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.

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Public Charge Timeline

09/24/2020
Public Charge
This timeline provides a quick, visual summary of the changes to public charge policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) from January 2018 through September 24, 2020.
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Practice Alert: Temporary Changes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in Response to COVID-19

09/23/2020
Asylum
Citizenship and Naturalization
DACA
Public Charge
Family-Based
U Visa/T Visa/VAWA
This practice alert provides a brief summary of temporary changes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made in response to COVID-19. Changes include plans for reopening USCIS facilities after suspending all in-person services, including interviews and biometrics appointments, from March 18 to June 3, 2020; automatic extensions for Requests for Evidence (RFEs), Notices of Intent...
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Blueprint for the Next Administration

09/22/2020
Policy Advocacy
2020 has proven to be one of the most tumultuous years in recent history. We have struggled to survive a deadly global pandemic and faced a national reckoning on racial inequity and police brutality. Over the past four years, immigration enforcement tactics have continued to instill fear, and any protection policies have been decimated. Immigrant communities face the constant threat of...
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ILRC’s expert letters to the California Penal Code Review Committee

09/17/2020
Post-Conviction Relief
Crimes
In January 2020, the Committee for Review of the Penal Code began convening with the intent of putting forward wide ranging recommendations for reforms to the California criminal legal code. Understanding the significant impact of the process for California’s immigrant population, the ILRC has formally submitted recommendations, advice, and expert testimony as the committee engages in its...
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Summary: Trump's April 2020 Restrictions on Immigration

09/14/2020
Community Resources
On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation cutting off some forms of immigration for 60 days, beginning on April 23, 2020. On June 22, 2020, the president extended this proclamation through December 31, 2020 and added restrictions to other immigrants seeking certain temporary visas. This brief guide addresses what this means, who it will most likely impact, and what it...
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Best Practices: Protecting Immigrants When Decriminalizing or Legalizing Marijuana

09/09/2020
Enforcement
Post-Conviction Relief
Crimes
Across the country, states and localities are increasingly moving to end marijuana prohibition laws. For immigrant communities, despite the changing attitude toward marijuana-related conduct at the state level, an old conviction can still form the basis for immigration-related consequences at the federal level. Though federal legal reforms may be the only way to completely eradicate the...
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A Step By Step Guide To Completing FOIA Requests With DHS

09/08/2020
Family-Based
Removal Defense
A FOIA request can be an invaluable tool in immigration law to help an immigrant and her representative. This guide details how to complete a FOIA request for USCIS, ICE, OBIM, and CBP. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to complete Form G-639 and also also includes tips about alternatives to Form G-639, such as online submission options.
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Close DJJ the Right Way for All

09/08/2020
Detention
Immigrant Youth
California is in the midst of an historic reform of its Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Under current plans, failed DJJ facilities will close, creating an opportunity for youth to be cared for close to home through community-based programs and services. But if DJJ closes, it must close justly. Any closure must divest from carceral solutions and invest in restorative and transformative justice...
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Absences and Continuous Residence

09/03/2020
Citizenship and Naturalization
Absences from the United States can affect an applicant’s eligibility for naturalization in numerous ways. In this practice advisory, we focus specifically on how absences of varying lengths of time affect the continuous residence requirement.
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Felony Murder Rule and Noncitizens

09/02/2020
Crimes
Post-Conviction Relief
This brief advisory written by Rose Cahn, ILRC and Anoop Prasad, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Asian Law Caucus, discusses how petitions for relief using PC 1437, the reform to the felony murder rule, can be helpful to immigrants seeking to mitigate immigration consequences.
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Community Alert: Changes to the DACA Program

09/01/2020
DACA
Community Resources
On July 28, 2020 the Department of Homeland Security issued a memorandum severely restricting the DACA program. Despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision fully reinstating the program, the Trump administration has issued another attack on the program. This community alert gives a brief summary of memorandum and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Implementing Guidance issued on...
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DACA: Frequently Asked Questions

09/01/2020
DACA
Community Resources
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on June 18, 2020 should have restored the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in its entirety, a recent announcement by the Trump administration has once again thrown the program and DACA recipients into limbo. This resource goes over frequently asked questions to help orient the community of this new change with DACA program.
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DACA Supreme Court Case Summary & Practice Update

09/01/2020
DACA
On July 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a memorandum instructing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to: 1) reject all initial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) requests from applicants who have not received DACA in the past; 2) reject all advance parole applications from DACA recipients except where there are “exceptional circumstances...
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Toolkit for Legal Service Organizations: Pro Bono Immigrant Post-Conviction Relief

08/26/2020
Crimes
Post-Conviction Relief
This toolkit is designed for legal service organizations who want to engage pro bono attorneys in providing immigrant post-conviction relief screening and services. It contains tools to run a legal clinic to screen for crim/imm issues and post-conviction relief options, tools to perform case-specific legal analysis for noncitizens with prior convictions, and tools to place and supervise post-...
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Toolkit for Reentry Service Providers: Serving Noncitizen Immigrants with Criminal Records

08/26/2020
Crimes
Post-Conviction Relief
This toolkit will help reentry service providers expand services for noncitizens impacted by the criminal legal system. It offers an escalating service menu, starting with tools to provide general information about how a conviction can impact immigration status, advancing to tools to help clients gather information necessary for an individualized legal analysis, tools to perform that analysis,...
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Emerging Public Charge Issues Related to COVID-19

Public Charge
08/25/2020

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, federal, state, and local governments are creating relief programs to provide services and resources to community members facing health and financial challenges. However, due in part to the overlapping timeline of coronavirus and the implementation of new public charge rules, many immigrant community members are fearful of utilizing available relief programs. In this 60-minute webinar, we will provide a brief overview of public charge, share policy updates on public charge topics, and discuss various emerging public charge issues related to...

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Practice Alert: Matter of Reyes, 28 I&N Dec. 52 (A.G. 2020)

08/24/2020
Crimes
Detention
Removal Defense
Post-Conviction Relief
On July 30, 2020, Attorney General Barr issued Matter of Reyes , 28 I&N Dec. 52 (A.G. 2020), a case involving a longtime lawful permanent resident with a single conviction for violating a larceny statute that criminalizes both theft and fraud, and is indivisible as between these means of commission. She had been sentenced to over one year in prison and there was an established loss amount of...
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2020 Census: Ensuring Immigrant Communities Are Counted

08/20/2020
Census
Community Resources
On March 12, 2020 households began receiving invitations to complete the 2020 Census. Because of the pandemic, households now have until September 30, 2020 to complete their responses either online, by paper, or by telephone . Although the U.S. Supreme Court prevented the Trump administration from including a question asking whether a person is a U.S. citizen in the 2020 Census, immigrants...
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ILRC Opposes USCIS’s Changes to the Policy Manual on Discretion

08/17/2020
Policy Advocacy
Family-Based
U Visa/T Visa/VAWA
On August 13, 2020, ILRC submitted comments on recent changes to USCIS’s policy manual. The new chapters on discretion will radically alter adjudications of a wide variety of applications for immigration benefits. We recommend that the changes be stricken because they are ultra vires, lack legal support, and will exacerbate USCIS’s current crisis. The policy manual changes compound agency...
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Resources for Challenging Matter of Thomas & Matter of Thompson

08/13/2020
Crimes
Removal Defense
Detention
Post-Conviction Relief
In October 2019, Attorney General Barr issued Matter of Thomas & Matter of Thompson , altering the standard for when immigration law will recognize a criminal sentencing modification. Since then, government attorneys from ICE and adjudicators from DHS and DOJ have misused and exploited the decision to incorrectly impose immigration consequences on vacated and modified past convictions and...
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Beyond Sanctuary: Local Reforms in Conservative Regions

Enforcement
08/12/2020

In conservative and anti-immigrant areas, it may not be possible to pass sweeping sanctuary laws that prohibit collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and ICE. This is especially true if anti-sanctuary statutes like Texas’ SB 4 and Florida’s SB 168 prevent such measures by state law. However, many of us are fighting back against ICE enforcement in all kinds of new and creative ways that connect criminal justice reforms and immigrant rights. This webinar will provide organizers and advocates with information about how to effectively strategize in “red” regions to build...

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