 · Federal Register: EO 14431 · Timeline 2026-09-18 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  89. AAUP: AAUP Litigation (Challenge to $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee) · Timeline 2026-09-30 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  90. AAUP: AAUP Litigation · Timeline 2025-12-10 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  91. DOJ: Record 25 denaturalization cases (via Wayback) · DOJ: 12 individuals (via Wayback) · DOJ: 10 naturalized criminals (via Wayback) · DOJ: secures denaturalization of gun trafficker and health care fraudster (via Wayback) · DOJ: denaturalizes two people (via Wayback) · Timeline 2026-06-18 → 10-05 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  92. Federal Register: PD on Refugee Admissions for FY2027 · Timeline 2026-09-22 → ledger ↩↩↩

  93. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1522, Authorization for programs for domestic resettlement of and assistance to refugees — legal authority (text of the provision; §1522(b)(1)(A), grants and contracts for initial resettlement) ↩

  94. LII: 5 U.S.C. §553, Rule making legal authority ↩

  95. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1185, Travel control of citizens and aliens — legal authority (text of the provision; §1185(a)(1), entry subject to rules and limitations the President prescribes) ↩

  96. CBS News: Trump administration gives ICE broader powers to detain legal refugees · IRAP/PANA: memorandum in support of stay, D. Mass. No. 1:26-cv-14817 (Oct 26, 2026), describing U.H.A. and Jean A. · Timeline 2026-02-18 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  97. LII: 8 U.S.C. §1159, Adjustment of status of refugees — legal authority (text of the provision; §1159(a)(1), return to DHS custody after one year) ↩

  98. LII: 5 U.S.C. §705, Relief pending review legal authority ↩

  99. GBH: Mass. judge rules against Trump administration policy for third-country deportations · CourtListener: D.V.D. judgment, D. Mass. Dkt. 242 · Timeline 2026-02-25 → ledger ↩↩↩

  100. RAICES: D.C. Circuit Agrees that Trump Lacks the Authority to Override Asylum (party’s bulletin) · AILA: DC Court Holds Firm Against Trump Attempt to Use 212(f) (district-court background) · Timeline 2026-04-24 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩

  101. Global Immigration Blog: D.C. District Court lifts stay blocking termination of Haiti TPS · Timeline 2026-06-25 → ledger ↩↩↩

  102. Just Security: Litigation Tracker (Pacito v. Trump, W.D. Wash. 2:25-cv-00255) · → ledger ↩

  103. Just Security: Litigation Tracker (Pacito v. Trump, W.D. Wash. 2:25-cv-00255) · → ledger ↩

  104. FindLaw: Pacito v. Trump, Ninth Circuit order (Sept 12, 2025) · Refugee Rights (IRAP): Ninth Circuit Rules Government Must Fund Domestic Refugee Resettlement Services · → ledger ↩↩

  105. Refugee Rights (IRAP): Ninth Circuit Rules Government Must Fund Domestic Refugee Resettlement Services · Just Security: Litigation Tracker (Pacito v. Trump, W.D. Wash. 2:25-cv-00255) · → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  106. The Intercept: ICE deportation, Louisiana, South Sudan · → ledger ↩↩

  107. Federal Register: The Gold Card · Politico: Trump gold card visa · CNN: $1M visa · → ledger ↩

  108. The Hill: one approved · → ledger ↩↩↩

  109. DOJ: secures denaturalization of gun trafficker and health care fraudster (via Wayback) · → ledger ↩↩

  110. DOJ: secures denaturalization of gun trafficker and health care fraudster (via Wayback) · → ledger ↩↩

  111. DOJ: 12 individuals (via Wayback) · → ledger ↩

  112. DOJ: 10 naturalized criminals (via Wayback) · → ledger ↩

  113. DOJ: Record 25 denaturalization cases (via Wayback) · The Hill (via Yahoo): DOJ files record number of cases to strip Americans of citizenship · → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  114. The Hill (via Yahoo): DOJ files record number of cases to strip Americans of citizenship · → ledger ↩↩↩

  115. DOJ: denaturalizes two people (via Wayback) · → ledger ↩↩

  116. DOJ: denaturalizes two people (via Wayback) · → ledger ↩↩

  117. NYT: deportation flights to Costa Rica · Timeline 2025-02-20 → ledger ↩↩

  118. NPR: permanent pause · Timeline 2025-11-28 → ledger ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  119. IRAP/PANA: memorandum in support of stay, D. Mass. No. 1:26-cv-14817 (Oct 26, 2026), describing U.H.A. and Jean A. · Timeline 2026-03-23 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  120. NPR: DRC deportees · Timeline 2026-04-17 → ledger ↩

  121. AP: Microsoft suspended from green card program · Timeline 2026-10-08 → ledger ↩

  122. Harvard Crimson: preliminary injunction blocking entry ban · Timeline 2025-06-23 → ledger ↩↩↩↩

  123. ABC News: Judge temporarily blocks deportation of Afghan nationals · Timeline 2026-11-03 → ledger ↩↩

  124. IANS via Social News XYZ: US judge bars removal of five Afghans · Timeline 2026-11-06 → ledger ↩↩↩