Detention

This new policy platform examines how the 1996 laws expanded detention, deportation, and family separation – and outlines a vision for a more just and humane future.

This step-by-step guide will walk you through the steps for filing your first petition for habeas corpus (immigration) in the Central District of California.

This advisory summarizes the majority and dissent’s opinions, and shares key takeaways and practice tips for criminal defenders and immigration practitioners in light of the decision.

This advisory is part II of a two-part advisory on the federal immigration consequences of California Proposition 36 enacted in December 2024. Part I on Prop 36 and controlled substance offenses is found here.

This step-by-step guide will walk you through the steps for filing your first petition for habeas corpus (immigration) in the Northern District of California.

This step-by-step guide will walk you through the steps for filing your first petition for habeas corpus (immigration) in the Eastern District of California.

When an immigration judge denies bond based on a finding that a person is a danger to the community or a flight risk, what options remain to challenge that decision? As immigration detention expands and bond denials become increasingly common, federal court litigation is emerging as a critical tool to obtain judicial review of these determinations.

From October 3-7, 2025, Goodwin Simon Strategic Research surveyed a statewide representative sample of 1,213 registered voters. The poll explored voter attitudes towards mass deportation, recent ICE actions, and sanctuary protections in the state. Uniquely, this poll explores key themes that may be driving Californians’ growing disapproval of mass deportation, including revealing voters’ strong support for due process, including for people with past records, and equal treatment in the legal system, regardless of immigration status. Voters also expressed deep concern with the cost of the Trump administration’s approach to immigration on taxpayers.

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.

The Laken Riley Act (LRA) was signed into law by President Trump on January 29, 2025. It amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by expanding mandatory detention of certain inadmissible noncitizens who are merely arrested or charged with certain offenses. This practice advisory addresses the question of whether the provisions of the LRA that seek to vastly increase the number of people subject to mandatory immigration detention would be triggered by children engaging in acts of juvenile delinquency. In the advisory, we argue that the answer is no, in alignment with longstanding precedent in immigration law that treats acts of juvenile delinquency as distinct from adult criminal acts. However, given that this is a new law with unclear drafting, we also provide tips for juvenile defense attorneys to help clients avoid charges that could implicate the mandatory detention provision of the LRA.