Appeals courts curb detention and asylum restrictions

Certain longtime U.S. residents facing detention can seek a bond hearing. In Buele Morocho v. Warden Philadelphia FDC, the Third Circuit affirmed release orders for Gabriel Antonio Buele Morocho and Wanderson Lopes De Andrade, holding that their detention without bond hearings violated the Immigration and Nationality Act—the federal law that governs admission to and removal from the United States—and due process. The ruling means that, for people in their position, ICE cannot make detention automatic under its expanded reading of the law: an immigration judge must be able to assess public-safety risk and the likelihood of appearing for future proceedings. Third Circuit decision, Politico, La Nación

Where someone entered the United States does not by itself bar an asylum application. In Garcia Morales v. Blanche, the Ninth Circuit granted review for a Guatemalan family and held the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Rule inconsistent with the asylum statute. The ruling says people who have arrived in the country may apply regardless of whether they entered at a designated port of entry; it sent the family’s remaining asylum claims back to the immigration agency. Ninth Circuit decision, San Francisco Chronicle

Stanford student journalists win speech-based visa challenge

Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation and an anonymous F-1 student challenged immigration provisions they said chilled reporting and participation. In Stanford Daily Publishing Corp. v. Rubio, the newspaper said visa cancellation and deportation threats tied to noncitizens’ speech affected its international student journalists; the plaintiffs prevailed on six of eight claims. Court decision, Stanford Daily, SFGATE

Judge Noël Wise found the challenged provisions unconstitutional when used against protected speech. Her August 28 decision held that their application violated the First and Fifth Amendments and granted declaratory relief, but did not permanently block the provisions. Reuters, Al Jazeera

Indiana ICE detention site faces protests and conditions scrutiny

Indiana’s two-year agreement with ICE allows Miami Correctional Facility in Peru, Indiana, to hold up to 1,000 men; the first arrivals came last October. More than 60 events protested the arrangement over the weekend. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana recently filed federal suits for detainee Andranik Grigoryan, naming the Indiana Department of Correction and Centurion Health of Indiana and alleging inadequate medical care and unreasonable force; DHS disputes those claims, arguing that they have not been legally verified. Axios, Indiana Citizen

ICE maintains contracts for vehicle-forensics and location-tracking tools

Homeland Security Investigations appears to be actively maintaining vehicle-forensics and location-tracking capabilities through two relatively small contracts. Biometric Update reported that Berla iVe can recover navigation histories, GPS logs, and data left by phones connected to a vehicle’s infotainment system after lawful access, while HSI posted a separate sole-source notice involving Ensurity Mobile Corp. covert GPS trackers. ICE reportedly paid Berla about $130,000 in 2025 and spent $311,250 on Ensurity equipment, including 325 trackers; the new notice is not confirmation of an awarded contract. We’ll keep digging into the companies and underlying records. Biometric Update

Around the system

• Third-country removals: Reports describe U.S. deportations to countries where deported people may have no connection, including Liberia and the Central African Republic; the accounts include people with protections against return to their home countries and an Afghan whose relatives assisted the U.S. military. New York Times, AP News

• Visa processing pause: We noted last week that consulate immigrant-visa processing had been paused. The State Department has said the suspension of interview appointments is an operational pause, not a denial of pending applications, though delays can create problems such as expiring medical exams and children aging out of eligibility. La Nación

• Naturalization screening: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has added a policy allowing discretionary personal or neighborhood investigations; they are not automatic for citizenship applicants, but may draw on information from neighbors, employers, or others who know the applicant. Li Law Group, El Comercio

• Local enforcement partnerships: Under Tulsa County’s 287(g) Task Force Model agreement, certified local officers can question and make warrantless immigration arrests of people they suspect are unlawfully present; the sheriff said certified deputies are not assigned to patrol and patrol deputies will not be certified. Journal Record, 287(g) Watch

• Private-data tracking: Spanish-language reports describe Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts with companies that use public records, commercial databases, and online information to locate people, including possible in-person checks of addresses or workplaces. Univision, MundoNow