Immigration Update – June 01, 2026
Headlines:
Trump Admin ‘Drawing Up Plans’ to Withdraw Processing of International Travelers and Flights at ‘Sanctuary City’ Airports – The Trump administration is “drawing up plans” to withdraw immigration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing of international flights at so-called “sanctuary city” airports, to include international travelers and cargo.
CDC Issues Interim Final Rule To Suspend the Entry of LPRs From Designated Countries for Public Health Reasons –The interim final rule provides a procedure for the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director or other delegate, “to suspend the introduction of persons from designated countries or places, if required, in the interest of public health,” including lawful permanent residents.
CBP Updates List of Airports for Flights Arriving With Ebola-Related Travel Restrictions – U.S. Customs and Border Protection has updated its Carrier Liaison Program notice related to Ebola-related restrictions on flights carrying persons who recently traveled from or were otherwise present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan.
DHS Automatically Extends TPS for Lebanon – The Department of Homeland Security has automatically extended Temporary Protected Status for Lebanon for six months, through November 27, 2026.
Details:
Trump Admin ‘Drawing Up Plans’ to Withdraw Processing of International Travelers and Flights at ‘Sanctuary City’ Airports
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin reportedly said on Fox News that the Trump administration is “drawing up plans” to withdraw immigration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing of international flights at so-called “sanctuary city” airports, to include international travelers and cargo. Secretary Mullin said that if “radical left Democrats” are not allowing the government to “enforce federal laws …, we shouldn’t be processing international flights into their cities either.”
Secretary Mullin did not specify a timeline or the cities to which he was referring. Some believe it might not be implemented before the FIFA World Cup games conclude in July. Regarding the possible locations, the Department of Justice previously identified, among others, New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; San Francisco and Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as cities that are hindering U.S. immigration enforcement.
The U.S. Travel Association (USTA), which represents major airlines and hotels, confirmed that Secretary Mullin has told the group that such a policy is under consideration, which USTA said would have “devastating consequences for the travel industry and communities that depend on international visitation.” Airlines for America, a trade association, echoed that view, noting that “[r]educing [CBP] staffing at major airports would have a devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries, causing a significant operational disruption to carriers, travelers and the flow of international cargo.”
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy reportedly said recently that it would be “a bad idea to start restricting travel based on political views.” He noted, “We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places. We shouldn’t shut down air travel in a state that doesn’t agree with our politics.”
CDC Issues Interim Final Rule To Suspend the Entry of LPRs From Designated Countries for Public Health Reasons
On May 27, 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an interim final rule with request for comments to amend its Foreign Quarantine Regulations. The interim final rule provides a procedure for the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the CDC Director or other delegate, “to suspend the introduction of persons from designated countries or places, if required, in the interest of public health,” including lawful permanent residents (LPRs).
The CDC explained that “[g]iven the complexities of global disease outbreaks, including the current Ebola disease outbreak in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo], Uganda and South Sudan, the logistics of trying [to] identify cases at the numerous ports of entry (POE) of the United States (air, land, and sea), and the fact that there are no approved vaccines or specific antiviral treatments for this strain of Ebola disease, CDC needs a more efficient regulatory mechanism to exercise its section 362 authority and suspend the introduction of persons other than U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals who would otherwise pose a serious danger of introduction of Ebola disease into the United States.”
The CDC noted that travelers using air transit pathways originating in or passing through DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan “include non-U.S. citizens, foreign contract workers, humanitarian personnel, business travelers, students, refugees, and third-country nationals moving through international aviation hubs in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Many travelers entering U.S.-bound itineraries from these pathways may do so under temporary visas, refugee or asylum processing mechanisms, international organizational travel, or multi country itineraries that obscure their original point of departure.” Restricting the entry of LPRs, “in addition to other non-U.S. citizens, who originate from or have recently traveled through DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan would reduce the volume of higher-risk international arrivals requiring public health monitoring and follow-up,” the CDC said.
The CDC also noted that the suspension authority is also critical due to risks of other “quarantinable” communicable diseases. The interim rule mentions Andes virus, Hantavirus, and pandemic influenza as examples. CDC said it expects to mitigate the risk in the future by issuing a final rule, after considering comments, “to implement a permanent regulatory structure regarding the potential suspension of introduction of persons, including LPRs, into the United States in the event a serious danger of the introduction of a quarantinable communicable disease arises in the future.”
Comments must be received by June 26, 2026.
CBP Updates List of Airports for Flights Arriving With Ebola-Related Travel Restrictions
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated its Carrier Liaison Program notice related to Ebola-related restrictions on flights carrying persons who recently traveled from or were otherwise present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, or South Sudan.
The only travelers not subject to the Ebola-related suspension of entry are U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals if they have departed from, or were otherwise present in, those three countries during the 21 days prior to their travel to the United States, CBP said. “The introduction of [lawful permanent residents] who have departed from or were otherwise present in the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan during the 21 days prior to their travel to the United States remains suspended.”
CBP also said, “All flights carrying any U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or pre-approved excepted aliens with nexus to these three countries in the 21 days prior to their travel to or encounter in the United States will be required to arrive at the airports designated below where travelers may [be] subject to enhanced medical screening” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC “will focus public health resources to implement enhanced public health measures at those locations.”
The updated notice includes the following designated airports: Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York.
DHS Automatically Extends TPS for Lebanon
On May 28, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a Federal Register notice automatically extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Lebanon for six months, from May 28, 2026, through November 27, 2026. Employment Authorization Documents that were already issued under Lebanon’s TPS designation will automatically be valid through November 27, 2026.
DHS explained that former Secretary Kristi Noem and current Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who was sworn in on March 24, 2026, “were unable to make an informed determination on Lebanon’s TPS designation by the March 28, 2026 statutory deadline due to the dynamic and quickly unfolding events in Lebanon that required a new review of country conditions and impacted the ability to provide information for Secretarial consideration.”
Firm in the News
Cyrus Mehta was quoted by Vox in MAGA’s Civil War Over Immigration is Over. Silicon Valley Lost. Mr. Mehta said, “We are hearing USCIS examiners are now asking questions like, ‘Why are you applying for adjustment? Why couldn’t you have left and applied abroad?’ Different local offices will likely take different positions on how to deal with it. Some will be business as usual. Others may be instructed to get tough.”
Mr. Mehta was quoted by JURISTnews in U.S. Immigration Memo Directs Most Green Card Applicants to Apply From Abroad. Mr. Mehta said that the memo’s framing of adjustment as “extraordinary relief” appears nowhere in the Immigration and Nationality Act and is “in contravention of the law,” noting that Congress used heightened standards such as “clear and convincing evidence” elsewhere in the statute when it intended to reserve a benefit for exceptional cases. Mr. Mehta also said that the memo functions as a substantive rule promulgated without notice and comment in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
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