Current Events, News, Alerts and More

Read about important events, news, and alerts from Parker Butte & Lane PC in Portland, OR, below

Trump Administration Plans to Restart and Expand Travel Bans –   According to reports, the Trump administration is preparing to restart and expand a travel ban policy against certain countries that had been implemented during his first administration. Officials said the travel ban would likely include the same countries that were on the list the first time—Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen—and that Afghanistan and Pakistan could be added, along with possibly others.

USCIS Changes Many Forms With No Notice, Adds Grace Periods After Complaint Filed – On March 8, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted changes to many forms with grace periods for their use of up to one month. This immediately followed a complaint filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and Benach Collopy LLP for declaratory and injunctive relief to challenge USCIS's publishing new editions of immigration forms with no notice and requiring their use with no grace period. 

USCIS Plans to Require Applicants to Provide Access to Social Media Accounts – On March 5, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it plans to require applicants for various immigration benefits to provide access to their social media accounts. USCIS said there was a "need to collect social media identifiers ('handles') and associated social media platform names from applicants to enable and help inform identity verification, national security and public safety screening, and vetting, and related inspections." The agency said the collection of information was "necessary to comply with section 2 of the Executive order (E.O.) entitled 'Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,' which directs implementation of uniform vetting standards and requires the collection of all information necessary for a rigorous vetting and screening of all grounds of inadmissibility or bases for the denial of immigration-related benefits." 

Trump Administration Fires EOIR Personnel and Immigration Judges While Backlogs Grow – According to reports, the Trump administration has fired a number of Executive Office for Immigration Review staff and immigration judges (IJs). On February 14, 2025, 13 IJs who had been hired recently were summarily fired, along with seven assistant chief IJs.  Meanwhile, backlogs continue to grow, reaching nearly 3.6 million cases.

President Trump Designates English as Official Language But Does Not Require Agencies to Delete or Stop Producing Materials in Other Languages – On March 1, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. The order states that agency heads "are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English."

Parker Butte & Lane PC in Portland, OR, can be reached at 503-241-1320. Check back often for updates.