The Trump administration is offering $1,000 and paid travel for immigrants in the U.S. illegally who opt for “self-deportation.” By using the CBP Home app, migrants can inform authorities of their departure and avoid being prioritized for detention. Homeland Security describes it as a “cost-effective” alternative to arrest and deportation. Trump suggests that those who leave voluntarily may eventually have a chance to return legally. Critics argue the program is coercive and dehumanizing. One migrant has already taken up the offer.

A week after reinstating legal status for foreign students, immigration officials introduced a new policy granting ICE broad authority to revoke that status. The policy permits revocation based on vague claims of “noncompliance” or visa cancellation without evidence or judicial oversight. Critics argue it could lead to a fresh wave of deportations and undermine legal protections. Immigration lawyers say the policy reflects ICE’s efforts to expand its powers and bypass recent court rulings that protect international students.

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to approve its plan to revoke temporary legal status for over 400,000 Venezuelan, Cuban, Haitian, and Nicaraguan migrants, granted under a Biden-era program. A federal judge blocked the termination in April. Trump’s team argues the program undermines immigration enforcement, while critics warn mass termination would harm families, communities, and the economy. The Court has given plaintiffs until May 15 to respond.

The U.S. State Department announced the results of the 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery, or “green card lottery.” Of the millions who submitted their names in the lottery, only 55,000 individuals were selected to apply for U.S. permanent residency. The DV lottery offers a path to a green card for people from countries with historically low immigration rates to the U.S.

President Trump has signed new executive orders ramping up immigration enforcement. One requires the public listing of “sanctuary cities” that don’t cooperate with federal immigration efforts and threatens legal action. Another mandate is for more stringent English proficiency rules for truck drivers. Supporters say the orders will improve public safety and restore accountability in local law enforcement. Critics say the measures are politically motivated and anti-immigrant. The crackdown comes just ahead of Trump’s 100th day in office, with deportations still lagging behind Biden-era numbers.

USCIS, in coordination with ICE and the State Department, helped dismantle a nationwide marriage fraud ring resulting in 10 arrests and multiple indictments. The investigation uncovered that U.S. citizens were paid to marry foreign nationals to fraudulently obtain immigration benefits. Key coordinators in New York City arranged the fake marriages and filed false documents. One recruiter targeted women in Baltimore and other areas. Immigration benefits for those involved have been revoked, and further arrests are expected.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has stopped accepting petitions for the 19,000 supplemental H-2B visas allocated to returning workers set to begin employment between April 1 and May 14, 2025. Any applications submitted after April 18 will be denied. These additional visas, commonly used in industries such as hospitality and construction, were part of a temporary increase to the standard annual limit. However, 20,000 H-2B visas are still available for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica — and prior H-2B employment is not required to apply.

House Republicans have introduced a new proposal that would charge certain immigrants $550 every six months to renew their work permits — part of a broader effort to fund immigration enforcement by dramatically increasing fees on legal immigration applications. The legislation, introduced by the House Judiciary Committee, would require asylum applicants, parolees, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients to pay $550 to apply for an initial work permit (Form I-765) and $550 every six months to keep it valid.

Between April 6–12, ICE and federal partners arrested 206 illegal aliens in and around New York City during a targeted enforcement operation focused on dangerous criminal offenders. Of those arrested, 121 had serious criminal histories, including charges or convictions for murder, rape, assault, arson, and drug or firearms crimes. Several had gang affiliations, and two were foreign fugitives. ICE emphasized the importance of multi-agency collaboration, particularly in cases where local jurisdictions had released alien offenders despite immigration detainers.

In March 2025, CBP reported record-low southwest border crossings, with only 7,181 illegal aliens apprehended—a 95% drop from March 2024. The CBP Home app launched to facilitate voluntary departures. CBP also seized 760 pounds of fentanyl and increased overall drug seizures by 47% from February. Over $913 million worth of counterfeit goods were intercepted, and 434 shipments tied to forced labor were halted. Additionally, CBP processed over $352 billion in trade, collected nearly $15 billion in duties, and completed audits identifying $310 million in owed revenue.

On April 14, 2025, a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction staying parts of the DHS’s March 25 notice terminating the CHNV parole process. As a result, termination notices sent to Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan nationals are not currently in effect, though no new CHNV parole requests will be processed.

The U.S. State Department has released the May 2025 Visa Bulletin which is the eighth Visa Bulletin for the fiscal year. The headline in the month’s Visa Bulletin is the lack of pretty much any movement across the cutoff dates for employment categories and very minor forward movement for some family-based categories. According to the May 2025 Visa Bulletin, family-based applicants must use the Dates for Filing chart, while employment-based applicants must follow the Final Action Dates chart for Adjustment of Status filings.