June 23 Updates
National
The federal govt has announced its new social media screening process for student visa applicants.
The screening applies to all F, M, and J nonimmigrant visa classifications and covers both new applicants and those with cases currently in progress, including individuals who have already been interviewed but not yet approved.
The increased workload is concerning to state dept staffers, as illustrated in this article
Up to 36 more nations could be added to Trump’s most recent travel ban.
The vast majority of countries on the list in the memo are African, with some Caribbean countries and Middle Eastern countries as well
Mahmoud Khalil has finally been released! Alhamdulillah!
Read and/or listen to this interview from NPR with Mahmoud after his release
This video from NBC news shows Mahmoud addressing his supporters in front of Columbia University
New National Immigration Forum Explainer all about US Immigration Detention and Custody Standards
Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security Bill will have a House Committee on Appropriations hearing on Tuesday, June 24 at 10:00 AM EST
Illinois
On Weds, June 18th, U.S. Congressional Reps. Delia Ramirez, Jesús "Chuy" García, Jonathan Jackson, and Danny Davis went to the Broadview ICE facility to conduct an oversight visit. They were denied entry and told to “send an email” if they wanted to be granted entry to the facility.
Reps Jackson and Krishnamoorthi were also denied entry on June 17th to the South Loop ICE facility.
Find your state legislators here(this is an interactive map – you can select any district on the map and see who the state senator and state rep are for that place) to let them know what is important to you.
Chicago
ICE subpoena’d records of all City Key applicants information from the past three years. Currently, all online applications for CityKey Cards have been suspended. Chicago residents can still obtain a card by going to an in-person event.
If you haven’t already, please sign the petition from OCAD to Free Gladis here