USCIS Initiates Removal Proceedings Against 26,000 Aliens Since February

WASHINGTON – Since U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published new guidance on issuing Notices to Appear (NTAs) on Feb. 28, it has initiated removal proceedings against more than 26,700 aliens with no legal basis to remain in the country.

The guidance is in response to President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The guidance addresses national security, public safety, and the overall integrity of the United States immigration system by strengthening enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“This update has helped USCIS enforce existing immigration laws by once again issuing NTAs to removable aliens in the United States,” said USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, we have returned to commonsense NTA policies and since February 2025, have issued tens of thousands of NTAs to restore integrity and ensure the security of our nation’s immigration system.”

The revised NTA policy is part of an ongoing series of efforts to restore integrity to the legal immigration system. USCIS is actively assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by providing volunteers to support its operations and carry out its mission of protecting the public and ensuring integrity within the immigration system. USCIS returned to robust screening and vetting of immigration petitions and applications while prioritizing deterrence efforts. These screening and vetting efforts have led to approximately 1,840 NTAs a week and a 2,811% increase in fraud-related NTAs per month from the Biden-Harris administration era.  This includes the issuance of approximately 500 asylum-related NTAs per week and 100 NTAs in Temporary Protected Status (TPS) cases per week. These efforts have reduced exploitation of the immigration system through humanitarian and TPS programs.

Under the new guidance, USCIS is generally defaulting toward issuing NTAs after the issuance of an unfavorable decision on a benefit request where the alien is removable from the United States. In limited situations, USCIS exercised prosecutorial discretion. The new guidance did not change procedures for cases in which NTA issuance was required by statute or regulation, nor did it change NTA procedures for TPS or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) cases.

If the Secretary of Homeland Security terminates a nation’s TPS designation, former TPS beneficiaries of that nation who have no other authorization to remain in the United States may be subject to NTA issuance. These aliens should depart the United States and are encouraged to use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP Home app to report their departure.

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