Immigration Removal Defense

Removal defense involves representing and advocating for immigrants facing deportation from the United States. For many immigrants facing removal from the United States, the process involves appearing before an immigration judge in immigration court. Most immigrants cannot afford to have an attorney represent them in court. Sadly, legal representation is the single most important factor in determining whether someone will win or lose their case.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) builds the capacity of practitioners to represent clients in immigration court proceedings. As national experts in immigration law, the ILRC publishes a hands-on comprehensive manual, Removal Defense: Defending Immigrants in Immigration Court, and offers trainings on this topic. We also support practitioners and pro bono attorneys in their specific cases through our Attorney of the Day (AOD) technical assistance service.

Latest in Removal Defense

Department of State FOIA Requests for Personal Records

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.

Toolkit to Assist People Facing Expanded Expedited Removal

07/26/2019

The Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Stanford Law School in partnership with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center created the attached toolkit to help advocates provide advice in light of the expansion of expedited removal. As of July 23, 2019, DHS provided notice that expedited removal will be implemented nationwide, allowing ICE to expeditiously remove those that cannot show they have been present...

Community Guidance: Your Day in Court

07/11/2019

This community resource provides a brief explanation of the Immigration Court experience. It gives an overview of what happens in Immigration Court, how to confirm information about a case in Immigration Court, and what a person in removal proceedings should do if they do not have an attorney to represent them at an upcoming hearing. This information is useful for community members and advocates...

Matter of M-A-C-O- and Jurisdiction Over UC Asylum Claims

06/28/2019

This practice advisory provides an overview of the Matter of M-A-C-O- decision and gives some arguments and tips for practitioners to help them advocate for their UC clients seeking asylum. It also addresses the new USCIS memo on initial jurisdiction over UC asylum claims.

Public Charge as a Ground of Deportability

06/11/2019

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), any noncitizen who “within five years from the date of entry, has become a public charge from causes not affirmatively shown to have arisen since entry is deportable.” In current practice, this ground of deportability rarely comes up in pending removal proceedings or as a reason for the initiation of removal proceedings. In May 2019, Reuters...