Resources
Publication Date
12/10/2024
Many noncitizen defendants are already deportable (“removable”). This includes all undocumented people, as well as lawful permanent residents (green card-holders) who have become deportable because of a conviction. If immigration authorities find these people – which is likely to happen – they will be deported unless they are granted some kind of immigration relief. For these defendants, staying eligible to apply for immigration relief is their most important immigration goal, and may be their highest priority in the criminal defense.
Resources
Publication Date
03/12/2013
In Chaidez v. United States, 568 U.S. _____, ____S.Ct.____, 2013 WL 610201, (February 20, 2013) the U.S. Supreme Court held that Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010) was a “new rule” that did not apply retroactively to convictions final before March 31, 2010. In Padilla, the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment requires criminal defense counsel to advise a noncitizen about the immigration consequences of a guilty plea.
Resources
Publication Date
05/03/2013
"The Immigration and Naturalization Service, Community-based Organizations, and the Legalization Experience: Lessons for the Self-Help Immigration Phenomenon,” is a law review article written by ILRC’s founder, Bill Hing, in which he discusses lessons learned from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Resources
Publication Date
05/01/2013
The ILRC, along with WDA, IDP, and NIP, summarize and discuss some of our immigration system’s most egregious aspects, outline five main principles to advocate for with immigration reform, and caution against possible new harmful provisions that we would have to fight for decades to come.
Resources
Publication Date
05/21/2013
The long-delayed congressional debate over vital immigration reform begins this week following the filing of a bipartisan measure that creates a roadmap to citizenship for a portion of the 11 million immigrants now in the country without documents.
Resources
Publication Date
05/21/2013
Resources
Publication Date
05/24/2013
Mark Silverman, ILRC Director of Immigration Policy, discusses concerns about fraud under the SAW program and why fraud is less likely to occur under a future legalization program.
Resources
Publication Date
05/29/2013
In Moncrieffe v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that the full categorical approach applies in immigration proceedings. A result is that where the criminal statute defines the offense more broadly than the immigration definition at issue, the conviction will not trigger the immigration penalty.
Resources
Publication Date
06/03/2013
Drawing from our experiences during and after IRCA, we offer a brief analysis of some of the legalization aspects of the recently introduced Senate Bill—the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.” We divide our discussion broadly into the positive and negative features of provisions in Senate Bill 744 (S.744) that relate to the length of the path to citizenship, eligibility requirements, and confidentiality provisions, and compare these to the provisions that existed under IRCA.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) immigration attorneys’ expertise focuses on family-based immigration, humanitarian relief, naturalization and citizenship, immigration enforcement, and removal defense.
Since 1979 we have helped expand the immigration expertise of attorneys, nonprofit staff, criminal defenders, and others assisting immigrant clients.
In addition to authoring the ILRC’s practice manuals, our expert attorneys have been published by Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), ILW.com, Huffington Post, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Center for Law and Social Policy, The Hill, LexisNexis Emerging Issues, and Fox News Latino.
We have also provided training to National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), American Bar Association Commission on Immigration, Federal Bar Association, The State Bar of California, Legal Aid Association of California, Judicial Council of California and more.
ICE Continues to Ignore FOIA Request for Reports on Enforcement Activities and Removals
(Washington)—Immigration advocacy groups filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit Monday against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requesting ICE’s internal reports on enforcement activities and removals under the Biden-Harris administration’s interim enforcement priorities.
DHS issued new enforcement and prosecutorial discretion guidance on September 30, 2021. This practice advisory from the ILRC, NIPNLG, and IDP provides criminal defense practitioners with an overview of the enforcement priorities and other key policy changes described in recent DHS and ICE memos, and discusses strategies to use these priorities to advocate for prosecutorial discretion.
Practice Advisory for Immigration Advocates: The Biden Administration’s Final Enforcement Priorities
DHS issued new enforcement and prosecutorial discretion guidance on September 30, 2021. This practice advisory from the ILRC, NIPNLG, and IDP provides immigration practitioners with an overview of the enforcement priorities and other key policy changes described in recent DHS and ICE memos, and discusses strategies to use these priorities to advocate for prosecutorial discretion.
Black people and other communities of color, including immigrants, have faced decades of overpolicing, criminalization, and incarceration in Texas, often for alleged conduct that does not mandate an arrest or even carry jail time in the state. One way to effectively reduce arrests is to pass a local cite and release policy. This advocacy toolkit gives local organizers and advocates in Texas the tools they need to lead a successful cite and release campaign. We have included many helpful resources, samples, and insights for every step in a cite & release campaign – from initial education, research, and data collection through policy implementation.
This Chart summarizes the criminal record bars to many forms of relief, to provide a quick way to check whether your client is potentially eligible for relief. See also ILRC, Immigration Relief Toolkit (2018).
Civil Rights Organizations Allege Texas’ Operation Lone Star Targets and Punishes Migrants with Discriminatory Shadow Criminal Legal System
(Austin, Texas)—Today, major national and Texas immigrant and civil rights organizations jointly filed a Title VI discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding “Operation Lone Star,” with the support of over 100 organizations.
Biden, Democrats Inability to Enact Bold Changes to the Immigration System is a Travesty
(Washington)—The Biden-Harris administration and Congressional Democrats have continued to embrace failed tactics rather than pushing for and enacting bold changes to the immigration system. As a result, immigrant communities continue to live under draconian policies which have come to define our country’s immigration system.
This practice advisory provides an overview of TPS and focuses on a framework for analysis for the firm resettlement bar to eligibility. It also discusses the impact of dual nationality on TPS applicants.
In this issue: The Fight for a Permanent Inclusive Legislative Solution, ILRC Field Office Run Down, #FindYourAlly college outreach digital content, and much more!
On December 21, 2021, the ILRC submitted comments raising concerns on the form that ICE plans to utilize to allow the public to submit tips on suspicious or criminal activity. ILRC raised concerns with ICE’s use of this form given the high likelihood that information submitted will be unreliable or outright false, which has the potential to significantly harm immigrant communities. Particularly at risk are communities that have been historically targeted for hate crimes and targeted by ICE for discriminatory purposes as well as domestic violence survivors and immigrant communities already vulnerable to exploitation. The comment urges ICE to discontinue the use of this form.
This practice advisory discusses the changes to eligibility for derivative T nonimmigrant status for after-acquired spouses in the wake of the ruling in Medina Tovar v. Zuchowski.
What are ICE detainers, how do they affect a criminal case, and how can counsel get rid of them? This advisory walks through all the legal and practices issues around ICE detainers, including the role of ICE in issuing them and the role of local or state jailors in responding. We discuss the importance of incorporating ICE detainers into pre-trial strategy, the legal and constitutional issues implicated by ICE detainers, and the various ways to challenge or rescind a detainer. This advisory is national; it identifies various different state laws affecting ICE detainers.
On January 25, 2022, the ILRC submitted comments in response to the DHS Notice Requesting Comments on “Identifying Recommendations To Support the Work of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families.” Our comments urge the U.S. government to stop criminal prosecutions for migration, admit wrongdoing and compensate the victims of family separation under the Trump Administration, curb enforcement and detention in the absence of meaningful opportunities for people to gain immigration status, rescind harmful border policies and practices, and expand the interpretation of family unity to ensure that children are not separated from both parental and non-parental caregivers.
This practice advisory contains numerous practical examples to assist in understanding how to recapture and retain priority dates in the family immigration context. It includes discussions and examples of how this concept intersects with other provisions of law, such as the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), and adjustment of status under § 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). A brief discussion and summary of the utilization of cross-chargeability of priority dates is also included.
Civil Rights Advocates Urge Immediate DOJ Action in Light of Operation Lone Star’s Expansion, Potential Extremist Involvement in Its Creation
(Austin, Texas)—The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, Texas Fair Defense Project, and partner organizations submitted a supplemental Title VI discrimination complaint urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to formally investigate Texas’ Operation Lone Star (OLS) migrant arrest program.
Our ILRC Texas team continues to lead the charge opposing Governor Gregg Abbott's Operation Lone Star. This sign-on letter urges Union Pacific to end its involvement in the racist and unconstitutional “Operation Lone Star” scheme.
This toolkit is designed to assist education and outreach workers presenting public charge information to immigrant community members. Some of the materials in the toolkit have a California focus or include California-specific details, but all materials remain useful for a national audience. Our goal is to spread accurate information about what public charge is and who is impacted by it, to help reverse the chilling effect from the Trump public charge rule which is no longer in effect.
This is an archived collection of comments the ILRC has submitted related to proposed regulations (“rules”) regarding public charge and the affidavit of support.
A U visa is a type of immigration status for victims of certain crimes who have been helpful in the investigation or prosecution of that criminal activity. This one-page guide provides an overview on the U visa, what it provides, and who qualifies.
This downloadable social media explainer provides insights about the REAL ID, what compliance means, and the eligibility requirements. Feel free to upload to your social media feeds to share with your community.Download here.
A set of free promotional flyers about the Higher Education Legal Services Project you can download and print to post at any California Community College. Simply print (in color for optimal results!) and post at any strategic location on campus – like high-traffic student areas, library bulletin boards, Dream Resource Centers, EOP offices, career/counseling centers, etc.
Resources
Publication Date
06/06/2013
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to HR 2217, the “Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act2014.” This amendment denies funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement and administer several important programs, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program.
Resources
Publication Date
06/24/2013
New Advocacy Guide for ICE's massive Criminal Alien Program (CAP), from the National Immigrant Project, Washington Defenders Association, and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Resources
Publication Date
07/22/2013
A manual for organizers on how to prevent local law enforcement from holding immigrants for ICE.
Resources
Publication Date
07/22/2013
Resources
Publication Date
07/31/2013
Resources
Publication Date
08/14/2013
The powerpoint focuses on the paths to citizenship, future flow, and enforcement provisions that are in the Senate immigration reform bill titled “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act” (S. 744).
Resources
Publication Date
08/14/2013
The charts lay out the path to citizenship for undocumented individuals, DREAMers, and agricultural workers based on the Senate bill “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013” (S.744). It also summarizes the eligibility requirements and bars at each stage of the process.
Resources
Publication Date
09/12/2013
Immigration reform has only been approved by the Senate, but as the bill currently stands, S.744 changes several things about the family-based system and also adds merit-based tracks. This document summarizes the proposed changes and additions.
Resources
Publication Date
10/09/2013
Starting January 1, 2014, a conviction for transportation under H&S 11352 and 11379 will automatically qualify as a drug trafficking aggravated felony. AB 721, signed into law on October 3, 2013, redefines transport to include only transportation for sale and now excludes transportation for personal use.
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