On October 6, 2025, USCIS officers were granted enforcement powers, including the authority to carry firearms, execute warrants, make arrests, and investigate civil and criminal violations of immigration law. This marks a departure from USCIS’s longstanding role as a nonenforcement adjudicatory agency. Since this change in policy, more individuals with unexecuted removal orders are arrested at certain USCIS field offices.

While immigration enforcement policies continue to escalate, immigrants continue to receive benefits, including lawful permanent residence and naturalization, at many field offices. Any individual applying for a benefit with USCIS should discuss their particular risk factors, including visa overstays, criminal history, and unexecuted removal orders, with an immigration attorney in preparation for their appointment.