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.
08/08/2018
The DOJ created new conditions for state and local recipients of Byrne Justice Assistance Grants and other federal grants, in an effort to prevent jurisdictions with certain sanctuary policies from receiving any funds. Several federal courts have found these requirements to be unconstitutional, and ordered the DOJ to distribute the grants to sanctuary cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia. This...
08/06/2018
Since the inauguration of President Trump, three separate documents related to “public charge” have been leaked. The most recent document was a draft proposed regulation circulated in the press in March 2018. A proposed regulation seeking to make major changes to existing public charge law is expected to be published this summer in the Federal Register, yet no new regulation has been implemented...
07/24/2018
Summaries of key court decisions analyzing the legal and constitutional problems with ICE detainers and the liability of local agencies who hold individuals based on ICE detainers.
07/24/2018
Overview of ILRC’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request Since 2013, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) has been tracking policies dealing with the various ways in which state and local law enforcement is entangled with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in deporting members of immigrant communities. In November 2016, we received data from a FOIA request to DHS that provided...
07/20/2018
Every year, millions of people wait for Congress to advance a solution that would provide stability for undocumented persons and their families. The numbers left waiting and worrying without a pathway to citizenship, protection from deportation, or the ability to work under the Trump Administration has only increased with the limitations on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)...
07/19/2018
This practice advisory addresses the impact of drug trafficking on unaccompanied minor (UC) cases by looking at overall drug trafficking patterns within UC cases, identifying the substantive and procedural issues that may arise when UC with drug trafficking histories pursue immigration relief, and drawing parallels to other bodies of law to provide practitioners with recommendations for use in...
07/17/2018
A brief summary of recent court precedents that analyze the limits of the federal government’s power to tell states how to regulate, and what this means for 8 USC § 1373. One court so far has found 8 USC § 1373 unconstitutional, and others are pending. These cases mean that a key anti-sanctuary weapon of the federal government may be struck down by the courts, and communities may be legally able...
07/13/2018
(Updated resource; originally posted 05/31/2018) When President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012, the government assured applicants that it would not use information included in DACA applications to deport applicants or their families unless an exception applied. Relying on the government’s promise, nearly 800,000 young people have applied for and...
07/02/2018
The purpose of this practice alert is to summarize changes practitioners are starting to see in how public charge inadmissibility is being evaluated in consular processing immigrant visa cases, following the January 2018 revisions to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) on assessing public charge, and to provide recommendations for how to prepare clients who will be consular processing in light of...
06/29/2018
This advisory discusses how the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) protect children of permanent residents in their applications for permanent residency. We discuss how a child’s age is calculated and how they might move through different preference categories through their process to become residents.
06/29/2018
Are you thinking about helping detained immigrants? It’s time to get your feet wet. This guide talks you through the initial basic steps to support someone requesting from bond from the immigration judge. This guide includes simple steps to get you started, including how to find your client and what to present to the court.
06/28/2018
This introductory practice advisory explains 245(i), including “grandfathering” and “after acquired,” and includes screening questions to assist in identifying and evaluating possible 245(i) options for your clients.
06/27/2018
The domestic violence deportation ground at INA § 237(a)(2)(E) sets out four bases for deportability. Recent Board of Immigration Appeals and federal decisions, including the Supreme Court decision in Sessions v. Dimaya , significantly affect each of the four bases. This advisory will provide a brief overview of the deportation ground, and then outline the recent decisions and how they may affect...
06/26/2018
This toolkit is aimed at providing you–the advocate– with the tools to provide valuable know your rights (KYR) information. This toolkit will teach you how to do a KYR presentation, including everything from the logistics of organizing an event to the substantive topics you should cover. If all you want to do is learn how to put together a KYR presentation, you can review the section Nuts &...
06/25/2018
Every family should have a Family Preparedness Plan. While it is our hope that you never have to use your plan, it is a good practice to have one in place to help reduce the stress of the unexpected. This step-by-step guide will help you create a plan for your children in the event you are not available to care for them. See also , Family Preparedness Plan .
06/19/2018
ILRC along with our partners—ACLU, DWN, IDP, IJN, NIJC and NIPNLG—provide an analysis of the enforcement and crimmigration provisions in the Ryan and Goodlatte immigration bills and urge opposition to these bills.
06/14/2018
ILRC along with our partners—IDP, IJN, NIJC, and NIPNLG—provide an analysis of the enforcement and crimmigration provisions in Goodlatte's The Securing America's Future Act and urge opposition to the legislation.
06/07/2018
Over 300,000 people currently benefit from Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and many have been protected by it for nearly 20 years. However, the current administration is terminating the program for certain countries and is reviewing the designation of several others. This practice advisory describes what TPS recipients and their advocates can do now to understand their legal options. It will...
06/06/2018
Cancellation of removal for Non–Permanent Residents under INA § 240A(b)(1) is a critical defense to deportation available to certain non-citizens with family in the United States. A person who is granted non-LPR cancellation of removal receives a green card, but the eligibility requirements for non-LPR cancellation are distinct from other means of applying for a green card, and also from other...
06/04/2018
Aprenda sobre los diferentes tipos de revisiones de antecedentes penales para las personas solicitando DACA y como pedirlos.
06/04/2018
Learn about the various types of background checks for DACA applicants and how to request them.
06/01/2018
This infographic provides a simple, visual representation of who can apply for DACA now and how to get informed of changes and updates.
06/01/2018
Public charge is a concept in immigration law that often deters immigrants from accessing critical public benefits and services. This cheat sheet gives services providers a quick overview of what public charge is, who it does and does not impact, what benefits impact public charge, and where to refer people for immigration help.
05/23/2018
This statement from a coalition of immigrant rights organizations urges members of Congress to vote no on the FIRST STEP Act of 2018 (H.R. 5682). This bill excludes a wide swatch of immigrants, further criminalizes aspects of migration, and fails to address root systemic causes of incarceration nor advance any meaningful criminal justice reform.
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...