Updated November 5, 2026, with the Michigan Senate result, the latest Alaska count and later ballot measure results.
Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, setting up two years of split government in which a Democratic Congress will face President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda through hearings, subpoenas and the budget, but not through new laws he will sign. The Associated Press called the Senate for Democrats late Tuesday after the Iowa race and the House early Wednesday, Forbes reported.
The new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027. Until then, Republicans keep their majorities in a lame-duck session. Nothing about a pending visa, green card or citizenship case changes because of the vote, and executive rules already in place stay in force unless a court, the administration or a new law changes them.
The midterm results at a glance
- Senate: Democrats flipped seven Republican-held seats, including Maine, where Troy Jackson unseated Sen. Susan Collins, according to the same Forbes live report. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers for the open seat held by retiring Democrat Gary Peters, according to an AP race call. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola held a slight lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan with more than 98% of precincts reporting, Alaska Public Media reported, and the race had not been called as of Thursday.
- House: Democrats won a majority. Several close districts, including New York’s 17th, were still being counted, so the final margin is not yet known. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become Speaker.
- Texas governor: Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, CBS News projected. She is expected to take office in January 2027.
Before the election, Republicans held 53 Senate seats and the House stood at 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats. The election ends the unified Republican control that produced two large immigration enforcement funding bills in 2025 and 2026.
What a Democratic Congress can do on immigration
Oversight and subpoenas
The majority party chairs every committee, and that is where the biggest change starts. House Democrats plan to investigate the administration’s immigration enforcement once they gain subpoena power in January, CBS News reported.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the presumptive chair of the House Oversight Committee, has listed DHS and ICE conduct among his priorities, including the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during immigration operations in Minneapolis, ABC7 reported. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, expected to chair the Judiciary Committee, plans joint work on ICE conduct with Oversight and Homeland Security Democrats.
Likely areas of scrutiny include detention conditions, due process for AsylumProtection granted to a person already in the United States or at a port of entry who meets the definition of a refugee and cannot safely return to their country.See it in the glossary seekers, USCIS processing delays and third-country removals, Forbes contributor Stuart Anderson wrote. In August, 87 House Democrats signed a letter led by Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey about deaths and medical care in ICE custody.
Annual funding bills
Congress must pass spending bills every year, and from January, Democrats will write them. They can attach conditions to new money for DHS and other agencies, or withhold funding from administration priorities to press officials for testimony, CBS News reported. Any spending bill still needs the President’s signature, so these fights tend to end in negotiation or a standoff rather than a clean win for either side.
Confirmations
A Democratic Senate controls which nominees get a vote. That covers federal judges, who hear most immigration lawsuits, and senior officials at DHS, the Justice Department and the State Department. Immigration judgeAn attorney appointed by the Attorney General who presides over removal proceedings in immigration court, part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review.See it in the glossary are Justice Department hires and are not Senate-confirmed.
What the new Congress cannot easily change
Enforcement money through 2029
The Secure America Act, signed in June, funds ICE, CBP and parts of DHS with about $69.55 billion through September 30, 2029. It came on top of the 2025 reconciliation law. Together, the two bills gave the agencies $239.5 billion, by the American Immigration Council’s count.
That money is already law. Rescinding unspent funds or adding restrictions would take a new bill passed by both chambers and signed by the President, or enough votes to override a veto. Congress also cannot directly control ICE’s day-to-day operations, Newsweek noted.
Executive rules and pending cases
Proclamations, agency rules and USCIS policies issued by the administration stay in effect. That includes the processing holds, fee increases and Public chargeA ground of inadmissibility for applicants an officer finds likely at any time to become a public charge. For Form I-485 filings on or after September 18, 2026, USCIS guidance lets officers weigh a wider range of means-tested public benefits, not only cash assistance.See it in the glossary standard this site has covered. The main checks on them remain the courts and the rulemaking process. Our explainers on how a President changes immigration policy and what happens to pending cases lay out where those lines fall.
Changing immigration law still needs both parties
Lasting changes to visa caps, green card categories, Per-country limitThe cap, set at 7 percent of the combined family and employment totals, on how many preference visas may go to natives of any single country in a fiscal year.See it in the glossary, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)A policy begun in 2012 under which certain people who came to the United States as children could request deferred action, a discretionary decision not to pursue removal for a set period, along with work authorization. Deferred action does not provide lawful status. Under current court orders, USCIS continues to process renewals but is not approving initial requests.See it in the glossary or asylum law require a statute. Democrats will not have the 60 Senate votes needed to end most filibusters on their own, and they would need a two-thirds majority in each chamber to override a veto, Anderson noted. Any immigration bill that becomes law in the next two years would need support from Democratic leaders and the President.
The reverse also applies. Republican immigration bills that passed the House this year, such as the SAVE America Act proof-of-citizenship measure, would need Democratic leaders to bring them to the floor in the new Congress.
The lame-duck session before January
Between now and January 3, the Republican majorities still control both chambers. Lawmakers typically use this period to pass spending bills and other must-pass legislation. Any immigration provisions attached to year-end bills would still need 60 Senate votes unless they move through budget reconciliation.
Immigration ballot measures: results so far
Counts below are unofficial and may change before certification.
- Colorado Amendment 81, which would have required police to notify DHS after charging certain people whose lawful status cannot be confirmed, failed. About 55% of voters opposed it, and as a constitutional amendment it needed 55% support to pass, the State Court Report noted.
- Arizona Proposition 317, declaring drug cartels terrorist organizations under state law, was passing with about 55%. Proposition 144, which combined a citizens-only voting amendment with voter ID rules and a bar on foreign election contributions, was rejected, according to KTAR’s tally and the State Court Report.
- Citizens-only voting amendments passed in Kansas with more than 62%, the Lawrence Journal-World reported, and were also approved in Arkansas and West Virginia. South Dakota’s Amendment J passed with about 61.5%, KOTA reported. Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 3, a similar change to state law. Federal law already limits voting in federal elections to citizens.
For background on each measure, see our pre-election report on what the midterms could change for immigrants.
States: Texas and cooperation with ICE
Governors direct state police and state-run detention, and they influence whether local agencies join 287(g) agreements with ICE. Texas has been central to state-level enforcement under Abbott, and a change of governor gives the state’s executive branch a new leader in January. Many Texas enforcement measures are written into state law, so changing them would also involve the Republican-led Legislature.
Texas removing Abbott is “a big deal for immigration enforcement,” David Bier of the libertarian Cato Institute wrote after the results, as quoted by Anderson. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, said her party “needs to course-correct on the economy and on immigration.”
Key dates to watch
- Now through January 3, 2027: lame-duck session under current Republican majorities.
- January 3, 2027: the new Congress is sworn in and committees reorganize under Democratic chairs.
- January 2027: new governors, including in Texas, take office.
- September 30, 2029: Secure America Act enforcement funding runs out unless Congress changes it.