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IMMIGRANT LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER

Working with and educating immigrants, community organizations, and the legal sector to help build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people
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Local Policy Interventions for Protecting Immigrants

Local policies are the main drivers of policing, prosecution, and the deportation machine. This resource provides examples of effective policy language localities can use to protect community members.

Projects and Networks

Immigrant Justice Network

The Immigrant Justice Network (IJN) engages in advocacy, education, technical assistance, training, communications, and litigation to address the needs of those caught in the intersection of the criminal justice and immigration systems.

New Americans Campaign

The New Americans Campaign (NAC), a project of the ILRC, is a nonpartisan, groundbreaking national network of legal-service providers, faith-based organizations, businesses, foundations and community leaders that is paving a better road to citizenship.

Collective Freedom Project

The Collective Freedom Project tells the stories of the local efforts where people — both U.S. citizens and non U.S. citizens — came together to fight unique campaigns against criminalization in their communities.

Latest Items

FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
06/26/2024
On August 30, 2022, the Biden Administration issued a new rule on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that incorporates DACA into the Federal Regulations, a process that serves to codify the program into law. Since its announcement, there have been several questions around who can access DACA now and what it means for all those first-time applicants who are waiting to obtain DACA. This Community Explainer details how the rule impacts current DACA recipients, how ongoing court battles affect how DACA is implemented, and more.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
06/26/2024
If you are undocumented and have been a victim of a crime, served as a witness for law enforcement, or have been subject to human trafficking, you may be eligible to apply for certain forms of immigration status. These are known as U, T, and S visas. In most cases, the application process for these visas will require help from a law enforcement agency. This Community Explainer details how a new California law, AB 1261, aims to better protect immigrants who are applying for these forms of relief and ensure that California law enforcement agencies help them when needed.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
06/21/2024
On June 12, the ILRC submitted a comment opposing the Biden administration’s proposed rule that seeks to apply certain mandatory bars to asylum at the fear screening stage. The proposed rule contradicts the administration’s previous finding that such a policy would be inconsistent with statutory intent. It would also deprive asylum seekers of an opportunity to access asylum procedures by adding legally complex bars to the threshold screening for eligibility.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
05/22/2024
Thousands of noncitizens in California are at risk of removal because they have criminal convictions that were unlawfully imposed. California law provides several ways to eliminate these convictions with post-conviction relief (PCR). The challenge is that there are not enough PCR experts to meet the need, especially for low-income immigrants.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
05/15/2024
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provides a pathway to a green card for young people who have been “abandoned, abused, or neglected” by a parent. This Community Explainer unpacks what that means, what the SIJS key benefits are, and how one may become eligible to apply for this path to relief.