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

This month’s Immigration Update at a glance:

• White House Considers ‘Gold Card’ Visa as EB5 Replacement

• Indiana Introduces IMG Bill

• Federal Judge Halts Alien Enemies Act Deportations

• President Donald Trump floated a new investment visa, dubbed the “Gold Card” that would be designed to attract high-net worth individuals who may invest in the country.
• The new visas, which would offer a path to citizenship, would cost $5 million.
• It is believed that the EB-5 visa would be replaced by the new gold card. The EB-5 has additional requirements, including that the holder must create or preserve at least ten full time jobs in the country; it is not clear that this will be required in the new visa
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-gold-card-eb5-visa-5-million-immigration-oligarch-cbs-news-explains/

• The Department of Commerce is considering making postal workers conduct some of the 2030 census in an effort to save money
• The census typically involves the hiring of about a half a million temporary workers, a considerable expense in the government budget
• The Census Bureau is part of the Commerce Department, while the postal service is not; however, it has been reported that the USPS may be moved from being an independent agency to being the responsibility of the Commerce Department.
• https://www.newsweek.com/usps-workers-could-take-over-census-2036961#:~:text=What%20To%20Know,the%20dedicated%20U.S.%20Census%20Bureau.

• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a proposed change that will have it collect information of social media activity of immigrants
• The proposal will be open to public comment for 60 days
• It follows an executive order from January that directed agencies to identify resources that can help the government ensure that immigrants are “vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
• https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/uscis-plans-to-collect-immigrants-social-media-information

• The Department of Homeland Security announced that the temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitian nationals would end in August of 2025, six months earlier than previously announced
• The change, announced on February 20th by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, would leave many Haitian born immigrants without status, unless they can transfer to another visa
• TPS for Haiti was originally dedicated in the aftermath of the 2011 Earthquake that devastated the country, and was maintained since as the country has been embroiled in a political and humanitarian crisis.
• https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/update-on-tps-for-haiti#:~:text=The%20announcement%20amends%20the%20period,3%2C%202025

• Indiana is the latest in a growing group of states who have proposed alternative pathways bills for internationally educated doctors
• Republican State Rep Beau Baird introduced the proposal, who said that it would help address the state’s doctor shortage.
• The bill would have an especially profound impact on rural Indiana communities, Baird told reporters
• Like many other states, the bill would allow for an experienced physician to bypass residency if he or she had sufficient training and experience. The bill, which was supported by the Indiana State Medical Association, requires 5 years of post practice experience.
• https://www.953mnc.com/2025/02/18/indiana-bill-aims-to-combat-shortage-of-medical-professionals/

• Representatives Mike Lawler and Yvette Clarke, both of New York, introduced the Doctors in Our Borders Act, which would expand the Conrad 30 program in an effort to combat an ongoing healthcare workforce shortage
• The waivers allowed under the Conrad 30 program would more than triple if the bill was passed
• The bill has a sizable bipartisan group supporting it, and is also backed by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC)
• https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3738

• The White House issued an executive order to expediate deportations of suspected members of the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based crime syndicate, under the Alien Enemies Act
• Suspected members of the gang were removed from the country and sent to El Salvador and Honduras, but the implementation of the order was blocked by a federal judge
• Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation for 14 days, after a lawsuit which argued that the law could only be invoked in wartime, and not against nationals of a country (Venezuela) that we are not at war with.
• Several planes did leave the US before the order, and some have accused the government of deporting those not affiliated with Tren de Aragua
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/15/trump-alien-enemies-act-deportations

• A late February decision allowed a lower court ruling to stand that blocked a Trump administration policy that would no longer recognize birthright citizenship to the children of people in the country without legal status, as well as those here with a certain non-immigrant visas
• The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the order violated the 14^th amendment of the Constitution.
• The three judge panel included two Republican appointees, one of which, who issued a concurrence, was appointed by President Trump in his first term, though the ruling itself was written by Judge William Canby, an appointee of Jimmy Carter.
• https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-appeals-court-rejects-trumps-bid-curtail-birthright-citizenship-2025-02-20/

• Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia University in New York, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Agents said they were revoking Khalil’s Green Card.
• Khalil was a leader of protests against Israel on Columbia’s Campus, and the arrest was on the grounds that Khalil’s activities had been antisemitic and supportive of a listed terrorist organization
• The case has received national attention, and defenders of Khalil have argued the revocation of his green card was unlawful
• https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-15014bcbb921f21a9f704d5acdcae7a8

• In a bill on the state’s transportation budget, a provision has been added to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote at a state Bureau of Motor Vehicles Office
• The bill, House Bill 54, also requires more data sharing between the BMV and the office of the Secretary of State regaring voter information
• HB54 mostly focuses on transportation, with provisions exploring new passenger rail services being a well-publicized section
• https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2025-02-23/voter-registration-and-passenger-rail-provisions-added-to-ohio-transportation-budget\