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:

• Funding Bill Loses Support Following Minneapolis Shooting
• Immigrant Visas Paused for 75 Countries
• DOJ to Probe Minnesota Governor, Minneapolis Mayor

• A government funding deal faces an uncertain future in the US Senate after the fatal shooting of a Minnesota man by federal immigration officers, with multiple senators now opposing a deal that would’ve funded ICE.
• Key members of the Senate, including New York’s Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, and Washington’s Patty Murray, previously a supporter of the bill, now oppose it.
• Many Democrats have supported changing the funding package to curtail some of ICE’s operations, and introduce more oversight and civil rights protections for those detained by the agency
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/funding-deal-begins-to-unravel-as-senate-democrats-vow-to-oppose-dhs-bill-over-alex-pretti-shooting-in-minnesota

• New data from the federal government shows a major increase in applications for the EB-1A visa, an employment based immigration visa for high skilled foreigners.
• Applications for the visa hit 7,500 per quarter, a figure four times higher than in 2021.
• It is believed that the increased fees for the H1B visa, which now requires in many cases a $100,000 fee has prompted many to shift to the EB visa.
• The growth may put pressure on the statutory cap of 40,000 visas annually
• https://www.visahq.com/news/2026-01-19/us/einstein-visa-filings-triple-as-h-1b-quotas-and-backlogs-push-talent-toward-eb-1a/

• US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a raise in the fees charged for premium processing.
• Federal law states that the fees are adjusted every two years to reflect inflation; the previous raise was in February 2024, requiring an adjustment in early 2026.
• USCIS based the fee increase on the consumer price index, and are generally an increase in the low three figures, depending on the visa
• https://www.boundless.com/blog/uscis-premium-processing-fees-increase-march-2026

• Citing public charge concerns, the United States government announced it would pause processing of immigration visas from citizens of 75 countries.
• The halt began on January 21, 2026, and will continue indefinitely until the State Department reviews its policies and procedures.
• Brazil, Congo, Russia, Nigeria, Thailand, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, and Somalia are among the countries affected.
• The pause does not apply to non immigration visas, including student visas, which are able to still be processed.
• https://www.nafsa.org/regulatory-information/dos-pauses-immigrant-visa-issuance-nationals-75-countries

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement has launched a major operation in Maine, the latest state to be the focus of enforcement action for the agency.
• The operation has seen over 100 people arrested, and has caused local controversy with one Sheriff saying that a corrections officer with legal authorization to work was arrested by the agency.
• There has been some speculation that Maine’s small but sizable Somali community prompted the administration to start the operation
• https://www.npr.org/2026/01/24/nx-s1-5685262/ice-says-it-has-arrested-more-than-100-people-in-maine-this-week

• The Department of Justice begun a probe into two public officials in Minnesota, in the latest chapter of a controversial political controversy over immigration enforcement in the state that has seen two fatal shootings involving federal officers
• Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz, are being investigated over a ‘conspiracy to impede federal immigration agents,’ accusations that Mayor Frey and Governor Walz both dismissed as politically motivated and baseless.
• Both Walz and Frey have been vocal critics of ICE’s deployment, and have repeatedly called for them to leave the city.
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-investigating-tim-walz-jacob-frey-minnesota/

• The State of Minnesota, and its two largest cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) took the federal government to court, claiming the deployment of immigration enforcement personnel to the state violates the US Constitution’s Tenth Amendment provisions regarding rights reserved to the states
• Administration lawyers have said that the deployment is a legal operation of federal law enforcement, and within the federal government’s constitutional powers.
• The case, one of several nationwide surrounding ICE, is in Minnesota Federal Court.
• https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/minnesota-lawsuit-ice-surge-hearing.html

• In a much-watched case, Federal Judge Jeffrey Bryan ordered the release of a Liberian man who was detained by federal immigration authorities.
• Judge Bryan stated that the raid in which the man, Garrison Gibson, was detained violated his Fourth Amendment rights guaranteeing protection against unlawful search and seizure
• Gibson had been in the US under an ‘order of supervision’ but had a previous order of removal that stemmed from a drug conviction charge that was later dismissed.
• https://www.minnpost.com/metro/2026/01/judge-orders-release-of-liberian-man-arrested-in-minneapolis-by-agents-with-a-battering-ram/#:~:text=U.S.%20District%20Judge%20Jeffrey%20Bryan%20said%20in%20his%20ruling%20that,judicial%20warrant%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20said.

• The federal government can continue to block lawmakers from accessing ICE facilities without prior notice, a federal judge ruled.
• Currently, the Department of Homeland Security requires lawmakers give notification of their visit a week before hand.
• This policy had been challenged in court by Congressman Joe Neguse of Colorado.
• The Judge had stated that changes in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed last year had factored into the decision, which differed from one issued late last year.
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/20/lawmakers-ice-facilities-judge-block

• The Supreme Court will hear a case that may have major implications for immigration policy, particularly around presumption of guilt by immigration agents.
• The Case, Bondi v. Lau involves a Chinese citizen charged with a crime in 2013, and despite having a green card, was not re-admitted to the US under his visa but under parole.
• The circumstances of Lau’s case make it difficult for him to be deported if he had been admitted on his green card, but not if he was admitted on parole; whether the immigration officers had the power to do this in 2013 is the question on which the case hinges
• It is believed that the opinion could have major consequences for how the US legal system views the powers of immigration officers to “impose consequences on migrants for committing crimes” for which they have not been convicted.
• https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/01/court-to-decide-whether-immigration-agents-can-presume-guilt/