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March 3, 2026

3 entries on this date.

ICE deported deaf 6-year-old and his family to Colombia during a routine check-in, without his hearing devices

On March 3, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in San Francisco told asylum seeker Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez she was reporting for a routine check-in and photo renewal, then fingerprinted, detained, and deported her and her two children — including her six-year-old deaf son, Joseph — to Colombia within minutes, without allowing her to retrieve Joseph's hearing devices or granting her access to counsel. California's state superintendent and the family's attorney said the deportation was conducted under false pretenses and in violation of due process; ICE said the mother had a 2024 final removal order and chose to be removed with her children.

DHS systematically obstructed its inspector general; Noem sought list of OIG probes to weigh ending

In a March 2 letter released to Congress and first reported on March 3, 2026, DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said the Department of Homeland Security had "systematically obstructed" his office's work, citing at least 10 oversight matters in which DHS denied or delayed access to records and revoked OIG access to critical databases including BorderStat, TECS, Secure Flight, and the Unified Immigration Portal. Cuffari also disclosed that Secretary Kristi Noem had requested a list of all pending OIG matters, including criminal investigations, so she could weigh whether any should be terminated. The disclosure prompted Sen. Gary Peters, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, to open an investigation into potential obstruction of the inspector general's oversight and communications to Congress.

Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signed HJR1032, repealing the only rule letting transgender residents change the sex marker on state IDs

On March 3, 2026, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt approved House Joint Resolution 1032, which repealed the Service Oklahoma administrative rules that had allowed residents to change the sex marker on their driver's licenses and state identification cards. The prior rules required a court order and a notarized physician's statement; their repeal eliminates the only administrative pathway for transgender Oklahomans to correct the sex designation on state ID. Licenses already amended before the repeal remain valid, but no further changes will be processed.