Milstein Law Group

05/29/2026

"Immigration courts inside the Justice Department are drastically accelerating immigrants' hearings and bunching them together with the goal of issuing more deportation orders.

The new and unprecedented tactic was shared with NPR by immigration attorneys and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a trade association that tracks trends in these courts.

Immigrants are now being scheduled for massive master calendar hearings — or "mega masters" — that include 100 or more people at a time. That's up from two or three dozen people at a time, which had been typical before for a first hearing. For many immigrants, this is their first appearance in court to try to make their case to be able to stay in the U.S."

The Justice Department is moving up the court hearings for hundreds of immigrants and scheduling them for mass hearings. If they don't show up, they could be ordered deported.

05/28/2026

NEW Updates re: USCIS Policy on Adjustment of Status

In short:

USCIS now treats adjustment of status, getting a green card from within the U.S., as a discretionary “extraordinary” relief rather than a routine step. Adjustment is still available, but officers will scrutinize each case more closely, and meeting the eligibility requirements is no longer treated as enough on its own. This is a preliminary summary, not legal advice; please contact us about any specific case.

~ What has changed?
~ Who is affected?
~ How?
~ What can you do now?

Read our blog to learn more and please let us know if you have any questions.

https://milsteinlg.com/may-uscis-memo-update

05/28/2026

"At the national level, some businesses popular with Latinos are also seeing an impact on their bottom line. GEN Restaurant Group Inc., a chain of Korean barbecue restaurants with a presence in nearly a dozen states, said in March that many Hispanic customers “have retracted and are very afraid to come out” because of immigration enforcement. Constellation Brands Inc., which makes Modelo and Corona beers, and Boston Beer Co. also have reported a pullback among that group.

“What we know from past episodes is that, when there are these big enforcement events, people change what they do. Sometimes people stop taking their kids to school, they try to avoid the doctor unless it’s really necessary, they may change their job or stop working,” says Tara Watson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the co-author of The Border Within: The Economics of Immigration in an Age of Fear. “From a macro perspective, we’re slowing down the growth of the US economy.”

In one corner of Charlotte, foot traffic and sales remain depressed six months after deportation raids.

05/27/2026

"The Trump administration put out new rules last Friday that require people to apply for green cards from abroad instead of from inside the U.S., which has been custom for immigrants seeking permanent residency status. Immigration attorney Richard Herman explains what he’s hearing from his clients and what remains unclear."

The Trump administration put out new rules last Friday that require people to apply for green cards from abroad instead of from inside the U.S., which has been custom for immigrants seeking permanent residency status. Immigration attorney Richard Herman explains what he’s hearing from his clients ...

05/27/2026

"The Trump administration on Friday issued a sweeping policy directive requiring most temporary visa holders and humanitarian parolees living in the U.S. to return to their home countries to apply for and complete their green card applications.

The policy memo issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, instructs agency officers to treat U.S.-based "adjustment of status" applications as an "extraordinary form of relief."

"We're returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation's immigration system properly," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a statement. "From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances."

Immigration lawyers told ABC News the new policy could impact hundreds of thousands of people with temporary work visas who are pursuing permanent residency from within the United States.

Rosanna Berardi, an immigration lawyer in New York, said the policy would affect any foreign national with a pending U.S.-filed green card application, including legal workers and humanitarian parolees."

The administration has issued a directive requiring most temporary visa holders living in the U.S. to return to their home country to finish their green card application.

05/22/2026

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Will Grant ‘Adjustment of Status’ Only in Extraordinary Circumstances — May 22, 2026

The Trump administration just announced a policy that will make it more difficult for immigrants already in the U.S. to get permanent residency, or a green card, furthering its campaign to limit legal immigration. We understand this announcement is quite concerning, and we will keep clients updated as we learn more.

For now, we are closely monitoring and seeking clarity on the following:

• Updates to the USCIS Policy Manual
• Implementation guidance
• Effective date and retroactivity questions
• Litigation and potential court challenges
• How USCIS begins applying the policy in real cases

For now, there is no immediate action we can recommend solely based on today’s announcement.

We will continue to evaluate pending and future cases individually, and will provide case-specific
guidance as more information becomes available.

If your case has a filing deadline, travel issue, or other urgent circumstance, please contact our office so we can assess your situation individually.

Read the full USCIS memorandum below and please contact us if you have questions.

SOURCE: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services | May 22, 2026 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a new policy memo reiterating the fact that, consistent with long-standing immigration law and immigration court decisions, aliens seeking adjustment of st...

05/21/2026

"A judge on Monday largely barred federal agents from making arrests in immigration courts in New York City, putting an abrupt halt to a policy that emerged last year as the centerpiece of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Manhattan.

The federal judge, P. Kevin Castel, issued the ruling two months after the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office sent a highly unusual letter to the court saying that it had mistakenly relied on a Department of Homeland Security policy memo when detaining noncitizens in immigration court."

The Trump administration’s practice of detaining migrants at federal courthouses had stirred outrage.

05/20/2026

"The report, released on Monday by the Brookings Institution, estimates that about 146,635 children who are US citizens have had a parent detained during the mass deportation campaign the Trump administration embarked on after he retook office in early January. The study further found that of those children, more than 22,000 experienced the detention of all of their co-resident parents.

Roughly 36% were younger than six years old, underscoring a hardline immigration enforcement strategy that has drawn widespread criticism from civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups."

About 36% of children whose parents were detained were younger than six, Brookings Institution study found

05/19/2026

"As the Trump administration's immigration crackdown stretches into its second year, researchers and health care workers say that it is creating a mental health crisis in immigrant communities.

Data from one primary care clinic in Los Angeles, shared exclusively with NPR, shows a sharp rise in anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts among patients.

"When we look at our data during periods of intensified enforcement, our screening data showed a clear rise in distress," says Sophia Pages, a licensed marriage and family therapist and executive director of behavioral health at Zocalo Health, a primary care organization with a network of clinics California and Maryland. Zocalo mainly serves Latino families on Medicaid. "Immigration enforcement is functioning as a real time public health stressor in the communities that we serve."

Zocalo Health, a primary care organization, screens all its patients for depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. It documented a marked increase in those conditions since ICE enforcement actions began.

05/15/2026

"The change means doctors can have their cases reviewed, but it doesn’t guarantee their green cards or visas will be renewed. It is also unclear whether U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be able to process those applications in time to meet immigration deadlines like Alghoula’s.

Meanwhile, the pause remains in affect for thousands of others including researchers and entrepreneurs from 39 countries including Iran, Afghanistan and Venezuela. While they’re on hold, many can’t legally work, get health insurance or a driver’s license. If they leave the U.S., they won’t be let back in."

The change means doctors can have their cases reviewed, though it doesn’t guarantee their green cards or visas will be renewed.