Federal actions this week signal major shifts in immigration policy, health care access, and scientific research. From new travel restrictions and surveillance programs to changes in vaccine guidance and funding cuts for essential health services, these decisions will deeply affect families, communities, and public trust.
As we mentioned last week, ACA premiums for Marketplace health plans are set to rise starting January 1 after Congress failed to extend subsidies before recessing for the winter holidays. Congress is planning to vote on ACA extensions again in early January, which could lower premiums beginning in February and include a new enrollment period. Now is the time to act: reach out to your elected officials and urge them to protect ACA tax credits by clicking HERE.
New Countries Added to Travel Ban, Deepening Barriers for Communities
On December 16, the president issued an proclamation expanding the June 5 travel ban by adding more countries and removing previous exceptions. The new ban, effective January 1, 2026, disproportionately targets nationals from Arab, Afro-Caribbean, African, and Muslim-majority countries, raising concerns about racial and religious discrimination. A preliminary analysis predicts the ban would bar nearly one in five immigrant visas in the next three years, barring about 33 percent of African immigrants and 42 percent of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.
The ban does not apply to nationals of affected countries with visas issued before January 1, 2026 or those already legally present in the U.S., lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), dual nationals traveling on a different passport, and individuals who have been granted asylum or admitted as refugees.
The full ban prohibits all immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. It also eliminates previous exceptions for immediate relatives of Americans and Afghan Special Immigrant Visas. Nationals of twenty countries are now covered by the full ban, including newly added Burkina Faso, Mali, Laos, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, and Palestinian Authority passport holders, alongside twelve countries first banned in June. The twelve countries first banned continue to include: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The partial ban suspends nonimmigrant visas, immigrant visas, and most student, business, and exchange visitor visas (B, F, M, and J visas) while allowing limited work visas under stricter conditions. This list includes 15 new countries and 5 previously designated countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The impact will be significant: families face prolonged separation, communities experience heightened stigmatization, and U.S. institutions risk losing students and skilled professionals. Humanitarian consequences will intensify as individuals fleeing conflict or instability to find pathways blocked, deepening uncertainty for mixed-status households.
That is why your voice is critical. We urge you to take action today—click HERE to tell your elected officials to oppose the expanded travel ban and help protect families, communities, and opportunities for all.
Green Card Lottery Program Suspended
On December 18, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced via social media she ordered the immediate suspension of the Diversity Visa (green card lottery) program within hours of identifying a suspect in recent high-profile shootings. The program, which grants permanent residency to applicants from around the world, was not implicated in the incident, and there is no indication that its rules or vetting contributed in any way. The rapid policy mirrors a broader pattern of imposing sweeping restrictions on entire groups of prospective immigrants in response to the actions of a single individual.
Administration Sets Targets to Try to Strip Citizenship from Americans
On December 16, USCIS issued internal guidance directing field offices to refer 100–200 denaturalization cases per month to the Justice Department. Under federal law, denaturalization is extremely rare and requires the government to meet a very high legal standard, typically limited to provable fraud or misrepresentation. By introducing formal numerical targets for referrals, the guidance could raise annual denaturalization referrals from roughly 11 to as many as 2,400. The guidance follows public threats by the administration to pursue removal of naturalized Americans based on political activity, including advocacy for Palestinian rights, and rhetoric targeting entire communities, most recently Somali Americans. Even with the legal standard unchanged, pairing numerical targets with racialized political rhetoric is likely to increase fear of government scrutiny, in turn chilling First Amendment activity.
ICE Oversight and Enforcement: Growing Surveillance Meets Legal Pushback
Immigrant communities face mounting enforcement threats as federal agencies expand surveillance and data-sharing. A newly revealed program shows TSA has been providing passenger data—including flight itineraries, contact details, and travel history—to ICE multiple times a week since March. This enables ICE to identify individuals on deportation lists and detain them at airports, even during domestic travel.
At the same time, a federal judge has blocked a Trump administration policy that sought to ban lawmakers’ unannounced visits to ICE detention centers. The court ruled the policy likely violates federal law protecting congressional oversight, reinforcing the need for real-time inspections to uncover poor conditions or abuses. This decision strengthens transparency and accountability at a moment when enforcement powers are expanding, underscoring the critical role of oversight in protecting immigrant rights.
Executive Order Begins Marijuana Rescheduling Process
On December 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to begin the process of reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, which would recognize its medical use and lower potential for abuse. Marijuana remains a controlled substance under federal law, and the order does not legalize its use. The agencies are tasked with expanding research on medical cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) and may reduce regulatory and tax burdens for businesses operating legally under state law. Patients, researchers, and industry workers could be affected as the rescheduling process moves forward. The goal is to align federal policy more closely with state medical programs.
Federal Health Policy Shifts Put Families and Communities at Risk
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is signaling a broader shift of federal authority over medical practice by denying all Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for any health care to hospitals that provide care to transgender and gender diverse-youth, further narrowing the health-care options of vulnerable children and families. Nearly all hospitals rely on federal reimbursements to operate. These providers would be barred from offering certain transition-related care to patients under 18, and programs that support this care risk losing funding. HHS is using funding leverage for this policy to restrict access to specific categories of medical care. This approach impacts more than reimbursement decisions, but also clinical decision making, setting the precedent that the policy could disrupt continuity of care and place medically recommended services out of reach.
A federal appeals court recently allowed the Trump administration to continue blocking Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood, extending this same funding-based approach. The policy now bars payment for essential health services—including cancer screenings, STI testing, contraception, and behavioral health care—cutting off care for millions of low-income patients. Like the transgender care restrictions, this demonstrates how HHS is using funding authority to limit access to critical medical services and reshape health-care delivery.
At the same time, changes to vaccine policy also raise new concerns for child health. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) will no longer recommend a hepatitis B vaccine dose for all newborns, advising parents to consult with providers if mother is B-negative. Medical evidence shows this could increase infection risks and reverse decades of progress, especially in communities with higher hepatitis B rates, leaving newborns vulnerable and complicating hospital protocols nationwide. Compounding these concerns, the HHS cut funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics after it publicly criticized HHS leadership. This retaliation undermines scientific independence and erodes trust in public health guidance. Together, these actions risk weakening trust in health institutions and could leave families vulnerable to preventable diseases at a time when stability and transparency are critical.
Federal Plan to Dismantle Climate Research Center Threatens Public Safety
Federal officials announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a leading institution for climate modeling, weather forecasting, and atmospheric monitoring. The move would eliminate critical research used for disaster preparedness, wildfire forecasting, drought planning, and aviation safety—functions communities rely on to protect lives and property. This decision undermines climate science and weakens the government’s ability to pursue evidence-based policymaking to address harms caused by climate change, which disproportionately impacts racial minorities and working class communities.
Lastly, thank you to all our readers who have stayed with us throughout 2025. We are grateful to serve as a resource for our community and appreciate your continued support. As the holiday season approaches, we wish you peace and Happy Holidays. We will take a short pause and return on January 9 with more updates and insights.