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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.

USCIS Form I-821D with annotations.

These are step-by-step instructions on how to complete the form.

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.

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.

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.

Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) administers a database of information sourced from more than 700 advocates nationwide with helpful information about law enforcement agencies who certify victim helpfulness for U cases and consulates abroad who issue U visas. The database includes information on who the U certifying officers are and where to send the requests, as well as the most updated policies and practices, nationwide. The goal is to update information on every state and federal agency, whether they do or don’t sign certifications. The database also includes information about consulates’ and embassies’ practices in processing U visa cases. These are both critical resources to any organization or office with a U visa caseload.For more information on these and other U-related databases that ICWC administers, go to http://icwclaw.org/services-available/icwc-u-travel-and-certifier-database/. If you’re new to using Zoho databases (the platform for ICWC’s databases), watch the helpful video below.

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.

Deferred Action is a form of prosecutorial discretion that provides a work permit and relief from removal for two years to certain eligible undocumented youth. This fact sheet outlines the benefits of DACA, who is eligible and the requirements.

Starting January 1, 2014, a conviction for transportation under H&S 11352 and 11379 will automatically qualify as a drug trafficking aggravated felony.  AB 721, signed into law on October 3, 2013, redefines transport to include only transportation for sale and now excludes transportation for personal use. 

Immigration reform has only been approved by the Senate, but as the bill currently stands, S.744 changes several things about the family-based system and also adds merit-based tracks.  This document summarizes the proposed changes and additions. 

This practice advisory summarizes the immigration benefits for same-sex spouses after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor declared section 3 of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) unconstitutional.  It covers family-based petitions (including VAWA) and nonimmigrant visas for same-sex spouses and children.

USCIS issued these frequently asked questions that address the eligibility and application process for same-sex spouses applying for immigration benefits.

The Department of State answers frequently asked questions regarding non-immigrant and immigrant visa benefits for same-sex spouses.

The powerpoint focuses on the paths to citizenship, future flow, and enforcement provisions that are in the Senate immigration reform bill titled “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act” (S. 744).

The charts lay out the path to citizenship for undocumented individuals, DREAMers, and agricultural workers based on the Senate bill “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013” (S.744).  It also summarizes the eligibility requirements and bars at each stage of the process.

A manual for organizers on how to prevent local law enforcement from holding immigrants for ICE.

New Advocacy Guide for ICE's massive Criminal Alien Program (CAP), from the National Immigrant Project, Washington Defenders Association, and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to HR 2217, the “Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act2014.” This amendment denies funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement and administer several important programs, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program.

Drawing from our experiences during and after IRCA, we offer a brief analysis of some of the legalization aspects of the recently introduced Senate Bill—the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.” We divide our discussion broadly into the positive and negative features of provisions in Senate Bill 744 (S.744) that relate to the length of the path to citizenship, eligibility requirements, and confidentiality provisions, and compare these to the provisions that existed under IRCA.

In Moncrieffe v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that the full categorical approach applies in immigration proceedings. A result is that where the criminal statute defines the offense more broadly than the immigration definition at issue, the conviction will not trigger the immigration penalty.