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Publication Date
09/08/2021
On August 18, USCIS provided information on the new bona fide determination process for U visa petitioners and their family members on a webinar hosted by ASISTA and ILRC. These notes include information shared during this event, including additional analysis. These notes are not vetted nor endorsed by USCIS, but prepared by ASISTA and ILRC.
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The ILRC’s work in Texas focuses on building capacity and passing and implementing local policies that dismantle the arrest-to-deportation pipeline and decriminalize immigrants, Black people, and other communities of color. To further this goal, the ILRC’s Texas team employs an array of strategies to advocate for local policies and cultivate partnerships that promote immigrant rights and criminal justice, undercut the impact of one of our nation’s most regressive anti-immigrant laws, SB 4, and build power for long-term wins. This overview of our work in Texas discusses our vision and strategy, and highlights some of our recent successes.
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Publication Date
09/15/2021
In this issue: New Americans Campaign Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Policy Highlight: ILRC v. Wolf, Youth At the Border, and more.
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Publication Date
10/22/2021
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Publication Date
10/01/2021
On September 28, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed federal regulation announcing its intent to codify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
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Publication Date
10/05/2021
AB 32 (People Not Profit) signed in 2019 and effective January 2020, outlaws criminal and civil private incarceration in California, with some exceptions. Some brief months after AB 32 was signed, private prison company GEO Group Inc. and the Trump administration sued California aiming to strike down this momentous law. Federal District Court Judge Sammartino largely upheld AB 32, afterwhich GEO and the Biden administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
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Publication Date
10/12/2021
A quick digest of the new DHS immigration enforcement priorities released in September 2021.
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Publication Date
10/14/2021
The ILRC submitted comments to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) on October 14, 2021. DOS had solicited public input on recommendations for changes needed at the agency in a federal register notice on September 16, 2021.
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Publication Date
10/05/2021
With a few exceptions, immigration authorities must use the “categorical approach” to determine whether a criminal conviction triggers a ground of removal. Expert use of the categorical approach may be the most important defense strategy available to immigrants charged with or convicted of crimes. This Update of our long-running article includes discussion of Pereida v. Wilkinson, 141 S.Ct. 754 (2021).
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Publication Date
10/19/2021
On October 19, 2021, the ILRC submitted comments raising concerns about USCIS’ proposed regulation changing the procedures for credible fear screenings and asylum. While the proposed regulation contains some provisions that would improve the current system, it also poses a significant risk to asylum seekers’ right to a full, fair and consistent hearing of their claims.
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Publication Date
10/27/2021
The proposed DACA regulation presents serious problems and real opportunities. See the regulation at 86 Fed Reg 53736 (Sept. 28, 2021), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-09-28/pdf/2021-20898.pdf.
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Publication Date
10/27/2021
The ILRC, along with 96 international and national organizations, urge the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt the use of denaturalization, a racialized and criminalizing tactic to determine who belongs in the United States.
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Publication Date
11/09/2021
On November 5, 2021, the ILRC participated in comments to USCIS with the Naturalization Working Group concerning proposed revisions to the N-648 form for Medical Certification for Disability Exception for naturalization applicants. The form revisions overall represent an improvement over prior versions by shortening the form and eliminating irrelevant questions. The comment also urges USCIS to withdraw 2018 – 2020 changes to volume 12 of the USCIS policy manual that continue to unnecessarily limit eligibility for disability waiver applicants.
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Publication Date
11/12/2021
On September 28, 2021, DHS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The proposed rule seeks to codify DACA and while this presents real opportunities, there are serious problems with the rule in regard to the criminal bars to DACA, in particular the elimination of expungements for DACA purposes. See proposed rule here.
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Publication Date
11/18/2021
On November 18, 2021, the ILRC submitted comments making recommendations to USCIS regarding the agency’s proposed regulation on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. ILRC focused on recommendations that address the need for USCIS to create standards within this regulation to ensure equitable and consistent treatment for DACA applicants.
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Publication Date
12/01/2021
DHS issued new enforcement and prosecutorial discretion guidance on September 30, 2021. This practice advisory from the ILRC, NIPNLG, and IDP provides criminal defense practitioners with an overview of the enforcement priorities and other key policy changes described in recent DHS and ICE memos, and discusses strategies to use these priorities to advocate for prosecutorial discretion.
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Practice Advisory for Immigration Advocates: The Biden Administration’s Final Enforcement Priorities
Publication Date
05/04/2022
DHS issued new enforcement and prosecutorial discretion guidance on September 30, 2021. This practice advisory from the ILRC, NIPNLG, and IDP provides immigration practitioners with an overview of the enforcement priorities and other key policy changes described in recent DHS and ICE memos, and discusses strategies to use these priorities to advocate for prosecutorial discretion.
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Publication Date
12/09/2021
Black people and other communities of color, including immigrants, have faced decades of overpolicing, criminalization, and incarceration in Texas, often for alleged conduct that does not mandate an arrest or even carry jail time in the state. One way to effectively reduce arrests is to pass a local cite and release policy. This advocacy toolkit gives local organizers and advocates in Texas the tools they need to lead a successful cite and release campaign. We have included many helpful resources, samples, and insights for every step in a cite & release campaign – from initial education, research, and data collection through policy implementation.
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Publication Date
12/14/2021
This Chart summarizes the criminal record bars to many forms of relief, to provide a quick way to check whether your client is potentially eligible for relief. See also ILRC, Immigration Relief Toolkit (2018).
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Publication Date
12/17/2021
This practice advisory provides an overview of TPS and focuses on a framework for analysis for the firm resettlement bar to eligibility. It also discusses the impact of dual nationality on TPS applicants.
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Publication Date
12/21/2021
In this issue: The Fight for a Permanent Inclusive Legislative Solution, ILRC Field Office Run Down, #FindYourAlly college outreach digital content, and much more!
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Publication Date
12/21/2021
On December 21, 2021, the ILRC submitted comments raising concerns on the form that ICE plans to utilize to allow the public to submit tips on suspicious or criminal activity. ILRC raised concerns with ICE’s use of this form given the high likelihood that information submitted will be unreliable or outright false, which has the potential to significantly harm immigrant communities. Particularly at risk are communities that have been historically targeted for hate crimes and targeted by ICE for discriminatory purposes as well as domestic violence survivors and immigrant communities already vulnerable to exploitation. The comment urges ICE to discontinue the use of this form.
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Publication Date
01/19/2022
This practice advisory discusses the changes to eligibility for derivative T nonimmigrant status for after-acquired spouses in the wake of the ruling in Medina Tovar v. Zuchowski.
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Publication Date
01/24/2022
What are ICE detainers, how do they affect a criminal case, and how can counsel get rid of them? This advisory walks through all the legal and practices issues around ICE detainers, including the role of ICE in issuing them and the role of local or state jailors in responding. We discuss the importance of incorporating ICE detainers into pre-trial strategy, the legal and constitutional issues implicated by ICE detainers, and the various ways to challenge or rescind a detainer. This advisory is national; it identifies various different state laws affecting ICE detainers.
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Publication Date
01/25/2022
On January 25, 2022, the ILRC submitted comments in response to the DHS Notice Requesting Comments on “Identifying Recommendations To Support the Work of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families.” Our comments urge the U.S. government to stop criminal prosecutions for migration, admit wrongdoing and compensate the victims of family separation under the Trump Administration, curb enforcement and detention in the absence of meaningful opportunities for people to gain immigration status, rescind harmful border policies and practices, and expand the interpretation of family unity to ensure that children are not separated from both parental and non-parental caregivers.
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Publication Date
02/11/2022
This practice advisory contains numerous practical examples to assist in understanding how to recapture and retain priority dates in the family immigration context. It includes discussions and examples of how this concept intersects with other provisions of law, such as the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), and adjustment of status under § 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). A brief discussion and summary of the utilization of cross-chargeability of priority dates is also included.
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Publication Date
02/23/2022
Our ILRC Texas team continues to lead the charge opposing Governor Gregg Abbott's Operation Lone Star. This sign-on letter urges Union Pacific to end its involvement in the racist and unconstitutional “Operation Lone Star” scheme.
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Publication Date
02/25/2022
This toolkit is designed to assist education and outreach workers presenting public charge information to immigrant community members. Some of the materials in the toolkit have a California focus or include California-specific details, but all materials remain useful for a national audience. Our goal is to spread accurate information about what public charge is and who is impacted by it, to help reverse the chilling effect from the Trump public charge rule which is no longer in effect.
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Publication Date
03/09/2022
This is an archived collection of comments the ILRC has submitted related to proposed regulations (“rules”) regarding public charge and the affidavit of support.
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Publication Date
03/09/2022
A U visa is a type of immigration status for victims of certain crimes who have been helpful in the investigation or prosecution of that criminal activity. This one-page guide provides an overview on the U visa, what it provides, and who qualifies.