Immigration lawyers report 'chaos' over Trump’s new green card rules

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

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Summary

The Trump administration put out new rules last Friday that require people to apply for green cards from abroad instead of from inside the U.S., which has been custom for immigrants seeking permanent residency status. Immigration attorney Richard Herman explains what he’s hearing from his clients and what remains unclear.

Then, protests continue outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in New Jersey as detainees inside stage a hunger strike over poor conditions. Bergen Record reporter Ricardo Kaulessar shares more.

And, a new report from the Brookings Institution found about 145,000 children have been separated from their families during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Author Tara Watson details the impact of separation on those families.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	WBWR Podcasts, Boston.
0:06.0	We're just getting tons of emails and phone calls from existing clients, just shocked at what this new memo is saying.
0:14.0	New immigration rules say some people applying for green cards have to do so from abroad.
0:20.6	Immigration advocates say the change is intended to
0:23.4	stoke fear and confusion. It's Tuesday, May 26th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and
0:30.3	WBOR. I'm Chris Bentley. Today on the show, three snapshots of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
0:46.1	We'll hear about a hunger strike at a detention center in New Jersey, where Senator Andy Kim says he was pepper sprayed by federal agents while protesting.
0:55.4	Congressman Rob Menendez said he was among several politicians denied entry to the facility.
1:01.3	The reason they want to make this as part as possible, they won't let the governor in,
1:04.6	is because they don't want us to tell the stories of what's happening inside.
1:08.2	Also, a new report from the Brookings Institution estimates more than
1:12.2	146,000 children have been separated from their families since the start of Trump's second presidency.
1:19.7	About a third of them were younger than six years old. We'll dig into the report in just about 10
1:25.0	minutes. But first, a change in the green card process
1:30.4	is sowing panic and confusion among some legal residents of the United States. 600,000 foreigners
1:37.9	apply every year for a green card, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Those with
1:42.9	legal status to be here, a work
1:45.0	permit or a visa, could usually apply for and complete that process inside the U.S., but not
1:51.8	anymore. A new rule announced by the Trump administration last Friday says people will need to
1:56.8	apply for a green card from abroad. It's not clear if they have to stay there for the entire
2:02.1	process. That includes people married to U.S. citizens, holders of work and student visas,
2:08.6	refugees, and asylum seekers. Richard Herman is a longtime immigration attorney based in Cleveland.
	...

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