Policy Bulletin — Friday, April 17, 2026 - National Immigration Forum

Welcome to the Forum’s policy bulletin. Every week, our policy team rounds up key developments around immigration policy in Washington, D.C., and across the country. The bulletin includes items on the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, as well as some coverage at the state and local levels.

Federal

Congressional Republicans Turn to Reconciliation for DHS Funding as Shutdown Enters Third Month

As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown surpassed the eight-week mark, congressional Republicans indicated they will seek to fund immigration enforcement operations through the reconciliation process. Senate leadership indicated that it plans to move a reconciliation bill providing $75 billion for three years of enforcement funding, which would accompany a bipartisan Senate-passed bill that would fund the remainder of DHS operations and awaits a vote in the House. The use of the Senate’s reconciliation process would circumvent an ongoing Democratic-led filibuster, allowing the funding to pass without Democratic support in the Senate, and would exclude DHS reforms demanded by congressional Democrats.

Moving DHS funding through reconciliation is likely to pose challenges for Republicans in both the House and Senate, given narrow GOP margins in both houses, opportunities for Senate Democrats to force votes on difficult amendments, and restrictions in the process that limit it only to matters that are primarily budget-related. Further complicating matters are efforts by some in the House to expand the bill to address additional priorities, including funding the conflict in Iran, the White House-backed SAVE America Act, and other priorities, some of which would be subject to removal from the bill as being not primarily budget-related.

ICE Acting Director, Todd Lyons, to Depart the Agency at the End of May

On April 16, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director Todd Lyons is resigning at the end of May, according to DHS officials. Since assuming the acting director position in March 2025, Lyons has overseen a dramatic expansion in interior enforcement arrests and deportations, following a massive influx of funding after the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in mid-2025 and the White House’s corresponding ramp up of interior immigration enforcement, recently detailed in the New York Times.

Lyons’ departure comes weeks after the confirmation of Markwayne Mullin as DHS Secretary and follows continuing backlash to ICE’s activities in Minneapolis, Chicago, and elsewhere.

House Passes Bill to Extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians

The U.S. House of Representatives on April 16 voted to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti until April 2029. The resolution, H.R. 1689, passed by a bipartisan 224 to 204 vote, with 10 Republicans and one independent joining all Democrats in supporting the measure. The vote came after a discharge petition led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) reached the required 218 signatures on March 29 to force a vote on the House floor, bypassing House leadership and committees. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it faces an unclear path.

Approximately 348,000 Haitians hold TPS in the United States, with large concentrations in South Florida and Ohio. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on June 27, 2025 that it would terminate TPS for Haiti, despite significant concerns about the security and environmental circumstances in the country. Federal courts subsequently blocked the administration from ending TPS for Haiti, citing failure to fully consider the country’s dangerous conditions as required by TPS statute and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The decision was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on April 29.

The ten Republicans and one independent who supported the extension of TPS for Haiti were Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Mike Carey (R-OH), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Rick McCormick (R-GA), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Mike Turner (R-OH), and Kevin Kiley (I-CA).

Congo to Receive First Group of Third-Country Deportees From U.S. Under New Agreement

Under an agreement announced on April 5, the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive its first group of third-country deportees from the United States this week, with an estimated 37 to 45 individuals expected to arrive in Kinshasa by Friday. The deportees are not Congolese nationals but are believed to be primarily from Central and South American countries, including Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Guatemala. According to a Senate minority report, the Trump administration has likely spent more than $40 million to deport roughly 300 migrants to countries other than their own, though the total cost is unknown. Congo joins several other African nations that have signed similar agreements, including Eswatini, South Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea, countries that rights groups have cited for repressive governments and poor human rights records. The State Department said it remained “unwavering” in its “commitment to end illegal and mass immigration and bolster America’s border security.”

Human rights groups raised concerns that the deportees face serious risks in these countries, including persecution or return to their home countries. Many of the migrants deported to third countries are subject to protection orders from U.S. immigration judges barring their return home due to safety concerns. Congo’s Ministry of Communications stated that no automatic transfers to other countries are planned and that each case will be reviewed individually in accordance with its laws and national security requirements. Congo also said it would incur no costs under the agreement, with the U.S. covering all expenses associated with the deportees’ arrival and housing.

Study Shows Legal Immigration Accounts for 72 Percent of Total Decline in Entries Under Trump

Multiple studies published this week highlighted that, under the current administration’s executive orders, rules, and actions, legal immigration to the U.S. has fallen significantly. A report from The Cato Institute points out that legal migration to the U.S. accounts for 72 percent of the cuts in U.S. immigration, far more than undocumented migration. It also details a number of legal migration pathways that have declined, including refugee and asylum-seeker admissions, legal permanent residence, fiancé(e) s and spouse visas, international student visas, and H-1B visas.

Similarly, a report from MPI highlights that, with an aging U.S. population and falling birth rates, this decline in U.S. migration could lead to a sharp reduction in U.S. population growth. There are well-established correlations between population decline and a nation’s economic well-being.

Legal

Administration Restructures Immigration Courts and Removes Judges

Recent reports indicate that the Trump administration has taken steps to remove and replace immigration judges as part of a broader effort to change immigration court operations. According to media reports, multiple immigration judges were dismissed in recent months, including some who had issued rulings delaying or blocking deportations in individual cases.

To date, the Trump administration has dismissed more than 100 immigration judges out of approximately 750 who were in place when the president returned to office, marking an unprecedented level of turnover. In addition, he has appointed 143 judges, including many who previously worked as immigration prosecutors for the Department of Homeland Security.

In a public statement, the administration characterized these changes as part of an initiative to “restore the rule of law” in immigration courts, emphasizing stricter enforcement and a shift in adjudication priorities. Officials have also cited the size of the current backlog, which includes millions of pending cases, as a key factor behind the changes.

BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED

H.R. 8302

Stop Illegal Aliens Drunk Driving Act

The bill would amend the definition of aggravated felony in the Immigration and Nationality Act to include certain serious drunk driving offenses. This is a companion bill of S. 3584.

Sponsored by Rep. Young Kim (R-California) (3 cosponsors)

04/15/2026 Introduced by Rep. Young Kim

04/15/2026 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to be in session from Monday, April 20, through Friday, April 24. The U.S. House is scheduled to be in session from Monday, April 20, through Thursday, April 23.

SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM RESOURCES

The Forum is constantly publishing new policy-focused resources that engage with some of the most topical issues around immigration today. Here are a few that are particularly relevant this week: