The New Immigration Landscape:

What has Changed and What is Changing

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March 18, 2025

ImmigrantJustice.org

About NIJC

• The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) is dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
• With offices in Chicago, Indiana, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., NIJC provides direct legal services to and advocates for these populations through policy reform, impact litigation, and public education. Since its founding three decades ago, NIJC has been unique in blending individual client advocacy with broad-based systemic change.

NIJC’s Approach

• Educate immigrants about their rights
• Provide low-cost or free legal representation to immigrants

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What is Happening?

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• Increased Enforcement

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• Changes in Law

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• “Death by a Thousand Cuts”

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Executive Orders

• Guaranteeing The States Protection Against Invasion

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• Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists

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• Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government

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• Protecting The American People Against Invasion

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• Declaring a National Energy Emergency

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• Securing Our Borders

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• Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship

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• Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program

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• Clarifying The Military’s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States
• Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States

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Trends in Chicago

• Increase in arrests and detentions including
• Those with no criminal history;
• Those with no prior contact with immigration;
• Workplace arrests;
• Community arrests (including homes and on the street); and
• Arrests of people subject to electronic monitoring.

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• ICE is expanding detention capacity in the Midwest region.

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• In Chicago, we have not had reports of ICE activity in or outside courthouses, but we have heard about it elsewhere in Illinois.

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Litigation to Protect Communities

Case 1: Castañon Nava – Settlement that limits warrantless arrests by ICE

• Where: Chicago "Area" (IL, WI, IN, KY, MO, KS) + National Policy
• When: Settlement expires in May 2025.

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Requirements:

• Reenforces warrant requirement; limits ability to make collateral/ street side arrests.
• Agents making arrests (w or w/o warrant) must document probable cause
• Must show person in U.S. in violation of immigration laws AND Person is a flight risk

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Using Settlement to Protect Communities:

• Remedy may be release from ICE custody (if in Chicago “area”)
• NIJC reporting tool - here
• Preparing for follow-on challenges in Chicago and beyond

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Motion to Enforce Castañon Nava

• On March 13, 2025, NIJC, ICIRR, OCAD, and the ACLU filed a Motion to Enforce
• 22 known violations since January 2025, including:
• 1 U.S. citizen who was detained for over 10 hours before being released; and
• 9 people in Chicago and near suburbs who were stopped in vehicles;
• 12 restaurant workers in Missouri.
• Most have no criminal background:
• one has a DUI, and a few have traffic related violations.

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ICE Administrative Arrest Warrant

Litigation to Protect Communities

Case 2: Gonzalez – Limits Use of Detainers

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Detainer is a request from the federal government to local law enforcement to hold individuals who are in state or local custody for their direct transfer to immigration custody.  

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Settlement Requirements:

• Detainers based on electronic databases or interview subject to neutral review w/in 48 hours
• Changes practices by which centralized hub in California issues detainers.
• This single location issues all “after-hours” (and weekend) detainers for 42 states.
• Emphasizes that local authorities have no authority to keep an individual in custody for ICE
• Remedy is cancellation of detainer and/or possible release

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Using Settlement to Protect Communities:

• More information can be found at NIJC’s website here.
• Community oriented explainer and trainings forthcoming

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Immigration Detainer

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Increased Enforcement

• Focus on:
• People with removal orders
• People with criminal legal system contact
• Collateral arrests
• Increased use of ICE detainers
• Pressure to accept stipulated removals
• Workplace enforcement
• I-9 audits
• Workplace raids

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• Expanded expedited removal

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Expanded Expedited Removal

• Limited application since 1996
• What is the expansion?
• Who will be affected?
• How can people contest application?
• Should people carry presence documents?

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Changes in Law: what has happened as of 3/17/2025 (a sampling)

• Congressional action (Laken Riley Act)

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• Alien Enemies Act of 1
• Border action: 212(f) and MPP
• NIJC lawsuit filed 2/3/2025

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• CHNV & U4U program cancellations

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• Venezuelan TPS termination

Laken Riley Act

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• What is mandatory detention?
• 236a vs. 236c

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• Who will be targeted?
• Those accused of certain crimes will be detained:
• Burglary, theft, shoplifting, assault of law enforcement officer, any crime that results in death or bodily injury.

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• How can LRA be challenged?

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• Retroactivity?

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How are we seeing Laken Riley in Chicago?

• Immigration Judges are applying LRA and denying bond to individuals as a result

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• Should not be applied retroactively to arrests that predated the Act

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• No reports of CPD sharing information with ICE through LRA
• However, ICE does have access to federal databases which would give them access to this information

Alien Enemies Act Proclamation

• Over 100 Venezuelans deported without any due process over the weekend

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• On May 15, 2025, ACLU sued and received a Temporary Restraining Order.
• At least 3 flights disobeyed that order and landed in El Salvador.
• Unknown if any Chicagoans are on those planes.

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End to Parole

• Executive order “Securing Our Borders” 1/20/2025 ended parole programs, including:
• Uniting For Ukraine (U4U)
• Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) for Afghans fleeing the Taliban
• Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraugan and Venezuela parole processing
• Blocked individuals paroled through these processes from seeking other forms of status
• January 28, 2025, Haitian Bridge Alliance sued requesting an injunction.

Venezuelan TPS

• Biden/Mayorkas extension from 1/10/25 vacated & the 2023 Venezuelan designation terminated as “contrary to the national interest” (expires April 2, 2025).

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• TPS for other nationalities is ending soon.

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• Pending litigation:
• 2/19/2025 - the National TPS Alliance and 8 Venezuelan TPS holders sued to enjoin and return the extension;
• 2/20/2025 CASA, INC and Make the Road New York;
• 03/03/2025 – Haitian-Americans United, Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, and UndocuBlack

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“Death by a Thousand Cuts”

• USCIS resources allocated to “fraud detection”
• Interviews on all applications
• Blank spaces policy
• Human rights reports adjusted
• Public charge redefined
• Fee waivers rejected/denied
• Filing fees increased
• Form Expiration Dates changing

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Are KYRS Working?