Eric Cohen Named ILRC's Executive Director (October 2007)

The United States is a nation of immigrants—our founding history a celebration of immigrant freedoms and the pursuit of a community conceived in equality. Our history is one of battles fought and won; and though at times our nation’s progress has been marred by misstep, it has been righted by the advance of civil rights, liberties, and freedoms. As both a product and a gift of our democratic tradition, these are promised to all who live in this country.

Because of this, and often in the hope of escaping persecution or poverty, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers arrive in the U.S. each year. According to recent Census Bureau data, there are as many as 34 million foreign-born citizens in the country today.

Many of these newest immigrants are already contributing members of our society. They are our neighbors and coworkers, our friends and our families, and they represent a growing segment of our population struggling for the rights, protections and privileges first promised in this nation’s founding and improved upon in our history. Among America’s newest immigrants are the millions who suffer the hardships associated with undocumented status for themselves or a close family member—fear of deportation, barriers to education, employment, health care and housing. Although contributing to our society in so many positive ways, millions of immigrants are nonetheless denied access to many of our democratic institutions. Millions are subject to policies that are anti-immigrant in nature, policies that restrict their participation in our society’s political, social and economic systems.

The lack of immigrant inclusion and participation in America’s civic institutions threatens the health of our communities and the stability of our democracy. It undermines the ability of immigrant families to prosper; to obtain education, jobs, health services and all that is needed to care for both the young and old. It undermines their access to the vaunted American dream—and the dream itself. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center seeks to change that.

The ILRC is a national resource center that provides trainings, materials and advocacy to advance immigrant rights. As a service organization, we train lawyers and paralegals on ever-changing and complex immigration law. We help develop immigrant and community leaders so that they may play leading roles in confronting and reshaping the laws and policies that perpetuate racial, economic and social injustice. And we seek to build a society that values diversity and respects the dignity and democratic freedoms of all people.

Last updated: February 24, 2005

IMPORTANT: The legal information and materials on this web site are intended to be used by trained immigration practitioners. If you are looking for assistance with an immigration case, please consult an accredited advocate. Some sources of assistance can be found in Other Resources.

Last Modified: April 30 2008 12:11:14