Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026
ICE detention reached a new high in July
ICE held more than 45,000 people in detention in July, the highest monthly total since Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new Deportation Data Project release and The Marshall Project’s analysis. It is the first independent confirmation of the detention surge after ICE figures first surfaced in Fox News and CBS News reporting. Deportation Data Project, The Marshall Project
The DDP release counts more than 610,000 people detained since Trump’s second inauguration. The Marshall Project separately reports that more than 270,000 people spent at least a week in detention during 2025 and Austin Kocher's analysis shows most of the people arrested have no criminal background in the US. Austin Kocher
Curated news, primary source context, useable data, and a calendar of what’s coming in the immigration system. Free every weekday in August.
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Courthouses are part of the enforcement fight
The Justice Department sued Franklin County Municipal Court in Ohio over a rule that restricts civil immigration arrests at the courthouse. The court says people who must appear for court business should be able to do so without civil arrest there; the federal complaint argues the rule unlawfully interferes with immigration enforcement. The case turns a long-running argument about courthouse access into a direct legal fight. Courthouse News, Justice Department complaint
In Illinois, prosecutors’ files reached ICE
An Injustice Watch investigation found prosecutors in one of every six Illinois counties sharing sensitive records with ICE, including court dates, scheduled jail releases, home addresses and photographs. The reporting found that some people were detained or deported after those disclosures. Illinois’ TRUST Act is supposed to prevent this kind of local cooperation with immigration enforcement, but prosecutors disagreed about whether their offices are covered. Injustice Watch
A judge blocked access to commercial-driver records
A federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from obtaining state-held information on roughly 17 million commercial drivers from CDLIS, the system states use to share licensing records. The order does not decide the case, but it means the records have not been handed over while the court considers a preliminary injunction. FreightWaves provides the trucking-industry context; The Center Square’s short video is a useful rehash. The attempted records access remains separate from trucking groups’ push for tighter non-domiciled-CDL eligibility rules. FreightWaves, FreightWaves explainer, The Center Square
Upcoming
Next four weeks
- Aug. 28, 2026
The comment deadline closes on the DHS rule requiring foreign nationals in the US to register with the government and give fingerprints (Form G-325R). DHS is asking whether more immigration filings should count as registration on their own, and whether to change biometrics rules for some travelers; further rulemaking may follow.
- Aug. 31, 2026
DHS has proposed rules to carry out the 2022 EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, which governs how people get a green card by investing in a US business and creating 10 jobs (EB-5), including through government-approved Regional Centers that pool investor money. The rule also sets out when petitions are automatically revoked. Comments close August 31, 2026.
Employers using the extra H-2B visas Congress allows for seasonal, non-farm jobs must file a sworn statement that they meet the added conditions. The Labor Department is asking OMB to renew that collection; the requirement itself is not changing. Comments close August 31.
- Sept. 9, 2026
Starting September 9, the heaviest users of H-1B and L-1 visas owe a federal fee on every extension petition, not just when they hire someone new or take on another company's worker. The fee is $4,000 per H-1B petition and $4,500 per L-1 petition for companies with 50 or more US employees when more than half are on H-1B or L-1 visas.
Protection from deportation for Salvadorans in the US is scheduled to end September 9. DHS’s decision on whether to extend it was due July 11 and has not been published; by law, if no termination notice publishes, the designation continues automatically for six months.
- Sept. 15, 2026
International students, exchange visitors and foreign-media staff can currently stay as long as their program continues. This final rule replaces that “duration of status” system with a fixed end date and an extension application for a longer stay.
- Sept. 18, 2026
People applying for a green card or admission to the US will face a broader public-charge test: whether an officer thinks they are likely to become dependent on government support. DHS is scrapping the 2022 rule that narrowed what officers could weigh.
- Sept. 24, 2026
DHS proposes a $103,265 fee for cap-subject H-1B petitions, including advanced-degree-exemption petitions, in addition to other fees. Comments close September 24.
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Around the system
USCIS anti-fraud officers are being diverted to the administration’s voter-fraud effort. The shift puts the officers on two “high-priority” initiatives: screening South African refugees and looking for alleged unlawful voters. The Guardian
The administration asked the Supreme Court to revive its asylum ban at the U.S.-Mexico border. The filing seeks review of the lower-court ruling against the policy. NOTUS
Federal denaturalization filings are increasing, according to TRAC’s review of court records. The cases seek to revoke U.S. citizenship through civil proceedings. ABC13 Houston
The Justice Department targeted another Philadelphia “ICE Out” ordinance after prevailing in its challenge to the city’s ban on masks for immigration agents. The new dispute concerns limits on local cooperation with ICE. The Philadelphia Inquirer