The U.S. government set the refugee admissions ceiling for fiscal year 2026 at 7,500 and allocated a majority of those spots for Afrikaners from South Africa who were described by the administration as fleeing government-sponsored race-based discrimination.
January 01, 2026
high
policy
U.S. refugee admissions ceiling and allocation for fiscal year 2026 as stated by the administration.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations are made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary and TPS periods are typically granted in 18-month increments.
November 21, 2025
high
temporal
How TPS designations and renewal periods are administered.
Minnesota has the largest Somali community in the United States.
November 21, 2025
high
temporal
State-level demographic fact about the Somali-origin population in the U.S.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data cited in 2025 indicated that immigrants who hold commercial driver's licenses accounted for roughly 5% of all commercial driver's licenses but about 0.2% of all fatal crashes.
November 14, 2025
high
temporal
Statistical comparison of share of commercial driver's licenses vs. share of fatal crashes as reported from FMCSA data cited in 2025.
H-2A visas are for temporary agricultural workers, H-2B visas are for temporary nonagricultural workers, and E-2 visas are for foreign nationals who make substantial investments in a U.S. business.
November 14, 2025
high
temporal
Definitions of three U.S. nonimmigrant visa classifications commonly referenced in immigration and labor policy.
A 2025 proposed U.S. Department of Transportation rule would restrict immigrant eligibility for commercial driver's licenses to holders of H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 visas, require states to verify applicants' immigration status in a federal database, and make such licenses valid for up to one year or until an applicant's visa expires.
November 14, 2025
high
policy
Key design features of a 2025 proposed rule affecting noncitizen eligibility for commercial driver's licenses.
Estimates associated with the 2025 proposed rule indicated that roughly 10,000 of about 200,000 noncitizen commercial driver's license holders would qualify under the rule.
November 14, 2025
high
statistical
Estimated scope of eligibility among existing noncitizen commercial license holders under the proposed restrictions.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) offers a mobile application referred to in the article as the "CBP Home" app.
November 11, 2025
high
temporal
Named CBP mobile application referenced as a channel for accessing CBP information/services.
The U.S. J-1 visa is an exchange visitor visa category that permits foreign nationals to participate in academic exchange programs, including research and study at U.S. universities.
November 07, 2025
high
temporal
Describes the general purpose of the J-1 exchange visitor visa category.
The public charge ground of inadmissibility has been part of U.S. immigration law for more than 100 years.
November 06, 2025
high
temporal
Historical duration of the 'public charge' inadmissibility ground.
U.S. federal courts can issue temporary orders requiring immigration detention facilities to provide detainees with basic necessities and humane conditions, including adequate bedding, sanitation, showers, three meals a day, bottled water upon request, menstrual products, and prescribed medications.
November 05, 2025
high
legal
Describes types of remedial relief courts may order to address inhumane conditions in immigration detention.
Judicial remedies in immigration detention cases can require facilities to provide detainees private, cost-free access to attorneys and to supply lists of pro bono attorneys in relevant languages, and can bar officials from misrepresenting documents presented to detainees.
November 05, 2025
high
procedural
Examples of procedural protections and prohibitions that courts can impose on detention authorities.
Federal human smuggling charges can allege that a person accepted money to transport within the United States people who were present in the country illegally.
November 03, 2025
high
legal
Describes a common factual basis for federal human smuggling prosecutions in the United States.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security purchasing records show DHS paid Safe Restraints Inc. $268,523 for WRAP devices since late 2015, with about 91% of that spending occurring during the Trump administration(s).
October 30, 2025
high
statistical
Aggregate procurement amount and temporal distribution reported from government purchasing records.
Little Village is a Southwest Side neighborhood of Chicago that is frequently referred to as "La Villita".
October 29, 2025
high
geographical
Neighborhood name and common nickname used to identify a Chicago community.
Under United States law, visa records are generally considered confidential.
October 29, 2025
high
temporal
General description of U.S. legal treatment of visa records.
The U.S. government characterizes visas as a privilege rather than a right and states that visas may be revoked at any time at the government's discretion when circumstances warrant.
October 29, 2025
high
temporal
Statement of U.S. government policy on issuance and revocation of visas.
Immigration judges are the only officials who can revoke a lawful permanent resident's green card or issue a final order of removal for noncitizens who have been in the United States more than two years and are subject to deportation.
October 24, 2025
high
legal
Defines the adjudicatory authority of immigration judges in removal and revocation matters.
Individuals appointed as immigration judges commonly have varied professional backgrounds, including prior work in the Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's legal branch, asylum officer roles, immigrant-defense nonprofits, private legal practice, or military legal service; some appointees have had no prior immigration-law experience.
October 24, 2025
high
descriptive
Describes typical prior occupations and diversity of professional experience among immigration judge appointees.
In 2025 the U.S. Department of Justice changed qualification criteria for temporary immigration judges to remove the requirement of prior immigration-law experience.
October 24, 2025
high
policy
Summarizes a 2025 change to DOJ qualification rules for temporary immigration-judge appointments.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database can be used to verify individuals' citizenship by crosschecking federal citizenship records against state voter registration lists, and the Trump administration enabled states to have free direct access to the SAVE dataset.
October 21, 2025
high
temporal
Federal-to-state data matching to verify voter eligibility
Department of Homeland Security data cited in 2025 indicate that more than 20,000 educators were in the United States on H-1B visas, making education the third-most common occupation group in the H-1B program.
October 15, 2025
high
temporal
Occupational breakdown of H-1B visa holders reported by the Department of Homeland Security.
J-1 visas are cultural exchange visas that are intended for short-term stays and commonly include a home-country residency requirement that obliges holders to return to their home country for a period before seeking to re-enter the United States.
October 15, 2025
medium
policy
Description of the typical conditions and purpose of J-1 cultural exchange visas.
H-1B visas are longer-term work visas that commonly allow foreign workers, including teachers, to remain in U.S. positions for initial periods around three years with extensions typically available up to six years.
October 15, 2025
high
policy
Typical duration and extension pattern for H-1B work visas.
Pope Francis has stated that the forceful removal of people solely because of their immigration status deprives those people of their inherent human dignity.
October 08, 2025
high
timeless
Pope Francis' articulated perspective on mass deportations and immigration enforcement.
Aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, including residential raids and detentions, can result in the detention of U.S. citizens, immigrants with legal status, and children, and can create fear that deters migrant communities from using public services or attending churches and schools.
October 08, 2025
high
observational
Reported and documented impacts of forceful immigration enforcement on affected communities.
Governments commonly justify immigration crackdowns by framing them as measures to safeguard public safety and national security.
October 08, 2025
high
general
Typical governmental rationale communicated in policy debates over immigration enforcement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 237,565 U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions in Fiscal Year 2025 (October 1, 2024–September 30, 2025), the lowest annual total since Fiscal Year 1970 when apprehensions were 201,780.
September 30, 2025
high
temporal
Annual enforcement totals reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Fiscal Year 2025 Border Patrol apprehension total of 237,565 was approximately 87% lower than the four-fiscal-year average of 1.86 million reported for the four fiscal years immediately preceding FY2025.
September 30, 2025
high
temporal
Comparison of FY2025 annual apprehensions to the recent multi-year average.
Between February 2021 and December 2024, Border Patrol daily average apprehensions along the Southwest border were about 5,110 per day; in September 2025, Border Patrol averaged roughly 279 apprehensions per day along the Southwest border (about 8,300 for the month), a roughly 95% decrease.
September 30, 2025
high
temporal
Reported daily and monthly average apprehension rates for the Southwest border over defined periods.
A 2025 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) American Values Survey of 5,543 U.S. adults found 62% said the country was going in the wrong direction, with 92% of Democrats, 71% of independents, and 24% of Republicans saying the country was going in the wrong direction.
September 08, 2025
high
temporal
National public‑opinion poll measuring perceptions of national direction, reported by PRRI in 2025.
A report produced for the U.S. Congress in August 2025 estimated that 705 Somali migrants nationwide were covered by Temporary Protected Status.
August 01, 2025
high
temporal
Estimated count of Somali nationals covered by TPS according to a congressional report.
In 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deployed personnel to major U.S. metropolitan areas such as Chicago and Washington, D.C. as part of expanded efforts to disrupt smuggling networks and track undocumented migrants.
January 01, 2025
medium
temporal
Pattern of federal immigration-related deployments to U.S. cities described by federal officials.
U.S. Border Patrol, a component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is responsible for detecting and apprehending individuals who unlawfully enter the United States between ports of entry.
November 17, 2024
high
process
Border Patrol conducts patrols and initial apprehensions along the U.S. border outside official ports of entry.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that in fiscal year 2024 there were approximately 330,000 ICE removals and approximately 447,600 CBP returns.
September 30, 2024
high
temporal
DHS publishes enforcement counts broken out by removals (ICE) and returns (CBP) in its statistics database for fiscal years.
The U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) is a household sample survey covering roughly 60,000 households, and the Census Bureau advises that the CPS should not be used to determine the size of the foreign‑born population.
January 01, 2024
high
temporal
CPS is a sample-based survey used for labor and population estimates; its sample size and design limit its use for precise counts of the foreign-born population.
U.S. deportation and removal activity is commonly measured using U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 'removals' and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 'returns' as distinct enforcement metrics.
January 01, 2024
high
temporal
Removals generally refer to formal deportations managed by ICE, while returns typically refer to expedited returns at the border processed by CBP.
Voluntary household survey estimates of the foreign‑born population are not typically used as a metric for deportations and are not included in historical Department of Homeland Security deportation statistics databases.
January 01, 2024
high
temporal
Administrative deportation metrics rely on enforcement counts (removals and returns) rather than voluntary survey‑based population estimates.
As of July 2023, the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States was estimated to be 14 million.
July 01, 2023
high
temporal
This estimate represents a record high for unauthorized immigrants.
Unauthorized immigrants accounted for 27% of all U.S. immigrants in 2023, up from 22% in 2021.
January 01, 2023
high
temporal
This statistic reflects a change in the composition of the immigrant population over a two-year period.
More than 12 million unauthorized immigrants in 2023 either entered the U.S. illegally or overstayed a visa.
January 01, 2023
high
temporal
This emphasizes the pathways through which most unauthorized immigrants have arrived.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reported that in 2023 about one in five lawfully present immigrant adults in the United States were uninsured.
January 01, 2023
high
temporal
KFF analysis of health insurance coverage among lawfully present immigrants
In fiscal year 2018, President Donald Trump set the United States refugee admissions ceiling at 45,000.
January 01, 2018
high
temporal
Historical statistic on U.S. refugee admissions ceiling set by the Trump administration for FY2018.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for immigration enforcement, detention, and removal operations in the United States.
March 01, 2003
high
organizational
ICE is the primary federal agency charged with civil immigration enforcement and detention operations.
The U.S. Congress created the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program in 1990 to prevent deportations of people to countries experiencing natural disasters, civil strife, or other dangerous conditions.
January 01, 1990
high
temporal
Origin and purpose of the TPS immigration program.
ICE is an acronym for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
high
definition
Acronym expansion used in reporting about immigration enforcement.
Under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)), it is a felony for an alien who is unlawfully or illegally present in the United States to possess a firearm.
high
legal
Federal firearms prohibition applicable to aliens unlawfully present in the U.S.
Operation Midway Blitz is a named federal immigration enforcement operation that targets undocumented immigrants residing in Illinois.
medium-high
policy
Describes the stated geographic focus and enforcement target of a federal operation.
United States federal agencies, including the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, use programs and automated tools (including artificial intelligence) to monitor visa holders' social media and identify posts expressing specific viewpoints such as criticism of the U.S. government and Israel.
high
policy
Describes reported federal monitoring practices applied to noncitizen visa holders' online speech.
U.S. federal policy has applied a broad definition of 'support for terrorism' that can encompass criticism of U.S. support for Israel, criticism of Israel's military actions, and expressions of support for Palestinians, and this definition has been used as a basis to revoke or cancel visas.
high
policy
Describes how certain political speech has been treated within immigration enforcement frameworks.
Threats of adverse immigration enforcement or visa revocation can chill speech and civic participation among visa holders and green card holders, causing some to withdraw from public affiliation with organizations, step down from leadership roles, and delete or alter social media engagement.
high
policy
Describes general effects of immigration-related enforcement threats on noncitizen expressive and organizational activities.
Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan transnational criminal organization that has been designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization.
high
legal/organizational
Designation relates to the characterization of Tren de Aragua as an organization subject to counterterrorism and law enforcement actions.
Kristi Noem stated that 70% of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests are of noncitizens who have been convicted or charged with a crime in the United States.
medium
statistical
Quoted percentage claim about the composition of ICE arrests as reported in the article.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can issue detainers to local jails or prisons in order to assume custody of noncitizens who are in state or local custody.
high
procedural
Describes a standard enforcement procedure whereby ICE requests custody of detained noncitizens from local authorities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can lodge immigration detainers against noncitizens following arrests by state or local law enforcement.
high
procedural
ICE uses detainers to request that custody-holding agencies notify ICE before releasing an individual so ICE can take custody for immigration enforcement purposes.
U.S. Border Patrol may release individuals encountered at or near the southern border into the U.S. interior pending immigration hearings.
high
procedural
Border Patrol encounters do not always result in immediate removal; individuals can be released into the interior while immigration proceedings are pending.
There is no federal health insurance mandate requiring coverage for nonimmigrant work visa holders such as H-1B visa holders in the United States; health coverage typically depends on the employer or the individual.
high
policy
U.S. policy regarding health insurance for nonimmigrant work visa categories
Delaney Hall is an immigration detention facility in Newark with a capacity of approximately 1,000 beds.
high
descriptive
Facility capacity and location information for an immigration detention center.