Federal
Mullin Confirmed as DHS Secretary
The Senate confirmed Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) as the new Secretary of Homeland Security on March 23, replacing Kristi Noem as the department entered its 42nd day without regular appropriations. Mullin was sworn in almost immediately, inheriting a department facing severe strains. Mullin, who reportedly had been engaged in bipartisan efforts to reform DHS, received support from two Senate Democrats after pledging to require judicial warrants for federal agents entering private property, signaling a shift from a controversial policy where DHS relied on non-judicial administrative warrants to enter some homes and businesses. Following Mullin’s confirmation as DHS Secretary, Governor Kevin Stitt (R-Oklahoma) appointed energy executive Alan Armstrong (R-Oklahoma) to fill Mullin’s Senate seat.
Senate Passes Bill to Fund Most of DHS
After weeks of deadlock, the Senate voted in the early hours of March 27 to reopen much of DHS, passing a bill that funds TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA while deliberately excluding ICE and Border Patrol. ICE and CBP have continued to carry out many of their immigration enforcement-related functions throughout the shutdown thanks to roughly $75 billion appropriated through last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Senate bill, if passed by the House and signed into law by President Trump, would restore operations of the agencies most visibly affected by the lapse (including paying impacted DHS employees) without resolving the underlying dispute over immigration enforcement, with future potential reforms and funding for ICE and CBP remaining subject to negotiation.
The measure now goes to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) called the piecemeal approach “shameful,” leaving its prospects uncertain. Top Republicans have pledged to fund ICE separately through a subsequent party-line reconciliation package, although passing such a bill would require near universal Republican support in both houses and overcoming several procedural complexities. Congress departs for a two-week recess on March 27. House Republicans are expected to reject the Senate-passed bill, with leadership instead eyeing a short-term measure to fund all of DHS — including ICE and CBP — for approximately eight weeks. Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Maryland) confirmed his group would not support the Senate deal unless it restores immigration enforcement funding and includes the Save America Act, and Senate Democrats have already said they would oppose the House’s counter-proposal, leaving the 42-day partial shutdown likely to continue through the congressional recess.
Legal
Second Federal Appeals Court Backs Administration Authority to Detain Immigrants Without Bond Hearings
The St. Louis-based Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on March 25 in favor of the Trump administration’s policy of mandatory immigration detention, becoming the second federal appeals court to uphold the administration’s reinterpretation of a 1990s immigration law that it uses to justify holding immigrants without bond hearings for the duration of their removal proceedings. The ruling follows a 2-1 Fifth Circuit decision in February that reached the same conclusion and is binding on district courts in Texas, where thousands of ICE detainees are held. The two circuits are widely regarded as the most conservative in the country, and similar cases are pending before the Ninth and Seventh Circuits, which have appeared more skeptical of the administration’s position.
The administration’s policy stems from a July 2025 ICE memo that reinterpreted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act to require mandatory detention for all immigrants who crossed the border between ports of entry, regardless of how long ago they arrived or whether they pose any public safety risk. After the Fifth Circuit’s ruling, at least ten Texas-based judges continued ordering detainee releases on constitutional due process grounds, an avenue that neither the Fifth nor Eighth Circuit addressed and that the dissenting judge in the Eighth Circuit case explicitly noted remains available to lower courts. More than 400 district court judges appointed by presidents of both parties have rejected the administration’s approach, ruling against ICE in more than 5,000 cases, while just 41 judges, nearly all Trump appointees, have sided with the government. The detention population has already reached record highs, with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act providing $45 billion to expand detention to at least 116,000 beds.
Supreme Court Appears Poised to Allow Trump Administration to Turn Away Asylum Seekers at the Border
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 24 in a case that could give the Trump administration broad authority to turn away asylum seekers who approach U.S. ports of entry along the southern border, with the court’s conservative majority signaling strong skepticism of asylum seekers’ claims to legal protections before they physically cross onto U.S. soil. The case centers on a deceptively simple question: whether a noncitizen who “arrives in” the United States at a designated port of entry, as described in the Immigration and Nationality Act, is entitled to apply for asylum, or whether the executive branch can bar access entirely before that threshold is met. The administration argued that it is “entirely lawful for the executive branch to prevent aliens from reaching U.S. soil and claiming those protections,” while immigrant advocates countered that the law’s plain text requires officers to refer anyone expressing a fear of persecution for a credible fear interview.
The court’s conservative justices pressed the asylum seekers’ lawyer on what it means to have “arrived in” the country, with Justice Alito likening it to a visitor who “arrives at” but not “in” a house by knocking on the front door. Justice Kavanaugh went further, suggesting that even if a physical threshold exists, the government could simply prevent asylum seekers from reaching it. The three liberal justices were sharply critical, with Justice Sotomayor warning that turning people away echoes the U.S. decision to refuse ships carrying Jewish refugees during World War II, and Justice Jackson arguing that penalizing those who follow the rules by approaching a port of entry rather than crossing unlawfully would produce an absurd result Congress could not have intended. A decision is expected by the end of June.
Judge Rules Administration Must Return Deported DACA Recipient
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a Sacramento-area mother and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, to the United States after she was deported to Mexico despite having an active renewal application pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The ruling marks one of the first court orders directly requiring the administration to physically return a deported DACA recipient, and it adds to a growing body of litigation over the administration’s enforcement actions against a population that submitted personal information to the federal government in exchange for protection from deportation.
Estrada Juarez was detained and removed even as her renewal remained under review, a pattern that Senate Democrats and advocates have argued reflects a deliberate strategy of letting DACA protections lapse through processing delays and then using expired status as a legal basis for arrest and removal. The judge found the deportation unlawful and directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to facilitate her return, though it remains unclear how quickly the administration will comply. The case is likely to intensify congressional scrutiny of USCIS renewal backlogs and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) treatment of recipients with pending applications, issues that Senate Democrats raised in a letter to DHS Secretary Mullin demanding answers about the agency’s handling of the program.
State and Local
Texas Professional Licensing Rule Change Forces Out Immigrant Workers in Salons, Trades, and Beyond
The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation unanimously approved a new rule on March 24 requiring applicants for state professional licenses to demonstrate lawful immigration status, with enforcement set to begin May 1 under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). The rule covers the broad range of industries TDLR oversees — from cosmetologists, electricians, and estheticians to massage therapists, used car dealers, and dog breeders — and follows a Trump executive order directing federal and state agencies to enforce a 1996 federal law prohibiting individuals unlawfully present in the country from receiving state-issued professional licenses. During the public hearing, the commission heard nearly 450 comments, with all but 28 opposing the change; speakers including salon owners, beauty school educators, and immigrant workers warned that the rule would push undocumented workers into unregulated, unlicensed work rather than eliminate them from the workforce.
The practical scale of the impact remains uncertain, but the stakes are significant: Texas is home to an estimated 1.7 million unauthorized workers in sectors overseen by TDLR, and in February alone the agency issued roughly 19,000 new licenses and renewed approximately 39,000 more. Fewer than two percent of licenses on file lacked an associated Social Security number, though TDLR officials acknowledged they could not assume those individuals were violating federal law. State Senator Sarah Eckhardt of Austin submitted a formal comment opposing the rule, citing projections that it could reduce the state’s skilled workforce by 8 to 10 percent, while Governor Abbott’s office welcomed the change, saying Texas would not “reward illegal immigration by providing professional licenses to those here unlawfully.” TDLR is joining several other Texas agencies that have tightened immigration enforcement since President Trump returned to office, including the Department of Public Safety, which halted driver’s license issuance to many noncitizens, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, which introduced stricter photo ID requirements for vehicle registrations.
Death of Mexican Teen in Florida Facility Adds to Record Toll of Fatalities in ICE Custody
A Mexican teenager died at a Florida county jail being used to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees, becoming the latest fatality in what advocates and health researchers have documented as a record surge in deaths inside immigration detention facilities under the second Trump administration. The death drew an immediate response from the Mexican government, which formally demanded answers from U.S. officials regarding the deaths of 13 Mexican nationals in immigration custody since January 2025, calling the pattern unacceptable and requesting detailed information about the circumstances of each case.
The number of deaths in ICE custody has reached unprecedented levels during the current administration, with health care access deteriorating across the rapidly expanding detention system as facilities operate well beyond their designed capacity. Advocates and medical professionals have pointed to a combination of factors driving the crisis: the administration’s rush to fill detention beds to meet enforcement targets, the use of county jails and improvised facilities with limited medical infrastructure, and a reduction in oversight following the dismantling of several independent detention monitoring mechanisms. An investigation found that systemic failures in medical screening, delayed responses to deteriorating health conditions, and inadequate staffing have contributed to preventable deaths across multiple facilities.
BILLS INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED
S. 4224
A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain aliens from presenting or using a commercial driver’s license in interstate or foreign commerce, and for other purposes
Sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) (4 cosponsors)
03/26/2026 Introduced by Sen. Cornyn
03/26/2026 Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
S. 4277
A bill to make appropriations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) (2 cosponsors)
03/27/2026 Introduced by Sen. Schmitt
03/27/2026 Read the first time and placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time
H.R. 8062
To amend title 13, United States Code, to prohibit the use of questions on citizenship, nationality, or immigration status in any decennial census, and for other purposes
Sponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) (0 cosponsors)
03/24/2026 Introduced by Del. Norton
03/24/2026 Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
H.R. 8077
To amend section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to make the entering into of memorandums of agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a condition of eligibility for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program
Sponsored by Rep. Ben Cline (R-Virginia) (11 cosponsors)
03/25/2026 Introduced by Rep. Cline
03/25/2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
LEGISLATIVE FLOOR CALENDAR
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to be in recess from Monday, March 30, through Friday, April 10.
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:
Explainer: Operation PARRIS and Refugee Arrests and Re-Vetting
Explainer: Impact of Travel and Immigration Restrictions on the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup
Explainer: Asylum Work Authorization Rulemaking
Reshaping Refuge: The New Era of United States Refugee Admissions
*As of publication (3/27/26 at 3:00 PM EST)
This Bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive. Please contact Nicci Mattey, Senior Policy & Advocacy Associate at the Forum, with questions, comments, and suggestions for additional items to be included. Nicci can be reached at nmattey@forumtogether.org. Thank you.