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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This infographic shows options for how a TPS holder may be able to get a green card through a U.S. citizen family member.
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.
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.
This resource provides analysis on why congressional proposals to expand penalties for reentry prosecutions should be rejected.
This resource discusses how current immigration laws criminalize individuals, and provides analysis of current congressional proposals.
This resource analyzes congressional proposals on gangs, discusses how gang affiliation impacts immigration enforcement, and discusses solutions and examples.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This infographic outlines who is eligible to renew DACA, documents needed, and resources available. Please check back for translated versions.
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.
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.
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.