Immigration lawyer Liudmila Marcelo hit the nail on the head with her prediction: she had publicly anticipated that USCIS's migration pause would end between May and June 2026, and the court ruling that lifted the pause arrived exactly on June 5.
The host Tania Costa summarized it without beating around the bush during the interview: “The lawyer said May or June, and, folks, it's June 5th and they have lifted the pause.”
It was not the first time that Marcelo hit the mark. Tania Costa recalled that the lawyer had also predicted the outcome of the Mark Prada case before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, a prediction that also came true.
Liudmila Marcelo's crystal ball is already gaining power because she predicted when the eleventh circuit would be announced, and it happened. Now she says that the pause will end sometime between May and June, specifically on June 5th.
The prediction, published on April 29, 2026, was met with skepticism and even insults on social media, as Costa recounted, who urged the loyal followers of the program to defend the show's work against those criticisms.
Marcelo, true to his cautious style, preferred not to jump to hasty interpretations of the ruling. "I like to be serious with the news because many times when one talks about these things that have just come out, they tend to say things that haven't been studied yet. I'm making that clear. It's 200 pages, and I haven't read it."
Nevertheless, the lawyer was clear about the scope of Chief Judge John McConnell's decision from the District of Rhode Island. "The judge stated that this pause is illegal and that, therefore, it is null and void from this moment on."
Regarding whether the decision applies generally or only to individual cases, Marcelo left no room for doubt: "In my opinion, it applies generally because the judge is referring to USCIS policy as a whole."
The ruling, which declared four USCIS policies illegal related to status adjustments, work permits, citizenship applications, and asylum cases, now paves the way for filing Mandamus petitions with a higher likelihood of success.
Marcelo himself explained why he had waited for this moment to take action. "I preferred to wait until they said the pause was over to start with the 'requests' and the Mandamus, because now they can't tell me that the process is stalled due to a USCIS policy."
The lawyer confirmed that she is already mobilizing her office. "I am preparing my office to start preparing Mandamus. What happens is that I always say: I am the only lawyer in this office, so I do not work at the same speed as other firms that have more lawyers, and I need to prepare my staff and myself."
The previous day, changes in USCIS interviews were already indicating that Marcelo's prediction was about to be confirmed.
And the lawyer already has her next forecast in sight. This Friday, she indicated that the ruling from the BIA regarding Mark Prada's lawsuit will arrive in February 2027, and she said it with her usual confidence: "I keep playing with fire."
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