Areas of Expertise

In the Spring of 2023, the ILRC surveyed partner organizations and immigration practioners to get a sense of how the Biden Administration’s enforcement priorities were impacting interior enforcement. Unsurprisingly, our analysis of the data showed that federal guidance does not prevent ICE from targeting and detaining people who do not meet agency priorities.

Conviction of “obstruction of justice” is an aggravated felony if a sentence of a year or more is imposed. In Pugin v. Garland, No. 22-23 (June 22, 2023), the Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit’s definition of obstruction, but failed to provide a clear definition of its own. Now some California offenses are likely aggravated felonies if there is a sentence of year or more, including Penal Code §§ 32, 69, 136.1, 148, Vehicle Code § 10851, and others.

This Advisory discusses California offenses under Pugin, and discusses California criminal sentencing dispositions that avoid a sentence of a year or more for immigration purposes.

This quick guide shares how to check your Selective Service registration status. For various applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), providing proof of registration with the Selective Service System is a vital part of qualifying for immigration relief. Learn more with this step-by-step guide.

This FAQ provides an update on immigration application filing fee changes that were recently proposed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The Central American Minors program allows qualifying children in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to enter the United States and live here lawfully if they have a parent or legal guardian in the United States with certain kinds of immigration status. This fact sheet provides information on basic eligibility and where to go for help.

This practice advisory provides an overview of the grounds of inadmissibility for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) explaining which grounds do not apply to TPS applicants, which grounds are non-waivable, and which grounds are waivable. It also offers an overview of the TPS waiver of inadmissibility.

Immigration law demonizes people whom it labels as “drug abusers and addicts,” “habitual drunkards,” and “alcoholics.” The implication is that they are morally weak, dangerous, or evil. An immigrant who comes within such a category can be found inadmissible and ineligible to establish good moral character, and can be denied several forms of immigration relief as well as naturalization. But from a scientific perspective, these people suffer from a substance use disorder (SUD), a medical condition that frequently arises after the person has undergone severe trauma. Substance Use Disorder is a growing health crisis that currently affects over 20 million people in the United States.

This Advisory is written by immigration attorneys and medical doctors specializing in SUD, to examine the issue from both perspectives. Part I of the advisory discusses the several immigration law penalties based on substance use (even when use has not risen to a disorder) and suggests legal defense strategies. Part II of the advisory reviews current medical information about the disorders and discusses how this information can address questions that arise in immigration proceedings.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center submitted this letter on June 16, 2023, to thank USCIS for the many changes that have already been made to the USCIS Policy Manual and to provide further recommendations for changes to the Policy Manual that USCIS can immediately implement to increase access to immigration benefits and reduce backlogs. The letter provides suggestions that include ongoing recommendations from prior letters and engagements as well as new ones.

On June 20, 2023, the ILRC submitted a comment to USCIS regarding the proposed changes to From N-400, Application for Naturalization. ILRC commended the agency for a number of positive changes that streamlined and shortened the form. ILRC also made several suggestions to USCIS to clarify and narrow the information required from applicants to ensure that only relevant information is collected on the form.

U nonimmigrant status, commonly referred to as a “U visa”, is a form of immigration relief available to people who are survivors of certain crimes that happened in the United States. This guide serves as a walkthrough of the different benefits granted when approved for a U visa – and those that are granted while an application is pending.

With the future of the DACA policy hanging by a thread due to litigation, DACA employees are wondering whether they can continue earning a living if they were to lose their work authorization. This Community Alert, produced in partnership with Immigrants Rising, lists some policy ideas that employers can implement to continue to support their employees if DACA were to end.

The prison industrial complex is a highly adaptive mechanism that is constantly shifting to sustain itself. In recent years, the movement against mass incarceration has gained traction in reducing penal incarceration in the United States. In this report in collaboration with the Detention Watch Network, we detail select case examples of jails and prisons that closed for one purpose, only to cage a different group of people. The case studies demonstrate the importance of looking ahead to strategies which ensure that cages remain closed for all carceral uses, once and for all.

This practice advisory addresses FAQs related to current public charge policy including definitions and applicability of the new 2022 rule, use of benefits and other government programs, exemptions, affidavit of support and sponsor questions, and bond.

An immigrant legal defense fund pays legal service providers to represent community members facing deportation in immigration court. This resource provides a general overview of immigrant legal defense funds (ILDFs) at the municipal level in Texas, including why they are needed, the goals and components of a strong ILDF, and examples of these funds from across the state.

On April 19, 2023, the ILRC sent a letter to USCIS commending the agency on several changes to the USCIS Policy Manual and practices. The letter acknowledges the agency’s updates to civil surgeon signatures on Form I-693, the inclusion of additional gender markers on forms, clarifications on filing deadlines, and the flexibility for special immigrant juvenile applicants to file Form I-360 in person if they are in danger of aging out of eligibility. These changes are welcome improvements to existing guidance and practices and the ILRC encourage USCIS to continue to make further changes to improve the applicant experience and efficient use of agency resources.

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Special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) provides a way for certain young people who have been abandoned, abused, or neglected by a parent to obtain immigration status. This practice advisory reviews the history of the federal regulations implementing the SIJS statute and then provides an overview of the new SIJS regulations, published in the spring of 2022. In the overview, the advisory highlights notable policy changes implemented through the new regulations.

Our ILRC Texas team continues to stand alongside Texans to oppose the harmful and unconstitutional Operation Lone Star (OLS). This sign-on letter, drafted by the ILRC and signed by nearly 80 local, state, and national organizations, urges Texas officials to say “no” to two harmful bills, HB 7 and HB 20. These bills would codify OLS, promote racial profiling, and fuel anti-immigrant rhetoric that threatens our communities. The ILRC and the nearly 80 organizations that signed this letter support Texans who are demanding protection from these dangerous bills and from Operation Lone Star.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) provides protection and work authorization to nationals of certain countries designated by the United States due to armed conflict, natural disasters, and other emergencies. This community explainer walks through the latest matters related to country designations, key dates, and eligibility with a focus on TPS holders from six countries that were targeted for termination by the Trump administration and whose protections have been extended while a case in federal court is pending.

Undocumented individuals who have U.S. citizen children often ask when and if their child can help them obtain their Lawful Permanent Resident status. A citizen child who is over 21 years old can begin the process for a parent to get their Permanent Residence card, often referred to as a green card. However, the process can be complicated and any parent seeking a green card through their child needs to carefully consider certain things before they move forward. This guide provides a brief explanation of this process, what is needed for a son or daughter to help their parent(s) obtain status, and some considerations to keep in mind as you explore this process.