States defend in-state tuition for undocumented students

The Justice Department has filed lawsuits against 21 states to block tuition policies for undocumented students. The latest suits target Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, where some undocumented students who attended and finished high school locally can pay the resident rate at public colleges. In Arizona, Proposition 308 was narrowly approved by voters in 2022 and makes qualifying high-school graduates eligible regardless of immigration status; the DOJ argues that policy unlawfully favors them over out-of-state U.S. citizens. CALÓ News / Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting

The practical question is whether a student’s connection to a state’s schools matters more than their ability to pay an out-of-state price. Across the four states, eligibility generally turns on graduating from an in-state high school and meeting local attendance requirements, rather than immigration status alone. At the University of Washington, the federal complaint puts 2026–27 undergraduate tuition at $13,406 for residents and $44,460 for nonresidents. A federal victory would not merely change a tuition category: it would move access away from a record of growing up and graduating in a state and toward whether a family can absorb the nonresident bill. EL PAÍS

A man died in ICE custody in the Northern Mariana Islands

Lianyong Wei, a 51-year-old Chinese immigrant, was found unresponsive during a morning check at a Saipan detention facility less than a day after ICE took him into custody. NPR reports that he was pronounced dead on Aug. 23, after being transferred from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety to ICE custody the day before. The report counts Wei as the 57th person to die while held in the government’s immigration custody since the start of the second Trump administration, including 24 deaths since Jan. 1. NPR

The territory’s two relevant agencies both have formal 287(g) agreements with ICE. The Department of Public Safety has a Task Force Model agreement, while the Department of Corrections, which operates the Saipan facility, has a Jail Enforcement Model agreement. Those agreements establish ICE-local enforcement partnerships; they do not explain the circumstances or cause of Wei’s death. CNMI Department of Public Safety — 287(g) Watch, CNMI Department of Corrections — 287(g) Watch

A court found the H-2A wage cut unlawful — but the lower rates remain for now

A federal judge found key parts of the Labor Department’s new H-2A wage formula unlawful, including its treatment of employer-provided housing as a deduction from the pay of temporary agricultural workers. Judge Kirk E. Sherriff concluded the department acted arbitrarily and bypassed required public comment on much of the change. He left the lower wage rates in place temporarily rather than leave the program without federal wage floors, but required notice that qualifying H-2A workers and U.S. workers in corresponding jobs may later be owed adjustments. The Mendocino Voice

In Kentucky, bond hearings did not reliably lead to release

A Sixth Circuit ruling in May gave many people held by ICE in Kentucky a path to bond hearings; a new local review shows that a hearing often did not mean release. Louisville Public Media and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting reviewed more than 400 habeas petitions and identified 178 post-ruling orders for release or a bond hearing. Of 95 people whose bond-hearing decisions were located, immigration judges denied bond in about 80%; 18 received bond, while 76 people in the broader group were released. The follow-up is a useful reminder that a procedural right and the practical ability to leave ICE custody are separate questions. Louisville Public Media / Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting

Around the system

Vermont prisons agree to improve services for people held for ICE: The Vermont Department of Corrections settled a discrimination complaint brought by the Vermont Human Rights Commission, agreeing to language interpretation and regular access to immigration lawyers and court hearings. The agreement includes no monetary payment. VTDigger

All three witnesses to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s death are out of ICE custody: Víctor Salgado Araujo, Lorenzo’s brother and the last of the three men detained after the July 7 Houston shooting, was released after 54 days. Harris County prosecutors have said they are preparing sworn witness testimony for a grand jury and may seek more information from DHS; reporting has also underscored that the ICE agents involved did not wear body cameras. Click2Houston, The Texas Tribune

California sent two ICE-related bills to Gov. Gavin Newsom: One would impose a 25% annual tax on the gross income of private detention-center operators, with revenue dedicated to immigration services; the other would bar law-enforcement officers from using electric-shock gloves. The detention-center measure comes as federal officials seek to develop a new facility in Gilroy, California. The Mercury News

A Louisville detective is under a second investigation involving the city’s Flock camera network: Louisville Metro Police opened an internal inquiry into Det. Wesley Troutman’s reported search for a department vehicle. Earlier this year, the department disciplined Troutman after investigators found that he had shared his Flock credentials with a federal agent who made unauthorized immigration-related searches. Louisville Public Media / Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting

ICE is considering up to $2 million in robot dogs made in Massachusetts: A DHS procurement document describes Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots as tools for remote inspection, situational awareness and risk assessment in environments that could endanger personnel. The Spanish-language local report notes that Boston Dynamics is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, and that its policy bars weaponization of Spot. El Planeta