Immigration Policy Tracking Project

An Overview of Trump 2.0 Policies: Terminating Immigration Status and Restricting Program Eligibility.

This outline offers an overview of Trump 2.0 policy actions relating to termination of immigration status or protection and to new restrictions on program eligibility. The summary collects and organizes related policy changes to facilitate a more holistic analysis and understanding of the status and eligibility policy changes documented by the Immigration Policy Tracking Project (Tracking Project or IPTP).

Every policy listed in the outline is hyperlinked to a specific entry on the IPTP website, all of which are continually updated and annotated. For detailed information about any item listed below, click the link to jump to the Tracking Project entry. In some cases, the listed policy may appear on the website as a “Subsequent Trump and Court Action” to an earlier policy action. Polices subject to legal challenge have a litigation notation. Further information about litigation as well as links to specific docket pages and litigation tracker websites are available in each Tracking Project policy entry.

Feedback on this outline or any entry is welcome. Please use IPTP.feedback@gmail.com

November 5, 2025

Terminations of Status.

• EO 14165 § 7(b) directs termination of “categorical parole programs” including CHNV Parole Processes. [Subject to litigation] Directs DHS to terminate all “categorical parole programs,” including the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan (CHNV) parole processes.
  • At the time of EO, approximately 532,000 individuals (110,240 Cubans, 211,040 Haitians, 93,080 Nicaraguans, and 117,320 Venezuelans) had been paroled into the country through the CHNV parole processes.
  • At the same time, approximately 950,000 individuals had been paroled into the country after making port-of-entry appointments through the CBP One mobile application. CBP One was also deemed a “categorical” program.
  • The administration took steps to terminate the active parole statuses of existing recipients in addition to ending future grants of parole under such programs.
• EO 14159 § 16 directs DOS, DHS, and DOJ to rescind policies from prior administration that “led to the increased or continued presence of illegal aliens in the US.” Examples of programs to be terminated include parole previously granted under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) previously designated under 8 U.S.C. § 1254a, and employment authorization previously authorized under 8 U.S.C. § 1324a.
  Departmental Actions:
• USCIS memo [subsequent action] implementing EO 14165 § 7(b) by ordering immediate USCIS-wide administrative hold on all pending benefit requests filed by parolees under CHNV, the U4U (Uniting for Ukraine), or FRP (Family Reunification Parole) processes. [Subject to litigation]
• DHS terminates CHNV parole processes and revokes all existing CHNV paroles (allowing a 30-day wind-down period before parole terminates). [Subject to litigation]
• DHS sends parole termination and self-deportation notices to people paroled at CBP One appointments. [Subject to litigation]
• DHS terminates EADs for certain parolees and issues new EAD revocation guidance for employers.
• DHS first reduces length and then terminates TPS designation for Haiti. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 330,735.
• DHS vacates extension of and then terminates 2023 TPS designation for Venezuela. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 350,000.
  • Reported: DHS detains and pursues removal of active TPS holders. [Subject to litigation]
• DHS terminates 2021 TPS designation for Venezuela. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 250,000.
• DHS terminates TPS designation for Cameroon. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 4,920.
• DHS terminates TPS designation for Afghanistan. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 8,105.
• DHS terminates TPS designation for Nepal. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 7,160.
• DHS terminates TPS designation for Honduras. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 51,225.
• DHS terminates TPS designation for Nicaragua. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 2,910.
• DHS terminates TPS designation for Syria. [Subject to litigation] Estimated population: 6,132.
• DHS terminates TPS designation for South Sudan. Estimated population: 232.
• USCIS reverses policy providing automatic consideration of deferred action for Special Immigrant Juveniles. [Subject to litigation] USCIS will not consider granting deferred action to SIJs who are ineligible to apply for adjustment of status solely due to unavailable immigrant visas. Current SIJs deferred action recipients will retain protection until expiration.
• Reported: USCIS ends program to shield workers reporting abuse. USCIS took steps to eliminate Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement, including by proposing to remove language on Form G-325A referring to “Labor Investigation-Based” deferred action.

Restrictions on Adjustment of Status.

Departmental Actions:

• Reported: USCIS pauses permanent resident green card processing for refugees and asylees. USCIS directs suspension of processing for legal permanent resident status of applicants who have been granted refugee and asylum status on the ground that pause is for “completion of additional screening and vetting to identify potential fraud, public safety, or national security concerns.”
• USCIS rescinds policy guidance to assist stateless individuals in the U.S. Prior policy (August 2023) had established internal training and process to assist stateless persons in adjudicating immigration applications, petitions, or requests (and to minimize the risk of leaving someone stateless).
• DHS begins screening noncitizens’ social media activity for “antisemitism” when considering immigration benefit requests. Enhanced social media screening applied to applications of adjustment of status. Additionally, USCIS proposes collecting social media identifiers on certain forms to enhance screening and vetting of applicants. (See below for applications beyond adjustment of status.)

Targeting Speech and Opinions.

• EO 14188 § 3(e) directs agencies to develop means for higher education institutions to monitor and report on noncitizen students and staff for possible removal. Secretaries of State, Education, and Homeland Security are to issue reports with “recommendations for familiarizing institutions of higher education with the grounds for inadmissibility under [national security-related grounds]” so they can monitor and report activities, allowing federal authorities to conduct investigations and take actions to remove individuals.
  Departmental Actions:
• State Department launches “Catch and Revoke” initiative to revoke visas of students engaged in “pro-Hamas” activity. [Subject to litigation] State Department reviews student-visa holders’ social-media accounts for expressions of support for Hamas, examining internal databases, news reports, and other sources to identify visa-holders who were arrested in connection with certain campus protests.
• Reported: DOS directive instructs consular officers to review all student-visa applicants’ social media for terrorism-related inadmissibility. Leaked DOS directive addresses “Enhanced Screening and Social Media Vetting for Visa Applicants” that instructs consular officers to conduct a “social media review” of new or returning F, M, and J student-visa applicants to look for evidence of terrorism-related inadmissibility.
• DHS begins screening noncitizens’ social media activity for “antisemitism” when considering immigration benefit requests. USCIS will consider noncitizens’ “antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.”
• USCIS proposes collecting social media identifiers on certain forms to enhance screening and vetting of applicants. [Subject to litigation] USCIS issues 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed information collection that would collect social-media identifiers and associated social-media platform names from applicants for naturalization, asylum, permanent residence, and other benefits or travel documents.
• DOS announces visa revocations for Chinese students and scrutiny of future visa applications from China and Hong Kong. Secretary Rubio announces that DOS will work with DHS to “aggressively” revoke visas of Chinese students, including those “with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”
• DHS revokes student visas and terminates status of international students not connected to campus activism. [Subject to litigation] DHS revokes visas and terminates status of many students (using the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)) for reasons unrelated to campus protests or speech activity.

Enforcement at Courthouses and Sensitive Locations.

• EO 14159 revokes EO 13993 (Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities) and directs the revocation of memoranda, guidance, and policies implemented pursuant to that EO. EO 14159 directs DHS to enable CBP, ICE, and USCIS to set civil immigration enforcement priorities.
  Departmental Actions:
• DHS Rescinds and Supersedes Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas. [Subject to litigation] DHS rescinds prior memorandum designating sensitive locations where immigration enforcement should generally be avoided; new guidance directs law enforcement officers and agents to use their discretion “with a healthy dose of common sense.” The memo and follow-up guidance on “Common Sense Enforcement Actions in or Near protected Areas” both say “bright line rules” on locations for immigration-law enforcement are unnecessary.
• ICE issues guidance for civil immigration enforcement in or near courthouses. ICE replaces prior guidelines that enforcement at courthouses should focus narrowly on public-safety and national-security risks; new guidance allows enforcement at courthouses for persons previously ordered removed and persons who have illegally re-entered after removal. Collateral arrests of family members or others are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
  • ICE arrests and detains noncitizens attending immigration-court hearings. [Subject to litigation] Increased arrests at such hearings frequently accompanied by motions to dismiss removal proceedings in order to process noncitizens for expedited removal.

Terminating Funding and Restricting Access to NGO Services.

• EO 14159 § 19 directs DOJ and DHS to review, pause, terminate, and claw back contracts or grants with NGOs serving “removable or illegal aliens.”
  • President Trump issues a memorandum directing the heads of executive departments and agencies to review all federal funding for NGOs.
  • OMB temporarily pauses agency grant, loan, and financial assistance programs that may be encompassed by EOs, including “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.” [Subject to litigation]
    Departmental Actions:
• DHS updates terms and conditions for state and local grant beneficiaries to require compliance with immigration enforcement. The conditions include honoring requests for cooperation, such as participation in joint operations, sharing of information, and detaining noncitizen pursuant to detainer. [Subject to litigation]
• DOJ “Sanctuary Jurisdiction Directives” § II targets current—and blocks future—DOJ funding agreements with NGOs that support removable immigrants. AG Bondi's "Sanctuary Jurisdiction Directives" Section II directs DOJ to identify “all contracts, grants, or other agreements with organizations that support or provide services to removable or illegal aliens.” DOJ officials are instructed to pause distribution of funds for 60 days and to require funding recipients to report whether funds are used, among other things, to assist "removable or illegal aliens.”
• Trump administration issues stop-work order for legal service providers representing unaccompanied minors. [Subject to litigation]
• State Department orders resettlement agencies to stop funded work supporting refugees currently in the U.S. under the Reception & Placement (R&P) Program that funds efforts to help refugees during their first three months in the country. [Subject to litigation]
• Migration and Refugee Assistance funds intended for overseas refugees are used to support “self-deportations.” Public notice determines that funding assistance to migrants to leave the U.S. contributes to U.S. foreign-policy interests.
• ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement, HHS) shortens eligibility period for Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) from 12 to 4 months.
• FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS) Withholds SSP Program Payments to Migrant Shelters Pending Review.
  • DHS revokes $80 million in FEMA funds allocated to NYC to house migrants and fires FEMA officials involved in the transfer. [Subject to litigation]
  • Reported: FEMA blocks $10B in disaster aid to nonprofits allegedly serving undocumented migrants, including hospitals.

Restricting Employment.

• EO 14286 declares administration will revise guidance to more strictly enforce restrictions on non-domiciled drivers with commercial driver’s licenses requiring they “read and speak” English sufficient to converse with the general public, understand English traffic signs and signals, respond to official inquiries, and make entries on reports and records.
  Departmental Actions:
• DOT Interim Final Rule [subsequent action] prohibits large classes of lawfully present noncitizens from getting non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses and learner’s permits, “includ[ing] asylum seekers, asylees, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.” [Subject to litigation]
• DHS Ends Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents. Termination of 540-day automatic extensions of timely-filed EAD applications will result in breaks in work authorization.
• DHS proposes to eliminate “duration of status” (D/S) for “I” nonimmigrants (foreign press representatives) and to replace with fixed time-period of admission. (See below for application to F and J nonimmigrant categories.)

Restricting Access to Education.

• EO 14287 § 5 directs AG and DHS to block enforcement of state and local laws providing equal treatment to undocumented individuals, including laws that provide in-state tuition to undocumented state residents but not to out-of-state U.S. citizens. DOJ has sued some states to challenge their in-state tuition laws and has entered consent decrees with several states to block enforcement of such laws. [Subject to litigation]
  Departmental Actions:
• DHS threatens to block Harvard from enrolling international students by withdrawing ICE SEVIS approval if Harvard does not provide disciplinary records and information on student-visa holders. [Subject to litigation]
• DHS proposes to eliminate “duration of status” (D/S) for F and J (student/scholar) nonimmigrants and to replace with a fixed time-period of admission. (See above for application to I nonimmigrant category.)

Restricting Language Access and Assistance.

• EO 14224 designates English as the official language of the United States and rescinds an Executive Order (from 2000) requiring federal agencies to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.
  Departmental Actions:
• DOJ Civil Rights Division [subsequent action] rescinds prior guidance requiring all Title VI grantees to provide reasonable access to their programs for persons with limited English proficiency.
• EOIR Acting Director rescinds guidance on language access in immigration court for persons with limited English proficiency, which had provided in-court interpretation and “reasonable access to out-of-court translation services” for completing applications, accessing legal resources, or reading case-related documents.

Restricting Access to Medical Care.

• EO 14182 “Enforcing The Hyde Amendment” calls for an end to federal funding of elective abortions, which may restrict abortion coverage for immigrants in need of healthcare in federal detention-facilities or ORR shelters.
  Departmental Actions:
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provides DHS with personal information of Medicaid enrollees. Press reports and litigation reveal that ICE will be granted access to personal data, including names, addresses, ethnicities, and Social Security numbers, of 79 million Medicaid enrollees under a secretive agreement with CMS. The agreement confirms that ICE will use the CMS data to allow ICE to receive identity and location information on noncitizens.

Restricting Access to Housing or Property Ownership.

Departmental Actions:

• HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) signs Memorandum of Understanding with DHS to prevent undocumented noncitizens from using federal housing-programs. Reportedly, DOGE is using HUD data specifically to target mixed-status households where eligible person may have undocumented family member.
• HUD eliminates Title I loan eligibility for non-permanent residents, restricting access to home improvement loans and single-family mortgage loans.
• USDA issues National Farm Security Action Plan identifies land ownership by noncitizens—especially from “countries of concern” or “foreign adversaries”—as a national-security risk and proposes legislative and executive actions to block farmland acquisitions by noncitizens.

Restricting Access to Other Programs.

• EO 14159 § 20 directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure agencies identify and stop providing public benefits to ineligible noncitizens.
• EO 14218: “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” requires heads of each executive department to ensure that undocumented noncitizens do not receive any government benefits by examining federally funded programs and federal funding for states, enhancing eligibility-verification systems, and taking action against “improper” receipt of benefits.
• Presidential Memorandum: “Preventing Illegal Aliens From Obtaining Social Security Act Benefits” (1) directs the DOL Secretary, HHS Secretary, and Commissioner of Social Security to ensure that ineligible noncitizens are not receiving SSA funds; (2) directs AG and SSA Commissioner to expand SSA’s full-time fraud-prosecutor program; (3) directs AG and HHS Secretary to establish similar fraud-prosecutor program for Medicare and Medicaid; and (4) directs SSA Commissioner to review whether SSA should pursue civil monetary penalties.
  • Social Security Administration misclassifies certain immigrants as dead, effectively terminating their social-security numbers to encourage them to “self-deport.”
• EO 14287 § 4 requires AG and DHS to increase vetting to prevent receipt of federal benefits by undocumented individuals. DHS Secretary and AG to develop “guidance, rules, or other appropriate mechanisms … [for determining] appropriate eligibility verification … [of] individuals receiving Federal public benefits . . . from private entities in a sanctuary jurisdiction.”
  Departmental Actions:
• HHS issues notice excluding undocumented immigrants from additional federal benefits, including Head Start, family planning programs, and programs for substance abuse, homelessness, and mental health.
• SBA (Small Business Administration) proposes requiring loan applicants to disclose immigration status by revising forms to require disclosure of citizenship status and, if noncitizen, to require applicants’ lawful permanent resident registration-number.
• DHS and DOGE “overhaul” Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Database (SAVE) to create a single source for verifying noncitizen status to prevent receipt of public benefits.
• USDA instructs states to verify SNAP applicants’ citizenship via SSNs and SAVE database. Guidance directs state agencies to verify social security numbers (SSNs) and immigration status of SNAP applicants, including against the SSA Death Master File; instructs state agencies to collect immigration documents and to use DHS SAVE system to verify citizenship status.
• DHS seeks information from IRS regarding certain noncitizens and asks the IRS to deploy auditors and criminal investigators to launch probes of businesses suspected of hiring immigrants not authorized to work. [Subject to litigation]
• Commerce Department proposes changes to Foreign National Request Form to restrict access to Department’s public events of foreign nationals, including lawful permanent residents and other non-citizens employed at the Department, foreign diplomats and senior foreign government officials, and others.

(c) 2025 Immigration Policy Tracking Project