Ximena Bustillo
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Homeland Security officials say money from Congress has allowed agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hire 2,500 lawyers to practice in immigration court and 11,000 deportation officers.
Ximena Bustillo, NPR News, Phoenix.
Last year, after an Afghan national shot two National Guards members in Washington, D.C., killing one, the Trump administration paused reviewing any applications filed by people born in 39 countries.
Immigration lawyer Zachary New says that has produced severe consequences.
New represents more than 500 people whose lives are on hold because of the pause.
Two federal judges have ordered the government to process the applications of 116 people, but many are still waiting, and there's no sense of when or if the pause will lift.
The decision comes from the Board of Immigration Appeals, which is an administrative court that hears appeals from immigration courts.
Both are part of the Justice Department.
This case centers on a DACA recipient who was detained by Customs and Border Protection while boarding a domestic flight last summer.
She was later released from immigration detention in October, and a federal immigration judge said that her DACA status protected her from deportation.
The Department of Homeland Security has appealed.
It argues that DACA protections are not absolute and are subject to discretion.
Lyons testified Thursday before House lawmakers to discuss the fiscal year 2027 budget, but the agency is still not funded for fiscal year 2026.
That is because Senate Democrats stripped funding for all of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year after federal immigration officers shot and killed two U.S.
Although some Republicans agree changes are needed, a deal to change how ICE operates has not yet been reached.
In statements to NPR, top Trump administration officials praised Lyons' leadership and tenure at ICE.
Lyons has been with the agency for nearly 20 years and will leave for a job in the private sector.