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What is the Immigration Policy Tracking Project?

The Immigration Policy Tracking Project (IPTP) collects and digests
every known immigration policy of the Trump administration.

Please cite as Guttentag, Immigration Policy Tracking Project [url]

The project was launched in 2017 by Lucas Guttentag working with teams of students at Yale and Stanford Law Schools to develop and maintain a complete record of Trump administration immigration actions. The purpose is to facilitate a deeper understanding of the scope and impact of Trump-era policies and to help develop a roadmap for reform. We welcome feedback to supplement, update, or refine entries.

Each policy or action is entered separately. Entries are reviewed by consulting immigration experts and published on the IPTP website. The goal is to provide a complete compendium of Trump administration policies and their implementation -- through rules, directives, guidance, memos and other means.

Each entry shows the current status of each policy, including whether enjoined by the courts or changed or revoked by the Biden administration.

  • 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 necessarily an endorsement of any specific prior policy.
  • The IPTP is not a real-time reporting service. It is designed to offer a comprehensive compendium of Trump-era policies and their current status.
  • 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 is responsible for The Immigration Policy Tracking Project (IPTP)?

The IPTP is a project of Professor Lucas Guttentag (currently on leave) undertaken with teams of law students at Yale and Stanford Law Schools and leading immigration experts.

Lucas Guttentag

Professor 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 currently on leave from IPTP and teaching to serve in the Justice Department. Guttentag 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 in the Department of Homeland Security as senior counselor to the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and as senior counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Under his leadership, the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project (IRP) became the nation's leading litigation program to enforce and advance legal protections for noncitizens. Guttentag 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 the National Immigration Forum, the National Lawyers Guild National Immigration Project, the Central American Refugee Center, the Immigrant Legal Resources Center, and others. He is a member of the American Law Institute, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and the recipient of an honorary degree from CUNY Law School. He 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.

Research Assistants

Laika Abdulali (YLS ‘18)
Alexa Andaya (YLS '20)
Esther Araya (YLS ‘20)
Sean Arrieta-Kenna (SLS ’25)
Schuyler Atkins (SLS '22)
Sam Becker (SLS '22)
Dan Beksha (SLS '20)
Camila Bustos (YLS ’21)
Oona Cahill (SLS '23)
Marin Callaway (SLS ’24)
Trillium Chang (SLS '21)
Gracie Chang (SLS ‘19)
Jon Contreras (SLS '22)
David Cremins (SLS'24)
Alex Costin (SLS '20)
Kayla Crowell (YLS '22)
Kevin Dousa (SLS '22)
Dylan Farrell-Bryan (YLS ’25)
Diego Fernández-Pagés (YLS'24)
Leighton Fernando G. Cook (YLS'24)
Melissa Fich (YLS '21)
Charlotte Finegold (SLS'24)
Julie Goldrosen (SLS ‘18)
Adrian Gonzalez (YLS ‘19)
Eduardo Gonzalez (SLS '23)
Casey Graetz (YLS '19)
Carly Grimes (SLS '21)
Katie Guthrie (SLS '19)
Anthony Gutierrez (SLS ‘19)
Elizabeth Hannah (SLS ‘20)
Kate E. Healy (SLS ‘23)
Kelly Hernandez (YLS '22)
Priscilla Hernandez (SLS '20)
Audrey Huynh (YLS ’25)
Erika Inwald (SLS '21)
Louis Katz (YLS '19
Patrick Kennedy (SLS ‘19)
Dana Khabbaz (YLS ’21)
Eui Young Kim (YLS ’25)
Clarissa Kimmey (YLS '22)
Healy Ko (YLS ‘19)
Laura Kokotailo (YLS ‘20)
Sophie Laing (YLS ’21)
Yena Lee (YLS '19)
Rosalyn Leban (YLS'24)
Rosie Lebel (SLS'24)
Marisa Lowe (SLS '23)
Leanna Lupin (SLS ‘23)
Maya Mahajan
Aseem Mehta (YLS '20)
Edgar Melgar (YLS '20)
Tara Melody Rangchi (SLS ‘18)
Brennon Mendez (YLS ’21)
Juan Miramontes (YLS '23)
Lincoln Mitchell (SLS ‘19)
Annika Mizel (YLS ‘18)
Arjun Mody (YLS '20)
Allison Morte (YLS '19)
Dorna Movasseghi (SLS ’25)
Daniela Muehleisen (SLS '22)
Alana Murphy (SLS ’25)
Julia Neusner (SLS '20)
Matt Nguyen (YLS '19)
Lily Novak (YLS '23)
Daniel Ocampo (YLS '22)
Brynne O'Neal (SLS '19)
Mariel Perez-Santiago (SLS ‘20)
Bill Powell (YLS '19)
Angela Remus (YLS '22)
Anastasia Reisinger (SLS ’25)
Jasmine Robinson (SLS '22)
Hayden Rodarte (YLS ‘19)
Ben Rodgers (YLS ’24)
Tori Roeck (YLS ‘18)
Michael Schneider (SLS ‘19)
Neha Sharma (YLS'24)
Seiko Shastri (UMN Law '21)
Amanpreet Singh (SLS ’25)
Andie Taverna (YLS '20)
Hong Tran (YLS ‘20)
Sarah Tseggay (YLS ’24)
Robert Underwood (SLS '19)
Gaby Vasquez (YLS '21)
Alex Wang (YLS '19)
Kelsey Woodford (SLS '19)
Megan Yan (YLS ‘20)
Jasmine Yang Miller (SLS '19)
Simon Zhen (YLS ‘19)

Research Coordinators

Oona Cahill (SLS '23)
Rebecca Chan (YLS '18)
Hannah Coleman (SLS '19)
Jon Contreras (SLS '22)
Leighton Fernando G. Cook
Charlotte Finegold (SLS ’24)
Sam Frizell (YLS ‘20)
Becky Gendelman (YLS '19)
Diana Li (SLS '21)
Danny Martinez (SLS '20)
Katelyn Masket (SLS '21)
Angela Remus (YLS '22)
Charlotte Schwartz (YLS 119)
Rebecca Steele (YLS '21)

Special Thanks

Jeanne Butterfield
Marshall Fitz
Mark Greenberg
Ur Jaddou
Tom Jawetz
Stephen Legomsky
Ethan Nasr
David Neal
Esther Olavarria
Chris Rickerd
Diane Rish
Alex Wang
Crystal Williams
Steve Yale-Loehr

Website

Coforma
Rohan Challa (Stanford '19)
Sam Frizell (YLS '20)
Becky Gendelman (YLS '19)
Sean Kazuyuki Decker (Stanford MS '20)
Healy Ko (YLS '19)
Katelyn Masket (SLS '21)
Seiko Shastri (UMN Law '21)
Samantha Silverstein (Stanford '22)
Rebecca Steele (YLS '21)
Mauricio Wulfovich (Stanford MS '21)

Supporters

Emerson Collective
FWD.us
Ford Foundation
Grove Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Unbound Philanthropy