Resources
Publication Date
08/07/2025
This practice advisory provides background on the disability waiver of the English and civics requirement for naturalization and describes the June 2025 revisions to the USCIS Policy Manual (PM) on the submission and review of disability waivers. The revised guidance in the PM applies to applications filed on or after the publication date of June 13, 2025. Overall, the PM revisions signal a change in tone that assumes fraud in the disability waiver process is frequent and encourages increased scrutiny by USCIS adjudicators.
Resources
Publication Date
08/05/2025
Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a memo listing out its priorities for civil enforcement cases. In that memo, the DOJ states that it will be focusing on denaturalization cases. This memo - along with statements made by administration officials and members of congress - has sparked a lot of attention on denaturalization and questions about who could be denaturalized. This has caused a lot of fear and uncertainty in communities, but denaturalization is not as straightforward as you might think.
Resources
Publication Date
07/29/2025
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) authorized the creation of a program that allows state and local law enforcement agencies to act as immigration enforcement agents.This policy brief reviews the recent history of 287(g) agreements and how they’ve proliferated, describes the three 287(g) agreement models, examines a case study of escalating 287(g) programs in Florida, delves into the programs’ dangers and harms, and provides some recommendations for local communities that want to stop 287(g) agreements in their tracks.
Resources
Publication Date
07/29/2025
A resource highlighting interior enforcement practices within the Harris county region of Houston, Texas.
Resources
Publication Date
07/28/2025
Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement and revoked many longstanding protections from prior administrations, including one preventing enforcement action in certain sensitive locations.
Despite the administration’s many attempts to deprive immigrants of their constitutional and legal rights, everyone, regardless of immigration status, has certain constitutional protections and a right to a free public education.
In this Resource Toolkit, we will address recent changes affecting students and school campuses and what students, parents and caregivers, and school administrators can do to prepare for immigration enforcement action at schools while highlighting the constitutional protections that remain a pillar of our democracy.
Despite the administration’s many attempts to deprive immigrants of their constitutional and legal rights, everyone, regardless of immigration status, has certain constitutional protections and a right to a free public education.
In this Resource Toolkit, we will address recent changes affecting students and school campuses and what students, parents and caregivers, and school administrators can do to prepare for immigration enforcement action at schools while highlighting the constitutional protections that remain a pillar of our democracy.
Resources
Publication Date
07/16/2025
Community members across the country are reporting visits from immigration and other federal officers seeking to meet with certain children who entered the United States unaccompanied. These children are often referred to as “unaccompanied children” (UCs) because at the time they were arrested by immigration (such as crossing the border), they were not with a parent or legal guardian. Although these visits are sometimes described as “wellness checks,” they are part of a broader, coordinated effort to locate and deport some vulnerable young people and their sponsors. It is crucial for families and immigrant communities to stay informed, exercise their rights, and seek legal support when needed.
Resources
Publication Date
07/09/2025
ILRC submitted a comment to USCIS in response to the revisions published on June 13, 2025 to guidance for disability waivers of the English and civics requirement for naturalization. ILRC opposed the 2025 revisions as they rely on a false narrative that fraud is rampant in the disability waiver process.
Resources
Publication Date
07/07/2025
Resources
Publication Date
07/01/2025
In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has begun filing thousands of motions to recalendar administratively closed proceedings. This trend is raising questions about how attorneys and accredited representatives can respond to these motions and protect their clients’ interests, particularly in cases that have been administratively closed for many years. This advisory explores those questions and offers strategy considerations when determining how to proceed in each case.
Resources
Publication Date
06/27/2025
This tool offers a template that practitioners can use to help identify possible asylum eligibility. The screening questions are intended to elicit information about the basis of an asylum claim, identify possible bars and challenges, and flag areas where further follow-up may be needed. Accompanying the screening tool are some notes to help guide practitioners in assessing relief and spotting potential issues.
Resources
Publication Date
06/25/2025
This practice advisory focuses on motions to reopen based on ineffective assistance of prior counsel. It reviews the basic requirements of motions to reopen and then dives into the specific procedural and substantive requirements of motions to reopen based on the ineffective assistance of prior counsel. It discusses the time and numerical limitations on motions to reopen and how to use the doctrine of equitable tolling to overcome these limitations. It also covers what documents should accompany a motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel so that the motion has the best chances of success. Finally, it briefly discusses the option of filing an appeal if the immigration court or the BIA denies the motion to reopen.
Resources
Publication Date
06/10/2025
The Immigration Legal Resource Center (ILRC) has developed a comprehensive framework to enhance its engagement with directly impacted community members. This framework is designed to systematically involve these individuals in the ILRC’s activities, ensuring that their voices and experiences are central to our work.
Resources
Publication Date
06/05/2025
The Freedom of Information Act is a law that established the right of public access to certain executive branch information from the federal government. This step-by-step guide helps advocates and community members better understand how to make such requests to attain data about themselves or others from USCIS.
Resources
Publication Date
06/04/2025
The ILRC has published its 2024 Annual Report, which includes information about the initiatives the organization took that year, as well as the organization's financial position.
Resources
Publication Date
06/03/2025
This advisory discusses the immigration consequences of a conviction for a controlled substance offense under California Prop 36, specifically Cal. H&S Code § 11395. This advisory explains the immigration consequences of a criminal plea to a Prop 36 controlled substance offense. It outlines criminal defense strategies for defenders to avoid these pleas and outlines removal defense strategies for immigration practitioners where the plea cannot be avoided.
Resources
Publication Date
06/02/2025
Let ICE know that you’re aware of your rights!
The ILRC has prepared free, downloadable signs to help you let your local communities know that you stand with them! Tell ICE that you are prepared to defend your guests, patrons, students, patients, or clients from unlawful entry or intimidation.
The ILRC has prepared free, downloadable signs to help you let your local communities know that you stand with them! Tell ICE that you are prepared to defend your guests, patrons, students, patients, or clients from unlawful entry or intimidation.
Resources
Publication Date
05/27/2025
Given the Trump administration’s vow to carry out mass deportations, ICE has already expanded its enforcement actions and gotten increasingly aggressive about its tactics. But advocates should be aware that there are legal protections against these abuses of power. These protections from unfair and unlawful actions come from court battles that have been litigated and won. Knowledge is power and knowing these cases will be a powerful tool to have if ICE oversteps and violates immigrant’s rights.
Resources
Publication Date
05/20/2025
Step by step explanation for criminal defense counsel of how to identify ICE detainers that may be issued in violation of the Gonzalez v. ICE class action. This class action settlement applies nation-wide to limit ICE’s issuance of detainers. This advisory walks through the basics of the case and how to monitor and respond to any violations of the settlement.
Resources
Publication Date
05/16/2025
Despite the real risk of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) visiting someone’s home, below is the primary pathway in which most vulnerable immigrants will find the highest risk of deportation. This infographic maps out the United States’ arrest-to-deportation pipeline and offers a glimpse of the multiple ways immigrants can be pushed into removal proceedings, from initial contact with law enforcement to immigration detention. Because there are regional differences in local law enforcement policies, variances in which cities participate in federal immigration enforcement programs, and new state-specific laws that serve the deportation machine, this infographic is NOT exhaustive.
Resources
Publication Date
05/15/2025
A flyer that outlines 5 key reminders about your constitutional rights when confronted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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Un folleto que describe 5 recordatorios clave sobre sus derechos constitucionales cuando se enfrente con agentes de inmigración (o ICE, por sus siglas en Ingles).
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Un folleto que describe 5 recordatorios clave sobre sus derechos constitucionales cuando se enfrente con agentes de inmigración (o ICE, por sus siglas en Ingles).
Resources
Publication Date
05/14/2025
On April 11, 2025, the new Form G-325R took effect as a general tool to register all previously unregistered noncitizens under an antiquated and rarely invoked provision of the Immigration & Nationality Act, with criminal penalties for willful failure to register. This advisory was written to assist attorneys in discussing registration and the new Form G-325R with clients, including screening for prior registration and assessing the potential consequences of registering or not registering, so that individuals can make informed decisions about how to proceed in light of this new rule.
Resources
Publication Date
05/13/2025
ICE’s form for requesting advance notice when someone will be released from custody. ICE uses this when they lack probable cause to issue a detainer, but want the jail to transfer the person to ICE custody anyway.
Resources
Publication Date
05/05/2025
This resource compares immigration enforcement in Texas before Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025 with the policies Trump has instituted since he has taken office. Our analysis shows that Governor Abbott’s immigration enforcement policies led the way for Trump’s actions. Texas has served as experimentation grounds for hateful and sweeping immigration enforcement policies which were quickly adopted by Trump 2.0 for the national level and have also infected other states who have enacted Texas copycat laws and policies. Our analysis below is a mere snapshot of the Texas and federal immigration enforcement policies that are currently in place.
Resources
Publication Date
04/30/2025
Tracking all the tactics this administration is deploying to target immigrants is overwhelming. In this document, we attempt to summarize some of the key ways the Trump administration is shifting policies and practices to surveil, arrest, detain, deport, and silence immigrants and the people who support them. We do not name every shift; rather, we focus on the weaponization of the criminal legal system, the increasingly authoritarian approach, and the role of the federal budget, which are key tools of the Trump administration’s brutality and also vital sites of advocacy needed to stem the tide.
Resources
Publication Date
04/29/2025
The IJ roundtable, composed of 71 former Immigration Judges and former Board Members and Appellate Immigration Judges of the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a letter highlighting their concerns about HB 1554 and the importance of having legal counsel in immigration proceedings.
Resources
Publication Date
04/24/2025
A primer on how ICE uses administrative subpoenas to circumvent local sanctuary laws, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and ILRC. This brief explainer discusses the nature of ICE subpoenas, how they are used, and the legal issues involved.
Resources
Publication Date
04/23/2025
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing to change several forms by adding questions about an applicants’ family members, old email addresses and phone numbers and social media account information. The collection of information goes far beyond what the government needs to adjudicate these applications. The information in this resource discusses what the changes are and how to submit a comment.
Resources
Publication Date
04/23/2025
287(g) is a program for allowing state and local agencies to act as immigration enforcement agents. Under 287(g), ICE forms an agreement with a state or local agency - most often a county sheriff that runs a local jail - and this agreement delegates specific immigration enforcement authority to designated officers within the local agency. These agreements are also known as “287(g) contracts” or “MOAs” (Memorandum of Agreement). The program gets its name from section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Resources
Publication Date
04/17/2025
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 confers initial jurisdiction over asylum claims filed by unaccompanied children (UCs) to the asylum office. The Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision in Matter of M-A-C-O-, along with policy changes implemented during the first Trump administration, sought to strip away this crucial protection from many child asylum seekers. Because of these changes and legal challenges by immigrant youth advocates, the current landscape of initial UC asylum jurisdiction has changed. This practice advisory provides an overview of the current state of UC asylum jurisdiction following the Matter of M-A-C-O- decision and the outcome of the JOP v. DHS litigation. It also offers some arguments and practical tips to help practitioners advocate for their UC clients to receive the statutory protections afforded by the TVPRA, as well as the benefits from the JOP v. DHS litigation.
Resources
Publication Date
04/16/2025
Permanent residents have many rights and benefits.
Permission to live and work in the United States
Eligibility for certain public benefits
Right to travel within the United States and abroad
Your green card is proof of your status. If you lose it or it expires, you are still a permanent resident. Permanent Residence is a status—only an immigration judge can take away your permanent residence. Permanent residents should carry their green card (or at a minimum a copy of it).
Permission to live and work in the United States
Eligibility for certain public benefits
Right to travel within the United States and abroad
Your green card is proof of your status. If you lose it or it expires, you are still a permanent resident. Permanent Residence is a status—only an immigration judge can take away your permanent residence. Permanent residents should carry their green card (or at a minimum a copy of it).