What You Missed In Immigration: Blocked, Funded & Extended

Federal Judge Unblocks Thousands of Frozen Green Card and Asylum Cases

A federal judge just handed the administration a major defeat, blocking USCIS policies that had effectively frozen the processing of green cards, asylum applications, work permits, and naturalization requests. The freeze had stalled cases filed by immigrants from 39 countries covered by the administration's travel restrictions. The court ruled that USCIS lacked the authority to impose such broad pauses and failed to adequately justify them. Thousands of applications that have been sitting in limbo may now move forward, although the administration is expected to appeal.

The PERM Takeaway: This is the biggest green-light signal PERM employers have gotten in months. If you have sponsored employees whose adjustment of status, EAD renewal, or green card applications were caught in the freeze, those cases may now be back in motion. But don't celebrate too long. An appeal is coming, and the window could narrow again fast. Employers should contact their immigration counsel immediately to check the status of every pending case affected by the pause. If applications need to be refiled, updated, or supplemented with new evidence, do it now while the court order is in effect. This is a window of opportunity, not a permanent fix. Treat it accordingly.

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Senate Approves $70 Billion for ICE and Border Patrol

After months of political limbo following the DHS shutdown, the Senate approved a $70 billion funding package for ICE and Border Patrol early Friday morning. The bill funds enforcement operations through the end of Trump's term and now heads to the House. The debate got messy, tangled up with a controversial settlement fund tied to a Trump lawsuit, but lawmakers ultimately kept the immigration enforcement money separate. Democrats voted against the measure, arguing it lacked any guardrails on how enforcement dollars would be spent.

The PERM Takeaway: Seventy billion dollars in enforcement funding isn't an abstraction. It's the engine behind more audits, more site visits, more I-9 inspections, and more DOL investigations. When enforcement agencies are fully funded and staffed, employers are more likely to feel the impact. For PERM filers, this means the compliance environment is about to get even more intense. Recruitment documentation, prevailing wage records, job postings, and employee files all need to be audit-ready at all times. The days of "we'll clean it up if they come asking" are gone. With $70 billion on the table, they will come asking.

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58% of Green Cards Go to Immigrants Already in the U.S.

New data from Pew Research confirms what the immigration industry has known for years: the majority of green cards are issued to people already living in the United States. Of the 1.36 million green cards granted in fiscal year 2024, about 58% went to immigrants who adjusted their status domestically, primarily through family relationships or employment-based visas. Adjustment of status, not consular processing abroad, is the dominant pathway to permanent residence.

The PERM Takeaway: This data validates what PERM employers experience every day: the employees you're sponsoring are already here, already working, and already contributing. They're adjusting status from H-1B, L-1, or other work visas, not arriving fresh from abroad. That's precisely why the recent USCIS memo tightening adjustment of status scrutiny is such a gut punch. The government is making the most-used pathway harder at the exact moment when the data shows it's how the system actually works. Employers should use this research to reinforce the business case for sponsorship internally and to push back on narratives that portray employment-based immigration as something that happens "over there." It's happening in your office, right now.

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TPS Extended for Lebanon and El Salvador

DHS has extended Temporary Protected Status for nationals of Lebanon and El Salvador. Lebanon's TPS was automatically extended for six months through November 27, 2026, after DHS cited evolving conditions that delayed its review. El Salvador's TPS remains in effect through September 9, 2026. In both cases, eligible individuals can continue living and working in the U.S., and certain work authorization documents have been automatically extended.

The PERM Takeaway: Extensions are welcome, but they're Band-Aids on a structural problem. Every TPS extension kicks the can down the road without providing a permanent solution for workers who have been in the U.S. for years, sometimes decades. Employers who rely on TPS-holding employees should stop treating each extension as a resolution and start treating it as borrowed time. If you have Lebanese or Salvadoran TPS holders on your team, this extension is your window to explore whether PERM sponsorship or another employment-based pathway can convert temporary protection into permanent status. The next extension isn't guaranteed, and workforce planning built on six-month increments isn't a strategy. It's a gamble.

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Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.