This week’s federal policy roundup covers immigration, free speech, privacy, and national security spending. From a new memo making it harder for immigrants to obtain green cards without leaving the country, to expanding biometric surveillance during enforcement operations, to a $9 billion push to bring AI into classified intelligence networks, this week’s developments reflect the federal government extending its reach in consequential and often contested ways.
USCIS Memo Raises Bar for Green Card Applications Filed Inside the U.S.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memo on May 21 making it significantly harder for immigrants already in the United States to obtain green cards without leaving the country. The guidance states that immigrants on temporary visas may now be expected to leave the United States and apply for green cards through U.S. embassies in their home countries unless they can demonstrate extraordinary circumstances.
Officers are directed to weigh factors including visa overstays, unauthorized work, and gaps in legal status as strikes against applicants. For some immigrants, leaving the country to apply abroad could trigger multi-year reentry bans because of prior unlawful presence, meaning they could be barred from returning even if otherwise eligible for a green card. Immigration attorneys argue the agency is effectively narrowing a congressionally established pathway without going through the formal rulemaking process required by law. Legal challenges are widely expected.
Lebanon TPS Automatically Extended Through November 2026
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) automatically extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Lebanon through November 27, 2026, after failing to complete a required review before the deadline. The extension extends work permits expiring May 27 for holders of A12 or C19 category cards through November. It also covers Lebanese individuals already enrolled or with pending applications, not Lebanese nationals who arrived after the original eligibility period or never obtained TPS. This leaves many displaced individuals without protection despite continued instability and cross-border military escalation in Lebanon. DHS will decide by September 28, 2026, whether to terminate or extend the designation again. The decision reflects a narrower use of TPS authority than what a full redesignation would provide, consistent with the administration’s broader effort to limit expansion of humanitarian immigration protections.
Federal Court Blocks Alabama from Using Congressional Map Found to Intentionally Discriminate Against Black Voters
A three-judge federal panel blocked Alabama from using its preferred 2023 congressional map in the 2026 midterm elections, finding the plan was tainted by intentional race-based discrimination against Black voters. The court ordered the state to continue using the court-approved map with two districts where Black voters have a meaningful opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. Alabama had sought to revive the 2023 map after the Supreme Court’s recent ruling narrowing the Voting Rights Act, but the panel held that ruling did not permit use of a map already found to be intentionally discriminatory. The panel also warned that switching maps during an active election cycle would create voter confusion and require reassigning voters across multiple counties. Alabama’s attorney general said the state will immediately appeal to the Supreme Court, setting up what is likely to be the first major test of how far states can go after the recent Voting Rights Act ruling.
Third Circuit Declines to Rehear Mahmoud Khalil Case as Supreme Court Appeal and Deportation Challenges Continue
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals declined in a 6-5 decision to rehear Mahmoud Khalil’s case, leaving in place a ruling that limits his ability to challenge his detention and deportation in federal district court and routes his claims primarily through the immigration court system instead. Khalil’s legal team will appeal to the Supreme Court and has requested a stay of the ruling while that appeal proceeds, meaning he cannot currently be re-detained or deported.
Separately, Khalil appealed his removal order to the Fifth Circuit after an immigration judge ordered his removal to Algeria or Syria. Several dissenting judges warned that restricting federal court access in cases like Khalil’s troublingly weakens judicial oversight of executive immigration authority.
The case has become one of the most prominent legal challenges to the administration’s use of immigration enforcement against pro-Palestinian campus voices. Proceedings across multiple courts could shape First Amendment protections and judicial review rights for noncitizens targeted over political speech.
Supreme Court Leaves Federal Speech Policy Intact, Rejects Florida Licensing Suit
The Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that allowed immigration judges to challenge a policy requiring approval before speaking publicly about immigration law and policy. The Court did not address underlying First Amendment issues, ruling instead that the lower court relied on arguments unraised by the parties. The decision may make it harder for federal employee unions to quickly challenge agency policies in court.
Separately, the Court rejected Florida’s unusual request to directly sue California and Washington over their policies allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain commercial driver’s licenses, leaving existing state licensing laws intact.
DHS Expands Iris Scanning Program During Immigration Enforcement Operations
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a $25 million no-bid contract to BI2 Technologies to expand iris-scanning capabilities during immigration enforcement operations, requesting more than 1,500 scanners and access to a biometric database that stores iris scan data used to identify individuals. DHS said ICE officers use the technology to verify identities during enforcement operations. Attorneys representing a Venezuelan asylum seeker deported after a Chicago raid allege ICE officers used iris scanning during the operation, directing her to open her eyes widely for a photograph while detained.
Concerns were raised that ICE may collect and permanently store biometric data from people encountered during raids alongside other tools including facial recognition, DNA collection, license plate readers, and location tracking. The expansion raises questions about how that data may be combined with other government databases and whether it could later be used to monitor protesters, legal observers, or mixed-status communities.
White House Approves Major Funding Increase for AI Infrastructure Used by Intelligence Agencies
The White House approved a classified $9 billion funding request to expand AI computing infrastructure for U.S. intelligence agencies, with an additional $800 million redirected to accelerate short-term acquisition while Congress considers the larger request. Officials said agencies including the NSA and CIA have struggled to run newer AI systems on classified networks because existing secure infrastructure was not built to handle current computing demands.
The funding would support specialized chips that require significant electrical capacity and cooling systems in classified data centers. Expanding this infrastructure could accelerate government use of AI for intelligence gathering, cyber operations, and military targeting, including systems already integrated into battlefield decision-making. The rapid buildup increases pressure to establish safeguards around surveillance and the use of AI systems involving Americans’ data, a concern officials acknowledged while negotiating access agreements with private-sector AI companies.