2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

Timeline › 2026 › April › 8

April 8, 2026

3 entries on this date.

ICE staff at Dilley detention center read from D.C.-dictated scripts and barred direct answers during congressional oversight visit

During an oversight visit to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center on April 8, 2026, Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar found that ICE staff had been directed to read from Washington-dictated scripts and were barred from answering their questions directly, with all inquiries required to be submitted in writing for routing to D.C. ICE also sent D.C.-based monitors to observe the congressmen during the visit. The obstructions followed the ouster of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her replacement by Acting Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

Mississippi Gov. Reeves signed SB 2114 directing state police to compile a registry of undocumented residents and criminalizing unlawful presence

On April 8, 2026, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2114, which directs the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to determine on an ongoing two-year basis the number and identities of all undocumented residents in the state, collecting names, addresses, country of origin, minor status, criminal history, and deportation-proceeding status. The law also criminalizes unlawful presence as a state offense, carrying a six-month minimum with felony enhancements, and requires state and county agencies to seek 287(g) cooperation agreements with ICE. Civil-rights groups warned the registry invites racial profiling and echoes historical list-making against disfavored groups.

Mississippi Gov. Reeves signed SB 2322 requiring driver's licenses to show sex assigned at birth and nullifying court-ordered gender changes

On April 8, 2026, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2322, which requires the sex designation on every Mississippi driver's license to reflect the holder's sex as determined at birth and provides that a court order recognizing a change of gender "shall have no effect" on the sex indicated on a license. The law permits changes only for a scrivener's error or a verified disorder of sex development, barring transgender residents from obtaining or renewing a license that matches their gender identity. The measure took effect July 1, 2026.