Want to keep up with newcomer policy updates in the U.S.? Every month, Global Cleveland publishes our newcomer policy update so that you can stay informed about the latest news.

This month’s Newcomer Update at a glance:

• Administration to Ramp Up Denaturalizations

• Ohio House Narrows Land Ownership Bill

• SCOTUS to hear case on Birthright Citizenship

• Following considerable controversy, lawmakers in Ohio narrowed the criteria for a bill restricting land ownership by foreign residents.
• The bill would’ve banned the ownership of land by countries designated foreign adversaries, and additionally included individuals living in Ohio from these countries. Chinese, Cuban, Iranian, North Korean, and Russian nationals would’ve been banned from buying property within 25 miles of critical infrastructure.
• Critics have described the bill as overly harsh, and with a expansive definition of critical infrastructure would include much of the state.
• The changes reduce the radius to 10 miles and exempt green card holders and anyone who has served in the US armed forces, though advocacy groups continue to oppose the bill, citing that many residents could be unable to own a home or business because of their nationality.
• https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/12/01/ohio-house-narrows-foreign-land-ownership-bill-critics-contend-it-doesnt-go-far-enough/

• Ohio GOP Senator Bernie Moreno introduced legislation to ban Americans from holding dual citizenship, and would revoke their citizenship in the US if they refuse.
• Moreno cited the ‘conflicts of interest’ and ‘divided loyalties’ that he felt arise from dual citizenship.
• The bill, called the Exclusive Citizenship Act, currently does not have any cosponsors.
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/03/bernie-moreno-dual-citizenship-bill/87586266007/

• The US travel ban has been expanded to include a broader list of countries, with the eight countries newly added to the full ban: Burkina Faso, Mali. Niger, South Sudan, Syria, those with Palestinian Authority passports, Laos, and Sierre Leone.
• The Partial restriction list was also expanded, notably including Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
• Turkmenistan saw a partial lifting of restrictions, with non immigrant visas no longer being subject to restrictions
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gkvxlpn55o

• The New York Times reported that the Trump administration will set ambitious targets for increasing the numbers of people stripped of citizenship in 2026 with a target of 100-200 cases per month.
• This number would significantly exceed the total number of cases in an entire year.
• Generally, denaturalization can only happen when people committed fraud while obtaining citizenship; USCIS officials confirmed that the targets will focus on those who lied or misrepresented their past during the naturalization process
• https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/us/politics/trump-immigration-citizenship-denaturalization.html

• US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new regulations on photos that can be used on immigration applications.
• Effective immediately, photos must be taken by authorized entities and must be less than three years old
• The announcement cited that the previous policy was especially flexible and dated from the COVID-19 pandemic. It allowed for photos taken up to ten years ago, and the agency stated that to prevent fraud a more stringent policy was needed.
• https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/new-photo-policy-helps-prevent-immigration-fraud-through-enhanced-identity-verification

• Temporary Protected status for nationals of Haiti will end in February of next year.
• The status was initially imposed in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, and was extended since when the country entered a prolonged political crisis that saw the assassination of the country’s president and an uptick in organized crime
• The revocation is pending a court case, the Haitian Evangelical Clergy Association v. Trump, which is ongoing.
• Haitians on TPS have until February 3^rd to either find another status or depart the US, those who depart are eligible for government funding to pay for a plane ticket.
• https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/dhs-terminates-temporary-protected-status-for-haiti

• In a three-country deal, ten United States citizens and permanent residents detained in Venezuela were released, in exchange for the simultaneous release of 250 Venezuelan nationals deported from the US and held in El Salvadorian prisons.
• The Trump administration claimed the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador had ties to organized crime, which critics have disputed
• Their release has been something of a cause célèbres for Venezuela’s government, which has been accused of detaining Americans as a way of gaining leverage
• Among the Americans released was Lucas Hunter, detained on Colombian soil. near the Venezuelan border last year.
• https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/world/americas/venezuela-us-prisoner-swap-migrants-el-salvador.html

• US Customs and Border Protection proposed changes to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization to require applicants to disclose 5 years of social media history
• The ESTA program allows visitors from 42 countries to visit the US without a visa.
• Information on social media has been on the application sin ce 2016, but was not mandatory.
• Under the proposed new policy, a persons pone numbers, email addresses, and social media history would be mandated
• The changes are not finalized and are subject to public comment in the Federal Registrar through February 9^th

• The Supreme Court will hear a case challenging President Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship, setting up a major case in the ongoing legal battle over the policy.
• The case revolves around the Citizenship Clause of the 14^th amendment to the Constitution.
• In previous cases, notably US v. Wong Kim Ark, the Court has held that a child born in the US to foreign parents automatically is a US Citizen; only a few narrow exceptions, such as children born to parents who are foreign diplomats, are not eligible for citizenship at birth.
• Trump has criticized birthright citizenship for years and earlier this year issued an executive order removing birthright citizenship for children born to parents who were in the US without legal status, or were here on certain temporary visas
• https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-birthright-citizenship.html