Week of November 12–18, 2025
Reconstructed. This week was compiled in September 2026 from the reporting published at the time, each item linked to its source. Rules and figures reflect that week; several have changed since.
State Department cable tells consulates to weigh obesity and diabetes in visa decisions
A State Department cable obtained by the Associated Press directs embassy and consular officers to vet visa applicants comprehensively for the likelihood that they will need public benefits at any point after admission. It names medical conditions including diabetes and obesity, along with a lack of assets or income, as grounds for concern.
The guidance sets out how the administration reads the public charge provision, the long-standing rule allowing refusal of entry or permanent residence to someone likely to depend on government support such as certain cash and food aid.
Federal law already required applicants for permanent residence to show they would not become a public charge, and the first Trump administration widened the list of qualifying benefits. "This could lead to a substantial narrowing of immigration," said Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Institute.
Source: NBC News
Detainees sue over sewage and medical care at California City facility
Seven people held at the California City Immigration Processing Center sued ICE in federal court in the Northern District of California, alleging sewage leaks, insect infestation and denial of food, water and access to lawyers. They are seeking class action status on behalf of everyone held there.
The complaint says detainees lack adequate clothing for cold desert nights and appropriate medical attention for life-threatening conditions, and that people with mobility problems have no wheelchairs and in some cases cannot bathe or dress themselves.
The site, about 75 miles east of Bakersfield, is a former state prison run by CoreCivic that began taking detainees in August. It held an average of about 480 people a day in September and can hold up to 2,560; the suit says 800 are there now. ICE declined to comment.
Source: CalMatters
Greene to introduce bill phasing out the H-1B program
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she will introduce legislation to phase out the H-1B visa program and eventually eliminate it. The bill would keep an exemption for medical professionals, allowing up to 10,000 visas a year for doctors, nurses and similar roles, and would phase out even that allowance over ten years.
The measure would also remove the route from H-1B status to permanent residence and citizenship, requiring holders to leave when their visa expires. "People should not be allowed to come and live here forever," Greene said in a video posted on X, calling the program riddled with fraud and abuse.
The announcement came days after President Trump defended the program in a television interview, saying the country needs to bring in talent it lacks.
Source: The Hill
ICE has not bought the translation tools that replaced Spanish training
ICE has not purchased the translation technology it said would replace the Spanish language course for new officers, according to two Department of Homeland Security officials. The agency dropped the five-week course to speed up hiring.
In August, ICE officials told reporters the agency had bought robust translation services for officers to use in the field. Caleb Vitello, then head of training for new recruits, described the technology as far more efficient than the language course.
The agency considered artificial intelligence translation built into body-worn cameras, of the kind the Joliet Police Department in Illinois has used to translate 23 languages across 1,800 encounters since June, but has not bought any. New officers are entering the field with neither the course nor the devices.
Source: NBC News
Border Patrol surge begins in Charlotte over local objections
The administration confirmed on Saturday that an immigration enforcement surge had begun in Charlotte, North Carolina, with agents making arrests in several locations. Activists, elected officials and community groups began monitoring the sweeps and organizing support for residents.
Charlotte has more than 900,000 residents, including more than 150,000 who were born abroad, and is run by a Democratic mayor. North Carolina's two senators are Republicans and the state voted for President Trump in the last three elections. Crime in the city was down this year through August compared with the same period last year.
The operation follows similar deployments in Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago, which have prompted multiple lawsuits and widespread anxiety among people without legal status.
Source: AP News
Supreme Court takes up asylum access for people turned back at ports of entry
The Supreme Court agreed to review a Ninth Circuit ruling on metering, the practice under which Customs and Border Protection officers turned asylum seekers back before they reached the border line at ports of entry. The policy began in 2016 in response to a rise in Haitian arrivals at San Ysidro near San Diego.
Federal law allows a noncitizen physically present in the United States, or arriving whether or not at a designated port, to apply for asylum. Those who arrive at a port and say they fear return are inspected and channeled into the asylum system.
The government says the appeals court decision has caused untold interference with its management of the southern border. The immigrant rights group and asylum seekers who sued argue the government's reading would let border officials render the asylum statute inoperable at ports of entry.
Source: SCOTUSblog
White House creates FIFA Pass for expedited World Cup visa interviews
President Trump announced FIFA Pass, a program giving people who bought World Cup tickets through FIFA priority appointments for US visa interviews ahead of the 2026 tournament. The name stands for prioritized appointments scheduling system.
"If you have a ticket for the World Cup, you can have prioritized appointments to get your visa," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in the Oval Office. Trump urged travelers to apply right away.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the department has sent more than 400 additional consular officers abroad to handle demand, and that in about 80 percent of the world a traveler can now get a visa appointment within 60 days. Ticket holders will still have to qualify for a visa on the usual grounds.
Source: AP News
New international student enrollment falls 17 percent
New international student enrollment at US colleges and universities fell 17 percent in fall 2025, the largest decline outside the pandemic in eleven years, according to preliminary data from the Institute of International Education. It follows a 7 percent drop in the 2024-25 academic year.
An estimated 230,000 new international students enrolled this year. Annual totals normally run between 260,000 and 300,000, with a record 300,000 in 2015 and a pandemic low of 145,000 in 2020.
More than half of the 825 institutions surveyed cited visa application problems as an obstacle to enrollment. The State Department paused new student visa interviews in May, creating long backlogs. High refusal rates had already contributed to the previous year's decline.
Source: NBC News
Schools report sharp declines in students from immigrant families
School districts from Miami to San Diego are recording large drops in enrollment of children from immigrant families. Some parents have been deported or left voluntarily, others have moved within the country, but administrators say the main factor is that far fewer families are arriving from abroad.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools has enrolled about 2,550 students from other countries so far this school year, down from nearly 14,000 last year and more than 20,000 the year before. The decline has removed roughly $70 million from the district's annual budget.
"I was one of those arrivals when I was 8 years old," said school board member Luisa Santos, who called the trend a sad reality. The losses compound enrollment pressures districts already face from demographic change and shifts to private schooling.
Source: AP News
Justice Department sues California over mask ban for federal agents
The Justice Department sued California, Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta over two state laws, the No Secret Police Act and the No Vigilantes Act, which bar most law enforcement officers from covering their faces and require them to display identification.
The complaint argues that the laws are an unconstitutional attempt to regulate and discriminate against the federal government, and that they endanger officers who have faced harassment, doxxing and violence. It says threatening agents with prosecution for concealing their identities chills federal law enforcement.
"California's anti-law enforcement policies discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. The suit was filed in the Central District of California.
Source: US Department of Justice
Treasury sets 3 percent interest on cash immigration bonds
The Treasury Department published the interest rate paid on cash deposited to secure ICE immigration bonds. For the period from October 1, 2025 through January 31, 2026, the rate is 3 percent a year.
Immigration bonds are posted by relatives or sponsors to secure the release of a detained person while immigration proceedings continue. The published rate governs the interest that accrues on the cash held.
Treasury resets the rate periodically and the notice applies only to the stated period. Bond amounts themselves are set by immigration judges or by ICE and are unaffected.
Source: Federal Register