Immigration in the US: Where Things Stand

This deep dive reflects laws, court rulings and data available as of Oct. 31, 2026. Full-year deportation figures for fiscal 2026 and several pending court cases, including the appeal over the $100,000 H-1B visa fee, will change parts of this page, and it will be updated as they arrive.

Overview

Immigration has been one of the defining issues of President Trump’s second term, and the past two years have changed the picture sharply. Arrests at the southern border have fallen to their lowest level in decades. Border Patrol recorded 98,708 apprehensions at the southwest border in fiscal 2026, according to preliminary federal figures, compared with annual totals averaging more than 1.8 million during the Biden administration.

At the same time, the focus of enforcement has shifted from the border to the interior. ICE reported 356,389 removals in fiscal 2026 through mid-July and held about 65,765 people in detention, both near or above historic highs, as ABC News reported. This article could not locate a confirmed full-year removal total for fiscal 2026, which ended Sept. 30. Legal immigration has also narrowed, through lower refugee ceilings, new visa restrictions and the end of temporary protections for several nationalities.

This page does not take a side. It sets out how each side frames the issue, where the law stands, what has changed recently, and which questions remain open.

The Competing Frames

The enforcement frame centers on sovereignty and the rule of law. Supporters argue that a country must control who enters, that years of high unauthorized crossings strained cities, schools and wages, and that laws already on the books should be enforced. They see the drop in border crossings as proof that deterrence works and tend to favor detention, rapid removal, and reduced humanitarian programs they view as loopholes.

The humanitarian and economic frame centers on due process, family unity and the role of immigrants in the economy. Supporters argue that most unauthorized immigrants have lived in the US for years, work and pay taxes, and that mass enforcement separates families and sweeps up people with no criminal record. They point to labor shortages in farming, construction and care work, and tend to favor legal status for long-term residents and broader legal pathways.

The two frames share some ground. Most Americans across parties support a secure border and legal status for people brought to the US as children. The disagreement is over priorities, methods, and what to do about the millions already in the country.

The Policy Spectrum

US immigration positions fall roughly along this range, from most to least restrictive:

Restriction and mass removal: deporting most or all people without legal status, sharply cutting legal immigration and refugee admissions, and narrowing birthright citizenship.
Enforcement first: border barriers, mandatory detention and workplace verification (E-Verify) before any discussion of legal status.
Comprehensive reform: pairing tougher enforcement with a path to legal status for long-term residents and updated visa quotas, the approach of bipartisan Senate bills in 2006 and 2013 that did not become law.
Expanded legal pathways: more work visas, higher refugee ceilings and a faster asylum process.
Decriminalization and limited enforcement: treating unauthorized entry as a civil matter only and limiting cooperation between local police and federal agents.

Congress has not passed a major overhaul of immigration law since 1990, so most policy changes come from executive action, courts and states.

The State Map

States have moved in opposite directions, mostly over whether local police should help federal immigration agents. Agreements under Section 287(g) of federal immigration law, which deputize local officers to carry out some immigration functions, rose from 135 in January 2025 to 1,427 by February 2026, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Florida and Texas account for the largest numbers, and at least eight states now require local agencies to participate.

At the other end, at least ten states, including Maryland and New Mexico, bar or restrict 287(g) agreements. California, Illinois, New York and others limit when local police may hold someone for ICE. After fatal shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis in early 2026, several Democratic-led states passed or proposed rules requiring agents to show identification, limiting face coverings, or requiring judicial warrants at sensitive locations. A federal judge has paused California’s mask law, and the federal government argues that states cannot regulate federal officers. These conflicts are under litigation.

Where the Public Stands

Public opinion has shifted during Trump’s second term, though it remains sharply divided by party. Gallup’s June 2026 survey found that 73% of adults view immigration as a good thing, including 91% of Democrats and 50% of Republicans. Only 29% wanted immigration decreased, far below the 55% Gallup recorded in 2024. Gallup also found 39% favoring deporting all immigrants in the country illegally (80% of Republicans, 14% of Democrats) and 75% favoring a path to citizenship for those who meet certain requirements (46% of Republicans, 92% of Democrats).

On the administration’s approach, Pew Research Center’s April 2026 survey found that 52% of adults say it is doing “too much” on deportations, 31% about the right amount and 15% too little. Among Republicans, 53% said about right and 28% too little, while 84% of Democrats said too much. Majorities in that survey opposed immigration arrests at places of worship, hospitals and schools, while majorities supported arrests at homes and at protests. Political scientists often call this pattern, in which opinion moves against the direction of a sitting president’s policies, “thermostatic.” Whether the current shift will last is not yet known.

Recent Changes

Birthright citizenship upheld. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Barbara that the president’s executive order denying citizenship to some US-born children of noncitizens conflicts with the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion, and Justice Kavanaugh agreed on statutory grounds only, according to a legal analysis. Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch dissented, arguing the amendment was not meant to reach that broadly.

Temporary Protected Status ends for more groups. In June 2026, the Court also ruled 6-3 that federal courts cannot review TPS terminations on non-constitutional grounds, allowing the administration to end protections for about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. TPS lets people from countries facing war or disaster live and work in the US temporarily. Earlier rulings allowed terminations for many Venezuelans. Supporters say TPS was never meant to be permanent. Critics say the countries remain unsafe and that the decisions remove legal status from long-settled workers.

Legal immigration narrowed. The refugee ceiling for fiscal 2027 is 17,500, a historically low figure, with admissions primarily allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa. The administration says the program should serve groups it considers persecuted and that broad resettlement strains communities. Refugee advocates say the allocation abandons people fleeing better-documented persecution elsewhere. A $100,000 fee on new H-1B skilled-worker visas, announced in 2025, has been blocked by federal courts in Massachusetts and California while the government appeals.

Enforcement tactics. The 2025 budget law gave immigration enforcement a large multiyear funding increase, much of it for detention and hiring. Fatal shootings during enforcement operations in Minnesota, Maine and Texas led to protests, state investigations, and a pause in most ICE vehicle stops. The administration says agents face growing threats and that most people removed have criminal records or final removal orders, while independent data analysts have found that a large share of people in detention have no criminal conviction.

Active Debates

What comes after the border. With crossings low, the debate has moved to the estimated millions of long-term residents without legal status. Some Republicans have floated work-permit or legal-status proposals for agricultural and long-settled workers, while immigration hawks oppose anything they view as amnesty. No such bill has advanced.

Detention and due process. Courts are weighing challenges over mandatory detention without bond hearings, conditions in detention centers, and deportations to third countries. The Ninth Circuit has ruled against the administration’s expanded mandatory detention policy, and similar cases may reach the Supreme Court.

Economic effects. Economists disagree about how lower immigration will affect wages, prices and labor shortages. Some studies find small wage gains for competing workers, while others project slower growth and higher costs in sectors that rely on immigrant labor. Much of the evidence is still early.

Federal and state power. Clashes over state mask laws, sanctuary policies and funding conditions raise a constitutional question that predates this administration: how far states can go in either helping or resisting federal immigration enforcement.

View from Outside the US

The US hosts more international migrants than any other country, part of a global total of about 304 million people in 2024, or 3.7% of the world’s population, according to MPI’s global statistics. Other wealthy countries are tightening too. The European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum became fully applicable in June 2026, overhauling screening and asylum processing, and EU rules now allow return centers in third countries, a step critics compare to US deportations abroad. For a fuller comparison, see PoliTalking’s global guide to immigration and border control.

Discussion Questions

Is immigration a major political issue in your country? Why or why not?
Should a country focus more on border security or on legal pathways for immigrants?
Why do you think Americans became more positive about immigration after 2024?
Should people who have lived in a country illegally for many years be allowed to stay?
Should local police help federal agents enforce immigration law?
Are there places, such as schools or hospitals, where immigration arrests should not happen?
Should children born in a country automatically become citizens, regardless of their parents’ status?
How should a country decide which refugees to accept?
Why has immigration reform failed in Congress so many times?
Imagine you are the head of a national immigration agency. What would your top priority be?