Immigration Policy Tracking Project
The Immigration Policy Tracking Project (IPTP) compiles and indexes
every identifiable Trump administration immigration policy along with
all source documents and the current status of each policy.
COMING IN 2025: Tracking of all Trump 2.0 Policies.
Please cite as Guttentag, Immigration Policy Tracking Project [url]
The project was initiated in 2017 by Lucas Guttentag, working with teams of Yale and Stanford law students, to record and preserve a complete record of all Trump administration immigration actions. The site is continuously updated to reflect current developments. [COMING IN 2025: Tracking of all Trump 2.0 policies.]
Each policy or action is listed as a separate entry with all relevant source documents. Entries are reviewed by consulting immigration experts before publication on the IPTP website. The goal is to provide a complete compendium of Trump administration policies adopted through rules, directives, guidance, memos, or other means in order to permit a fuller understanding of the scope of Trump-era policies and to facilitate reform. Feedback to supplement, update, or refine entries is encouraged.
Entries show the current status of each policy, including whether enjoined by judicial order or amended or rescinded by subsequent administrative action.
- Entries appear chronologically in a searchable database organized by subject area, agency affected, type of action, and other categories.
- Each entry includes the underlying source document(s) and any predecessor policies, wherever possible.
- To view all entries in chronological order, click on "View All Policies."
- Click on any subject tag to find all policies with the same tag.
- Subsequent developments affecting, enjoining, or revising a policy are noted within each entry.
- The entries are updated regularly to reflect changes in status or other developments.
- Legal challenge(s) are noted to provide case names and docket numbers and to alert users to relevant litigation. For the most recent status of a case, users should consult other sources.
- Predecessor policies are provided for context and analysis. Their inclusion is not an endorsement of the current or prior policy.
- The IPTP attempts to post all developments promptly but it is not a real-time reporting service. Users should check regularly for updates.
- Trump 2.0 policies will be posted as promptly as possible and coded to distinguish them from Trump 1.0.
- The date of the website's most recent update appears on the home page.
Categories and Descriptions
Subject Matter
Enforcement
Policies governing enforcement and detention, including enforcement priorities, parole standards, family separation, border security and barriers, and expedited removal.
Humanitarian
Policies governing humanitarian benefits and relief, including asylum and related protections, TPS designations and terminations, refugee admissions and screening, and procedural requirements.
Non-Immigrant Visas
Policies related to the issuance and adjudication of non-immigrant visas, including changes to application requirements, information requests, and visa issuance standards.
Immigrant Visas
Policies related to the issuance and adjudication of immigrant visas, including changes to application requirements, information requests, and visa issuance standards.
Citizenship
Policies related to citizenship and naturalization.
Labor
Policies related to worksite verification and labor enforcement. Employment-based immigration is catalogued under the Immigrant or Non-Immigrant Visas categories.
Hearings and Adjudications
Policies adopted or implemented by the Department of Justice, including adjudications by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, immigration court procedures and management directives, and Attorney General certifications of BIA decisions.
Agencies
DHS
The Department of Homeland Security is composed on numerous agencies. The principal immigration agencies are U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Other significant agencies include FEMA, TSA, and the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL)
DOJ
The Department of Justice has three major components related to immigration adjudication, policy or enforcement: The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Office of Attorney General, and the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) (formerly named the Office for Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination).
DOL
The Department of Labor handles labor certifications and policies relating to the recruitment and hiring of foreign workers.
DOS
The Department of State has two major components related to consular processing of noncitizens abroad and refugee policy: the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) and the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).
HHS
The Department of Health & Human Services has two major components related to public health-based immigration restrictions and unaccompanied noncitizen children (UACs): the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
Other
This category refers to other agencies and public entities implementing or affecting immigration policy: the Department of Defense (DOD); Social Security Administration (SSA); and state and local entities (S&L).
Status
Reported
The entry is based on a news report or similar other source but not formally confirmed or announced by the agency itself.
Proposed
The policy has been proposed by the administration but not yet formally adopted or in effect.
In Regulatory Agenda
The policy is included in the OIRA regulatory agenda as anticipated policy under active consideration for promulgation, proposal, or review during the ensuing 6- to 12-months.
Comment Period
The proposed policy or rule is currently open for public comment.
Final/Actual
The policy is in effect.
In Litigation
The policy is currently subject to legal challenge or was previously the subject of litigation. Further details or updates appear under Subsequent Action.
Enjoined/Vacated
The policy is enjoined, in whole or in part, as a result of litigation. The injunction may be preliminary or final and may be on appeal. Further details or updates appear under Subsequent Action.
Renewed
The policy or rule has been renewed without change.
Expired
The policy is no longer in effect due to expiration.
Replaced
The policy has been replaced or superseded by a later policy.
Rescinded
The policy has been rescinded or repealed.
Type of Action
Adjudication
Decision by an agency adjudicatory body.
Agency Directive
Includes agency guidance, policy memos, internal directives, training manuals, and similar instructions or policy pronouncements.
Change in Practice
Practices that appear to reflect a change in policy.
Data and Reports
Information that appears in governmental data or in agency reports.
Forms and Information Collection
Forms and instructions that impose requirements on users.
Presidential Orders
Includes presidential directives and executive orders.
Program Termination
Program ended or abandoned.
Rule
Includes proposed, interim and final regulations.
Legislation
Includes enacted, authorizing, and appropriating legislation.
Who established The Immigration Policy Tracking Project (IPTP)?
The IPTP is a project of Professor Lucas Guttentag working with teams of Stanford and Yale law students and leading national immigration experts.
Lucas Guttentag
Lucas Guttentag is Professor of the Practice of Law at Stanford Law School, and Martin R. Flug Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School. He is one of the nation's leading experts on immigration law, migration policy, and the rights of noncitizens with experience in advocacy, academia, and government. He founded the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project in 1985 and served as founding director for twenty-five years until 2010. From 2014 to 2016, Guttentag served in the Obama administration as a senior immigration policy advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security and from 2021 to 2024 in the Biden administration Department of Justice as a senior policy adviser to the Deputy Attorney General.
Under his leadership, the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project (IRP) became the nation's premiere litigation program to enforce and advance legal protections for noncitizens. Guttentag has litigated major cases on behalf of immigrants and refugees throughout the United States from offices in New York and San Francisco, including successful arguments in the United States Supreme Court. His work and advocacy have been widely recognized by national and community-based groups. He was named a Human Rights Hero by the ABA Human Rights Journal, appellate lawyer of the year by California Lawyer magazine, among the leading 500 lawyers in America by Lawdragon, received the top litigation award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association four times, and has been recognized for his contributions to the field of immigrant justice by many national and community-based organizations. He was awarded an honorary degree from CUNY Law School, and is a member of the American Law Institute and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Guttentag is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard Law School.
Support
This project is made possible by the work of many key contributors, including numerous Stanford and Yale law students, consulting immigration experts, and our generous funders.