Current Immigration Issues: Enforcement, DACA, TPS, and I-9

Current immigration issues in the United States center on a sharp expansion of interior enforcement since January 2025, the termination of several humanitarian programs, a frozen DACA program that only renews existing recipients, multi-decade backlogs in legal immigration, and proposed rules that would slow work authorization for asylum seekers and broaden the public charge test. If you are in the system or have family who is, several of these changes affect what you should do next.

Interior Enforcement Has Changed Who Gets Arrested

On his first day in office in January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” revoking the Biden-era guidance that had told ICE to focus on national security threats, people with serious criminal records, and recent border crossers. The order directs agencies to enforce the law against “all inadmissible and removable aliens.”¹

The categorical priorities are gone. ICE officers now have discretion to arrest anyone in the country without authorization, regardless of criminal history or how long they have lived here.

In the first nine months of the current administration, interior deportations rose to roughly four and a half times the level before the inauguration. ICE street arrests increased elevenfold. Arrests of noncitizens with no criminal convictions rose about sevenfold, while arrests of people convicted of violent crimes rose about 30%. The composition of who ICE picks up has shifted more than the totals.

Expedited Removal Now Reaches the Interior

Under 8 USC 1225, a noncitizen who arrives without proper documentation or entered without inspection can be deported without seeing an immigration judge.² Federal regulations authorize this process against anyone who entered without inspection and cannot show at least two years of continuous physical presence in the United States.³

The Biden administration used this authority narrowly: within 100 miles of the border, and only against people who had been in the country less than two weeks. In January 2025, the current administration directed agencies to use the full statutory scope. That means expedited removal can now reach a person encountered anywhere in the country who cannot prove two years of continuous presence.

The practical implication for anyone without status: keep documentation of your time in the country (leases, utility bills, pay stubs, tax filings, medical and school records dated across every month) accessible and, if possible, with a trusted person outside your home.

What Happens at the Border and in Credible Fear

Someone subject to expedited removal who tells an officer they fear persecution or torture must be referred to a USCIS asylum officer for a credible fear interview. The standard is a “significant possibility” of establishing eligibility for asylum or protection from torture.²

Pass the interview, and the case moves to a full removal proceeding before an immigration judge, where an asylum claim can be presented. Fail it, and the only appeal is a review by an immigration judge that must be completed within seven days. A final negative determination triggers deportation and a five-year bar on re-entry.³

Asylum applicants who reach proceedings still cannot work right away. Under current rules, an applicant waits 150 days after filing to apply for an Employment Authorization Document, then USCIS has 30 days to process it. A proposed rule published in February 2026 would replace that with a single 365-day waiting period before an applicant could even file for work authorization.⁴ The rule is not final. The earliest it could take effect is sometime after April 2026.

DACA Is Renewals Only

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals gives temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to certain people brought to the country as children. It is renewable every two years and does not confer lawful status, a green card, or any path to citizenship.⁵ About 525,210 people held active DACA as of March 31, 2025.

Because of ongoing litigation in Texas v. United States, no new initial DACA applications have been approved since July 2021, though USCIS continues to accept and process renewals from existing recipients. The Fifth Circuit issued another ruling in January 2025 declaring parts of DACA unlawful while allowing current recipients to keep their status during the case.⁶

If you have DACA, keep renewing on time. If you became eligible after July 2021, the program is closed to you, and the administration has not signaled any intent to reopen it.

TPS and CHNV: Humanitarian Programs Being Wound Down

Temporary Protected Status gives work authorization and protection from deportation to nationals of countries the Secretary of Homeland Security designates because of armed conflict, natural disasters, or similar conditions.⁷ Secretary Noem has issued termination notices for Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Burma, Somalia, and Yemen.⁸ Some terminations have taken effect. Others have been temporarily blocked by federal courts; the Somalia termination, for example, was stayed by a federal judge in Massachusetts days before it was set to expire.

As of early 2026, countries still on the active TPS list include El Salvador, Ethiopia, Lebanon, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela, though several of those designations are in active litigation.⁷

The CHNV humanitarian parole programs for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were formally terminated on March 25, 2025.⁹ Any parolee whose status had not already expired had their parole terminated on April 24, 2025, along with parole-based work authorization. Those who had not obtained another lawful status by that date were instructed to leave the country or face removal proceedings.

Why the Legal Line Takes Decades

Employment-based immigrant visas are capped at roughly 140,000 per fiscal year.¹⁰ On top of that, no single country’s nationals can receive more than 7% of the total employment-based and family-sponsored visas in a year.¹¹

The per-country cap creates the longest waits for nationals of India and China. A software engineer from India in the EB-2 category could wait 40 years or more for a green card under current conditions. Some family-sponsored categories for certain countries exceed 20 years. Many people spend their entire working lives in temporary visa status even though their immigrant petition has been approved for years.

The filing costs are their own barrier. As of March 2026, Form I-485 (adjustment of status to permanent residence) costs $1,440 for applicants over age 14. Form I-130 (petition for an alien relative) costs $675 on paper or $625 online.¹² A Form I-693 medical exam is required, and a civil surgeon’s signature on that form is now only valid while the underlying application remains pending; if the application is withdrawn or denied, the exam must be repeated.¹³ Add attorney fees and translations, and the total for a green card application often exceeds $5,000.

Unlawful Presence and the Trap of Leaving

Anyone who stays past their authorized period or entered without inspection accrues unlawful presence. More than 180 days but less than one year, followed by a voluntary departure, triggers a three-year bar on returning. One year or more of unlawful presence, followed by departure or removal, triggers a ten-year bar.¹⁴

Departure is what pulls the trigger. A person who has been in the country unlawfully for years may be unable to leave for a parent’s funeral or a consular interview without locking themselves out for a decade. Waivers exist, but they require showing extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative, not to the applicant. This is where many green card cases collapse for people who entered without inspection or overstayed.

Overstaying even briefly also cancels an existing visa and generally bars applying for a new one at any consulate other than the one in your country of nationality. For someone hoping to adjust through a family petition, unlawful presence can make the whole strategy impossible unless a narrow exception applies, such as being the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen who entered on a valid visa.

Voluntary Departure and Its Deadline Trap

A person in removal proceedings can sometimes request voluntary departure and leave at their own expense instead of receiving a removal order.¹⁵ The benefit is avoiding some of the additional legal consequences a removal order carries.

Requested before proceedings conclude, the departure window can run up to 120 days. Requested at the end of proceedings, the window is only 60 days, and the person must have been physically present for at least one year before the notice to appear was served, show good moral character for the prior five years, prove means and intent to depart, and post a bond.

Miss the deadline and the consequences are worse than a removal order: a civil penalty between $1,000 and $5,000, plus a ten-year bar on cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, and several other forms of relief.¹⁵

Public Charge and Sponsor Obligations

Most family-based and some employment-based green card applicants need a financial sponsor who files Form I-864. The sponsor must show household income of at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the household size (100% for active-duty military sponsoring a spouse or child). For a household of two in the 48 contiguous states, the 125% threshold is $27,050 as of March 2026.¹⁶

Form I-864 is a legally enforceable contract. If the sponsored immigrant receives means-tested public benefits, the agency that provided them can sue the sponsor to recover the cost. The obligation lasts until the immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen or is credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work (roughly ten years). Divorce does not end it. A sponsor who fails to report an address change can face civil fines up to $5,000 if the sponsored immigrant received benefits during the gap.¹⁷

The public charge test itself is being rewritten. Under a 2022 final rule, officers deciding whether an applicant was likely to become a public charge could only consider cash assistance and long-term government-funded institutional care. A November 2025 proposed rule would rescind that limitation and let officers consider any means-tested public benefit, including SNAP, Medicaid, and housing assistance.¹⁸ If finalized, that would sharply expand what counts against a green card applicant. Anyone with an application pending, or planning one, should think carefully before enrolling family members in public benefit programs.

Employer I-9 Exposure

Every U.S. employer must complete Form I-9 for new hires. The employee fills out Section 1 no later than the first day of work (but not before accepting the offer). The employer examines identity and work authorization documents and completes Section 2 within three business days of the start date.¹⁹ Acceptable documents come from three lists: List A proves both identity and work authorization; a combination of one List B (identity) and one List C (work authorization) also works.

Employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers face civil fines per violation. A pattern of knowing violations can bring criminal penalties including up to six months of imprisonment. Document fraud, such as using forged documents or documents belonging to someone else, carries up to five years of imprisonment.²⁰ With interior enforcement operations expanding, worksite audits and employer investigations have moved up the priority list.

1
The White House. Protecting The American People Against Invasion
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1225 – Inspection by Immigration Officers; Expedited Removal of Inadmissible Arriving Aliens; Referral for Hearing
3
eCFR. 8 CFR 235.3 – Inadmissible Aliens and Expedited Removal
4
Federal Register. Employment Authorization Reform for Asylum Applicants
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. DACA Litigation Information and Frequently Asked Questions
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Secretary of Homeland Security Announces Termination of Designation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status, EADs Expire on May 4, 2026
9
Federal Register. Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
10
Travel.State.Gov. Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1152 – Numerical Limitations on Individual Foreign States
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule Edition 03/01/26
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Changes Validity Period for Any Form I-693 Signed on or after Nov. 1, 2023
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229c – Voluntary Departure
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-864 Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
18
Federal Register. Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Penalties for Prohibited Practices