Immigration News Today: H-2A Visa Program Keeps Growing, But Reforms are Needed

Documented

Jul 13, 2026

Workers on H2A agricultural guest visas from Jamaica walk back to their housing camp from the orchards at the end of a work day at Wafler Nursery, an apple producer, in Wolcott, New York on Tuesday evening, September 23, 2025. Photo: Anna Watts for Documented

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Washington, D.C.

One U.S. visa program is growing rapidly. No one is happy with it. 

The H-2A visa program for seasonal agricultural labor is growing, but farmers, employers and labor advocates and both political parties agree that it is far from perfect. – NPR

Lindsey Graham dead at 71: His biggest legacy for Latinos may be the immigration reform that never became law: 

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The South Carolina senator was for years one of the Republican party’s most ambitious architects of comprehensive immigration reform. – The Latin Times

Mexico-US relations are already strained, but experts say they’re about to get worse: 

After ICE’s killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Mexico said it is seeking civil and criminal investigations in the U.S. over the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals at detention centers or during immigration enforcement operations.– CNN

U.S. employers told to dismiss thousands of immigrant workers: 

Shifting deadlines are confusing businesses as the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and others threatens to make them ineligible to live and work in the United States. – The New York Times

Meet the Cubans stuck in Mexico under Donald Trump’s deportation campaign:

Cuba has often rejected deportations from the U.S. Where does that leave Cuban deportees expelled under Trump’s mass deportation drive? – Al Jazeera

New York

Contaminated food, unwashed hands: Inside a Newark ICE detention facility:

Detainees at the Delaney Hall immigration facility have complained for months about dirty, unhealthy living conditions. Documents echo their claims. – The New York Times

Trump’s plan to turn NJ warehouse into an ICE detention center is back on:

Less than two weeks after officials said the idea was dead, plans to convert a Roxbury warehouse into a 1,500-bed facility have been revived. – Gothamist

Mamdani to add more neighborhoods to NYC immigrant enclave list after perceived snubs:

Some had voiced their displeasure at being left off the map, including Irish, Jewish and Italian New Yorkers. – NBC New York

Healthcare leaders in NYC warn of potential caregiver crisis if TPS is revoked: 

“Imagine seniors and individuals living with disabilities waking up to find their favorite aide is just gone.” – CBS News

Around the U.S.

Shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo: 

*Note: Over the weekend, there were several incremental but important updates that came to light following ICE’s shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. We will be following this story in the days and weeks ahead. Here are some notable developments:

Videos shed light on pursuit before ICE killing in Houston: 

Surveillance footage shows ICE agents driving aggressively in unmarked vehicles, but the moment of the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo remains murky. – The New York Times

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s passengers dispute ICE’s account of his fatal shooting, their attorney says:

The three passengers were detained by ICE after Tuesday’s shooting in Houston, which the federal agency has characterized as an act of self-defense by an officer. – Houston Public Media

Houston neighbors started seeing more ICE agents around. Then came a fatal shooting:

“Why use a gun when you want to deport someone?” one neighbor said, wiping away tears as she prayed.NPR

Mexican builder fatally shot by an ICE officer is mourned after making a life in the US: 

“We are not at war,” said a congressman representing Houston. “Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was not a casualty. He was a human being who was murdered by our government.” – The Associated Press

How the ICE shooting has shaken the teens of Houston’s Magnolia Park:

Teenagers from immigrant families said the 52-year-old construction worker fatally shot by a federal officer reminded them of their own fathers. – The Washington Post

Other news:

ICE deports Minnesota man who was unanimously pardoned by Gov. Tim Walz last month for sex abuse conviction: 

Minnesota state officials had granted a pardon to Tou Lue Vang, a Hmong man, drawing criticism that Democratic leaders were thwarting efforts to expel criminals. – Minnesota Public Radio, The New York Times

Alligator Alcatraz may be closed, but the legal fallout isn’t over:

Allegations of beatings, pepper-spraying, and injuries continue to haunt the remote Everglades runway where thousands of men were held over a year. – The Miami Herald

Immigration arrests near Illinois county courthouses still persist, despite state law:

The presence of immigration agents around Cook County courthouses remains stubbornly persistent. – The Chicago Tribune

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Mazin Sidahmed
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Documented

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