Resources
Publication Date
05/21/2021
This page provides several tools: an updated and a comprehensive Practice Advisory on the legal issues; a Practice Alert on the Policy Manualamendment; community flyers that you can download and use to help warn clients and community; and a sample written warning about working in the industry from the California Employment Development Department.
Resources
Publication Date
01/09/2018
This toolkit provides advocates with the tools to effectively meet with local law enforcement regarding the California Values Act (SB 54) and enforcement policies generally. The toolkit includes the steps advocates should take prior to any law enforcement meeting, a sample agenda, sample questions, a FAQ section, and other tools.
Resources
Publication Date
01/10/2018
On January 9, 2018, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an important ruling on the termination of the DACA program. The court granted plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, putting the rescission of the DACA program on hold until a final determination is made in the case. The court ordered USCIS to resume accepting DACA renewal applications. This resource provides a legal summary of issues that were decided and what they mean moving forward.
Resources
Publication Date
01/17/2018
On January 9, 2018, a federal court ruled that while a lawsuit decides whether the termination of DACA was unlawful, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must continue to accept renewal applications. This is guidance on who is eligible to apply at this time. Please note, as the lawsuit moves forward, this advice may change.
Resources
Publication Date
01/17/2018
This infographic outlines who is eligible to renew DACA, documents needed, and resources available. Please check back for translated versions.
Resources
Publication Date
01/22/2018
On January 8, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. This TPS designation was supposed to expire on March 9, 2018. DHS has extended TPS for El Salvador for a final 18-month period (until September 9, 2019) and has not indicated that they plan to extend or renew TPS for El Salvador past that date. On January 18, 2018, DHS published a notice in the Federal Register explaining how TPS holders from El Salvador can re-register and re-apply for work permits, or Employment Authorization Documents (EAD). This is a summary of what you can do now.
Resources
Publication Date
01/25/2018
Sanctuary policies have continued to grow over the first year of the Trump administration. This detailed report describes what sanctuary policies are and how they are enacted across the country, detailing the changes in 2017 and providing context to the public discourse about local policies related to immigration.
Resources
Publication Date
01/26/2018
This is a summary of the California Criminal and Immigration Laws Passed over the last several years to mitigate the impact of deportations, immigration enforcement, and immigration detention.
Resources
Publication Date
01/25/2018
This article was written by Rose Cahn and former prosecutors from Fair and Just Prosecution for the American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Magazine, Winter 2018, Volume 32, Number 4.
Resources
Publication Date
01/31/2018
This advisory is a follow-up to the ILRC’s free webinar on hardship in waivers from the fall, 2017. Given the volume of questions received during the webinar and overall strong interest in this topic (over 1,000 people registered for this webinar!), this advisory covers the basics and also incorporates frequently asked questions. In this practice advisory you will find an overview of hardship in waivers: when you need to prove hardship, whose hardship counts, and what is hardship. It also covers tips and strategies for analyzing and proving “extreme hardship” in your case by using USCIS guidance, case law, and working closely with your client.
Resources
Publication Date
02/01/2018
This table provides state law statutes and descriptions of existing laws that require people to identify themselves to law enforcement officers—also known as Hiibel laws or Stop-and-Identify laws. The nuances of requirements under these laws may vary, but the chart provides a preliminary survey and research of statutes across the country, to educate individuals about their own state requirements and provide a first step for deeper research.
Resources
Publication Date
02/01/2018
In the past four years, California voters and the California Legislature have created many new mechanisms for people to reclassify, vacate, and resentence offenses to eliminate the ongoing impact of criminal convictions. This advisory discusses how these new laws can benefit immigrants and can erase or mitigate certain criminal grounds of removability.
Resources
Publication Date
02/06/2018
On November 20, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Haiti. This TPS designation was supposed to expire on January 22, 2018. DHS has given TPS holders from Haiti an additional 18 months of TPS status (until July 22, 2019) and it is unlikely that TPS for Haiti will be extended past that date.
Resources
Publication Date
02/07/2018
This resource analyzes congressional proposals on gangs, discusses how gang affiliation impacts immigration enforcement, and discusses solutions and examples.
Resources
Publication Date
02/07/2018
This resource discusses how current immigration laws criminalize individuals, and provides analysis of current congressional proposals.
Resources
Publication Date
02/07/2018
This resource provides analysis on why congressional proposals to expand penalties for reentry prosecutions should be rejected.
Resources
Publication Date
02/08/2018
This advisory discusses the provisions of SB 54 (De Leon) and the California Values Act, relevant to criminal defense counsel who represent noncitizen clients. In addition to discussing specific provisions of the California Values Act, this advisory discusses how to incorporate this new law into your defense practice.
Resources
Publication Date
02/12/2018
Schools across the country are working to protect their students and students’ families from immigration enforcement activities on campus. However, the school to prison to deportation pipeline is often overlooked in efforts to keep students safe. This resource explains how an incident at school can result in a youth facing deportation, and encourages schools to review their disciplinary polices to ensure they are not sending students to ICE.
Resources
Publication Date
02/13/2018
This infographic shows options for how a TPS holder may be able to get a green card through a U.S. citizen family member.
Resources
Publication Date
02/14/2018
Vote No on Heller 1954 Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act: Policy statement in opposition to the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act, which if passed would lead to unchecked racial profiling and other unconstitutional police practices.
Resources
Publication Date
03/02/2018
In a time of increased immigration enforcement, advocates must consider all possible forms of relief for clients facing deportation. U nonimmigrant status (also frequently referred to as a “U visa”) is commonly pursued as an affirmative immigration benefit for undocumented individuals, but it may also be a particularly important form of removal defense for certain lawful permanent residents (LPRs) facing deportation, likely on the basis of criminal convictions. This Practice Advisory provides an introduction to U nonimmigrant status and details its benefits for LPRs facing deportation, as well as the particular issues LPRs may face in seeking this form of protection.
Resources
Publication Date
04/05/2019
Immigration law has its own definition of what constitutes a criminal "conviction." Because most, although not all, immigration consequences require a conviction, if your client does not have a conviction the immigration case might be saved. This Advisory discusses which dispositions that come out of criminal court actually constitute a conviction for immigration purposes, and how to avoid a conviction. It has been updated to include the BIA's decision that a conviction on direct appeal of right does not have sufficient finality to be a conviction for immigration purposes.
Resources
Publication Date
05/23/2018
Statement for the Record by the ACLU, IDP, IJN, ILRC, NIJC and NIP on the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration for the May 23, 2018 Hearing Titled "TVPRA and Exploited Loopholes Affecting Unaccompanied Alien Children": In this statement for the record, the ILRC, along with our partners discuss the dehumanizing and cruel responses by the Trump Administration and immigration hardliners to children seeking safety in the United States.
Resources
Publication Date
03/29/2018
In October 2017, the Department of Defense issued new policies that impact lawful permanent residents and other non-U.S. citizens in the military. This practice advisory discusses how these policies affect those who seek to enlist, and those who currently serve in the military, including in the Reserve Components. This practice advisory was jointly authored by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Immigration Forum, and the New Americans Campaign.
Resources
Publication Date
09/16/2022
This advisory provides an introduction to the Affidavit of Support including various ways to meet the financial requirements, different types of sponsors who may submit Affidavits of Support, who is considered a “household member” for purposes of the Affidavit of Support, and exemptions to the Affidavit of Support.
Resources
Publication Date
04/16/2018
Since 1986, the Continuing Education of the Bar, in its “Crim Law Bible,” California Criminal Law Procedure and Practice, has included a chapter about representing the noncitizen criminal defendant. This chapter and the advice therein is often cited as establishing the prevailing professional norms at the date of any given conviction.
Resources
Publication Date
04/27/2018
This infographic provides a simple, visual representation of the current status of the DACA program.
Resources
Publication Date
04/30/2018
Recent government announcements and court cases on DACA have created confusion around who can apply, when they can apply, and how they can apply for DACA. To mitigate this confusion, here is an informational FAQ for your reference.
Resources
Publication Date
05/01/2018
Resources to understand Dimaya v. Sessions, a decision by the Supreme Court to invalidate part of the immigration law on constitutional grounds.
Resources
Publication Date
04/23/2025
287(g) is a program for allowing state and local agencies to act as immigration enforcement agents. Under 287(g), ICE forms an agreement with a state or local agency - most often a county sheriff that runs a local jail - and this agreement delegates specific immigration enforcement authority to designated officers within the local agency. These agreements are also known as “287(g) contracts” or “MOAs” (Memorandum of Agreement). The program gets its name from section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.