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.
10/09/2019
In late September, a federal judge in California issued an important decision on ICE detainers in Gonzalez v. ICE . The judge issued a permanent injunction against ICE issuing detainers based solely on information from its own databases, which the judge concluded were too error-ridden to provide probable cause for the detainers. Further, the judge found that it violates the Fourth Amendment for...
10/09/2019
Under the recent Gonzalez v. ICE decision, ICE cannot issue certain detainers, or I-247A. This sample detainer is annotated to highlight what advocates should look for, and explains some of the legal problems with detainers.
10/08/2019
Sanchez v. Sessions was a landmark Ninth Circuit ruling on suppression of evidence and termination of removal proceedings. This advisory explains the decision, lays out the different legal standards for suppression and termination in immigration court, and highlights key holdings that practitioners can use to better defend their clients.
10/04/2019
On August 26, 2019, the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) published an interim final rule, effective immediately, with a request for public comments by October 25, 2019. ILRC posted a templated comment urging programs to send in their own responses. ILRC has also submitted its own comments. Here are a few important points regarding the rule: The rule portrays...
10/03/2019
Although the TVPRA exempts unaccompanied children (UCs) from the one-year filing deadline for asylum, the current administration has been attempting to erode these protections. As a result, many UCs are at risk of losing their statutory protections and being subjected to the one-year filing deadline. This practice advisory provides UC advocates with an overview of the deadline, the exceptions for...
10/03/2019
The DA’s office can prevent courts from becoming a gateway to mass deportation by adopting reforms and practices that will ensure all community members, including noncitizens, are treated equally, and no one is disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system.
10/02/2019
While the best-case scenario would be for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to approve a person’s naturalization application, receiving a denial after a naturalization interview is not the end of the road. If USCIS denies the naturalization application, persons can seek a USCIS hearing to appeal the denial by submitting form N-336 (informally known as an administrative...
09/30/2019
Form N-648, the Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions, provides an opportunity for naturalization applicants who have a physical, developmental, or mental health disability to naturalize without meeting the English and/or civics requirements. On February 12, 2019, new USCIS policy guidance went into effect regarding Form N-648. Since August 12, 2019, USCIS only accepts the new edition...
09/30/2019
This guide outlines steps DACA renewal applicants can take if their renewal is delayed.
09/25/2019
This short resource explains how California laws protect noncitizen youth in the youth justice system from immigration enforcement.
09/20/2019
This practice advisory provides an update on public charge for advocates providing naturalization legal assistance. The advisory briefly discusses the legal standard for assessing public charge and then discusses how to advise lawful permanent residents looking to naturalize. It covers issues related to the new rule on public charge that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the...
09/19/2019
This resource, co-authored by the ILRC and United We Dream (UWD), compares the criminal and inadmissibility grounds for Titles I and II of the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 with DACA and TPS.
09/19/2019
This resource is a comprehensive client intake form meant to assist practitioners in screening for immigration relief options. Accompanying the intake form are notes to assist practitioners in spotting issues and relief options.
09/18/2019
The ILRC is pleased that Congress is engaging in a serious conversation about immigration policy and how to protect DACA recipients, TPS holders and those with DED - who are among the many groups of people of color and immigrants targeted by the Trump Administration's racist policies and discriminatory practices. The ILRC believes strongly that any legislation designed to protect immigrants...
09/16/2019
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center created this template to help you draft your own comments in opposition to this interim rule with request for comment. The new rule can be found here . Comments are due by October 25, 2019. We are very concerned about this rule’s “reorganization” at EOIR that eliminates OLAP, the office that has operated the Recognition and Accreditation (R & A) Program and...
09/04/2019
As a trusted institution in immigrant families’ lives, childcare providers can play a critical role in ensuring immigrant families have access to important information and resources during these turbulent and scary times. This resource provides ideas for how childcare providers can support immigrant families.
09/04/2019
It is unlikely U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will carry out immigration enforcement operations at an early childhood education center, childcare facility, or First 5 site. Nonetheless, it is important for facilities to have policies that address the concerns of the parents, families, and communities they serve. Accordingly, the ILRC put together model policies for early childhood...
08/29/2019
On August 8, 2019 the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a second opportunity for notice and comment on the new USCIS Tip Form to collect information from the public regarding purported immigration fraud. The publication of this form signals another dangerous and insidious shift in USCIS’s transformation from an agency serving immigrants and...
08/28/2019
In this issue: In Focus: Goals for the new Austin, Texas office; Ending 287(g) agreements: An overview of the effort to keep local law enforcement out of the federal immigration enforcement work; Congress must take down Trump administration's barriers to citizenship; 2019 Phillip Burton Immigration & Civil Rights Awards; 2018 Annual Report
08/27/2019
One of the most heartbreaking and galvanizing assaults on immigrant and human rights in 2018 was the administration’s policy of separating families seeking asylum, or other relief, at our borders. Read about how the ILRC responded in our 2018 Annual Report.
08/19/2019
Our immigration law includes a provision that says a person is “inadmissible” if they are likely to become a public charge. Under our current policies, public charge refers to individuals who are primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, like people who rely on cash assistance programs, or require long-term care at the government’s expense. This law only affects those applying for a...
08/18/2019
M oving Texas Forward: Local Policies Towards Inclusive Justice was created for the many organizations and elected officials in Texas that are struggling to find solutions to disrupt the harmful arrest-to-deportation pipeline. Texas has helped deport more people than any other state. In fiscal year 2017, more than 395,000 people, or 17% of all deportations nationwide, were deported from Texas...
08/15/2019
This practice advisory is the second resource in a two-part series on Humanitarian Forms of Relief for noncitizen victims of violence, serious crimes and persecution. They include: T nonimmigrant status, U nonimmigrant status, VAWA self-petition, asylum, and special immigrant juvenile status. The first advisory focused on giving an overview of VAWA, U, and T Visas. Including, eligibility...
08/14/2019
In certain immigration cases, you may want to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of State (DOS), such as to try to find information about previous visa applications and passport records. This Practice Advisory will go over the DOS FOIA process in detail and provide practice tips for obtaining personal records from them, including best practices.
08/14/2019
On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule related to public charge in the Federal Register. The rule will not take effect until October 15, 2019. Some counties immediately filed a lawsuit to block the new rule, and additional litigation is expected. Thus, legal challenges could delay implementation. A summary of the main provisions can be found on our...