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.
This updated memo explores recent case law on immigration detainers and how the 2015 detainer forms are still constitutionally deficient. Local jails who detain immigrants for ICE continue to risk liability for unlawful detentions.
This brief fact sheet explains the federal statute of 8 USC § 1373 and its relation to policies limiting compliance with immigration detainers or other immigration enforcement assistance by local law enforcement agencies, also called “Sanctuary Policies.” These policies do not generally conflict with 8 USC § 1373 and therefore do not put localities in jeopardy of losing federal funds.
A noncitizen who is convicted of a “crime of domestic violence” is deportable. INA 237(a)(2)(E)(i), 8 USC 1227(a)(2)(E)(i). In Matter of H. Estrada the BIA reaffirmed that the categorical approach must be used to determine that the offense is a “crime of violence” under 18 USC § 16, but it held that the circumstance-specific approach can be used to determine whether the victim and defendant shared the required domestic relationship. Under that approach, the BIA found that ICE can use any reliable evidence, including evidence from outside the record of conviction, to try to meet its burden of proving the relationship.
Report by the ILRC calling for the end of immigration raids targeting Central American families and outlining the legal and factual grounds for the expansion of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This report also provides estimates regarding the number of individuals that would benefit under an expansion of TPS.
California recently enacted ten new laws to ensure liberty and access to justice for immigrants in our state. Two of those laws impact immigrant youth in particular:
The BIA stated that Cal PC § 273a(b) is not a deportable crime of child abuse, in Matter of Mendoza-Osorio.
After a record number of unaccompanied children came to the United States in 2014, the U.S. is again responding to a new influx of children and families from Central America. This one-page resource sheet for individuals interacting with unaccompanied children in the U.S. can be used to help children get connected with legal, educational, medical, mental health, and faith-based services.
AB 1343 is a new law that safeguards due process for immigrants inthe criminal justice system by ensuring that immigrants are provided access to fair, honest, and competent legal advice. Check out this infographic to learn more!
In Young v. Holder, 697 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc) the Ninth Circuit held that if a statute is divisible, an applicant for relief must provide evidence from the reviewable record of conviction that proves that the conviction does not bar eligibility, under the modified categorical approach. An inconclusive record of conviction is not sufficient.
In this practice advisory developed in consultation with the staff of the Judicial Council of California, we answer common questions about basic procedural and substantive issues that may arise in family court custody cases when SIJS findings are being requested.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center, with our partners the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in the San Francisco Bay Area and Californians for Safety and Justice, are pleased to provide a manual on how to help immigrants get post-conviction relief in California. Here is a link to the manual, and a separate link to the Practice Aids in the Appendices.
This guide explains how the California TRUST Act interacts with other ICE enforcement programs in California jails, such as the Criminal Alien Program, 287(g), and Secure Communities.
A permanent resident with convictions from before April 1, 1997 may be eligible for a powerful waiver under the former INA § 212(c)—even if the offense was an aggravated felony. Yielding to the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Judulang, the BIA has dramatically increased the type of offenses that can be waived. See practice advisory by the NIPNLG and IDP, entitled "Matter of Abdelghany: Implications for LPRs Seeking § 212(c) Relief" at https://nationalimmigrationproject.org/PDFs/practitioners/practice_advisories/crim/2014_14Mar_matter-abdelghany.pdf.
This memorandum was sent to all California County Counsel offices on December 19, 2013. The letter discusses interpretation and implementation of the TRUST Act. Advocates may use this letter to better understand the Act as well as in advocacy.
The last update to Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, was December 23, 2016. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) only accepts the current version of the form. The last major update to the N-400 was on February 4, 2014, when USCIS announced changes that doubled the length of the form. The increase in length stemmed in part from additional questions related to determinations about good moral character and national security. USCIS made additional changes in March 2016 and a new fee schedule went into effect in December 2016.
This summary provides details on recent groundbreaking federal court rulings related to immigration detainers. Learn what these decisions mean and how to use this information with your own local sheriffs, other law enforcement, and elected officials.
On February 4, 2014 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) introduced a new N-400 (Rev. 9/13/13), Application for Naturalization form that was updated in April and December 2016. All naturalization applicants must use the new form only. To help attorneys, BIA accredited representatives, and others learn how to complete this new form, we have developed a step-by-step guide.
This op-ed on Unaccompanied Alien Children was written by one of our summer law interns, Kathleen Kavanagh. In recent months, we’ve seen an unprecedented jump in child arrivals mostly from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The Official Border Patrol statistics show that over 47,000 unaccompanied minors have already been apprehended in the first eight months of fiscal year 2014.Read the entire article below.
On July 21, 2014, Governor Brown signed into law a provision that will make a California misdemeanor have a maximum possible sentence of 364 days. This will provide crucial help to immigrants convicted of minor offenses.
This letter was sent to all California County Counsel and Sheriff Offices to advise on Miranda-Olivares and urge jurisdictions to stop complying with Immigration detainers, unless or until such detainers are accompanied by a judicial determination of probable cause to satisfy the requirements of the Fourth Amendment.
In Rendon v. Holder the Ninth Circuit clarified when a statute is truly “divisible” under the categorical approach, and held that California burglary (Penal Code § 459) never constitutes the aggravated felony “attempted theft.” This holding also means that California burglary never is a crime involving moral turpitude, under the categorical approach.
In 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a Parental Interests Directive to provide federal guidelines regarding immigration enforcement against parents and legal guardians. The Directive emphasizes that ICE should respect an immigrant parent’s rights and responsibilities, and seeks to ensure that “immigration enforcement activities do not unnecessarily disrupt” parental rights. This resource summarizes the key provisions of the Directive and provides tips to those working within the dependency system on how to best ensure an immigrant parent can meaningfully participate in the dependency proceedings.