Last updated: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
This resource provides daily updates from the CWS policy team in your inbox on the latest policy changes; the morning’s headlines on key issues impacting refugees and immigrants; and updated tools to take action. Subscribe now to receive daily updates on the latest developments and ways to support impacted communities.
State of Play |
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The latest: As of July 23, the Trump administration’s indefinite refugee ban remains in place. Tens of thousands of refugees who have been conditionally approved for resettlement by USCIS remain stranded overseas. Under the terms of the refugee ban executive order, administration officials are directed to compile a report every 90 days on the possible resumption of refugee admissions. The first deadline of April 20 came and went with no publicly available report. We passed the second 90 day deadline just days ago on Sunday, July 19 – and still, nothing from the administration on a program that has for decades welcomed those fleeing persecution and violence from around the world. Some refugees are arriving and being served by resettlement agencies, in large part due to Pacito v. Trump, an ongoing legal challenge to the ban filed by IRAP on behalf of CWS, HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and several refugee plaintiffs. Oral arguments in the case are set for September 16 in the Ninth Circuit. In the meantime, a lower court has established a framework for reviewing and processing thousands of stranded refugees while the litigation continues. But implementation of the framework is currently delayed after the government made an emergency appeal for relief. Plaintiffs are set to file a response today to this emergency appeal as they seek the swift resolution and implementation of the review process. Private company wins $1.26 billion contract to build massive immigration detention camp. As public concern and backlash grows over indiscriminate and escalating ICE enforcement and detention, the administration is plowing ahead with constructing more enormous detention facilities that are unlikely to meet federal standards. Per a July 22 Bloomberg report, the government has awarded a $1.26 billion contract to construct a 5,000 bed detention camp in Fort Bliss, an Army base near El Paso, Texas. The camp is set to be the largest immigration detention facility in the country, and may be only the start as the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) includes tens of billions more to increase detention capacity. Administration officials have responded glibly to widespread concerns around horrific conditions in immigration detention facilities. “They don’t have to come here, if they self-deport and go home,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said about the “Alligator Alcatraz” camp in Florida. The message is clear: The facilities are intentionally inhumane and unsanitary as a tool to encourage “self deportation.” Termination of TPS for Afghanistan goes into effect. As we noted in yesterday’s edition, a court of appeals ruling on Monday paved the way for the Trump administration to terminate TPS protections for almost 12,000 Afghans yesterday. An alert is already present on the USCIS website that “TPS benefits are no longer in effect.” The appeals court allowed the termination to go through despite acknowledging that “the balance of equities and the public interest weigh in favor of” the plaintiffs challenging the TPS termination. The court also noted in its brief ruling: “We emphasize that [those] affected by the termination of TPS designations of Afghanistan and Cameroon may be eligible for relief through applications of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection in accordance with the Convention Against Torture…those remedies remain available.” See CWS’ recent statement on this latest betrayal of our promises to Afghans here, which notes the recent detainment of an Afghan interpreter in Connecticut and the closure of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE), which was doing critical work to oversee the ongoing evacuation and resettlement of many who remain at risk due to their support for the U.S. mission. |
Today’s Headlines, Calls to Action and Community Resources |
Stories of Impact |
| Zenayda is a refugee who resettled in Texas who has been trying for years to get her child to safety after many kidnapping attempts. The child’s flight was booked to arrive in February. That flight has now been cancelled, and the child’s case – which is listed as “extremely vulnerable” – is now once again delayed
Doaa is a single mom with three children who have been forcibly displaced and are currently living as refugees in Cairo, Egypt. She was referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program because of her status as a refugee and because she has family already living in New Jersey. She and her children went through the lengthy vetting and screening process and finally had their travel booked to the U.S. – but her flight was among those cancelled by Trump’s indefinite refugee admissions ban. The children are 19, 15, and 13. The case file shows the family as: “Survivors of Violence and Torture.” The Sung family are refugees from Myanmar who were split up as they fled for safe harbor. Part of the family has been resettled in Texas, and they have been waiting for years as the rest of the family goes through the resettlement process. The flight was scheduled for early February, and the family here bought a four-bedroom home just to accommodate them. Their flight was cancelled at the last minute. Find more stories of impact here. |