Original Date Announced

USCIS updates its Policy Manual on obtaining biometrics for noncitizens in DHS custody with pending benefit requests. The update:

• States that USCIS will not grant requests for biometrics at correctional facilities, "includ[ing] requests from unaccompanied alien children...who have a pending asylum application while in removal proceedings."
• Expands this limitation to include DHS detention facilities. Previously, USCIS declined to send personnel only to "jails, prisons, or similar non-DHS detention facilities."
• Clarifies that there is no pertinent intradepartmental agreement between USCIS and ICE. The prior Policy Manual stated that "[p]er interdepartmental agreement," ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations was "responsible for completing background and security checks for those...incarcerated at DHS facilities and applying for benefits with USCIS."
• "Clarifies that DHS has no obligation to collect biometrics from aliens in detention, unless they are in removal proceedings and have an application or petition in front of the Executive Office for Immigration Review."
• States that USCIS "does not approve requests to reschedule a biometrics appointment for reason of detention or incarceration."

The Policy Manual changes are effective immediately.

Trump 2.0 [ID #2110]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2026.04.30 Complaint - J.Z. v. DHS

Several detained noncitizens filed a class action to challenge the administration's new policy of refusing to collect biometrics as described above. The complaint alleges that plaintiffs, who are detained by DHS, are eligible for lawful immigration status but are blocked from relief by the policy. The complaint states that USCIS will "deny their applications without considering them" because the agency "rejects applications submitted without" biometric information. Thus, the new policy is preventing "eligible noncitizens" from accessing immigration relief. The plaintiffs allege that the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act and Fifth Amendment, and seek declaratory and injunctive relief to vacate the policy and compel DHS to collect class members' biometrics. J.Z. v. DHS, No. 1:26-cv-01510 (D.D.C.).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**