The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) immigration attorneys’ expertise focuses on family-based immigration, humanitarian relief, naturalization and citizenship, immigration enforcement, and removal defense.
Since 1979 we have helped expand the immigration expertise of attorneys, nonprofit staff, criminal defenders, and others assisting immigrant clients.
In addition to authoring the ILRC’s practice manuals, our expert attorneys have been published by Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), ILW.com, Huffington Post, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Center for Law and Social Policy, The Hill, LexisNexis Emerging Issues, and Fox News Latino.
We have also provided training to National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), American Bar Association Commission on Immigration, Federal Bar Association, The State Bar of California, Legal Aid Association of California, Judicial Council of California and more.
This practice advisory reviews options for naturalization applicants who cannot afford the filing fee for the Form N-400, Application for Naturalization: the reduced fee option (Form I-942) and the USCIS fee waiver (Form I-912). The practice advisory also provides resources and tips for completing either application.
Report by the ILRC that calculates the economic losses of ending TPS for El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. Losses include cost to taxpayers, GDP reduction, decrease in Social Security and Medicare contributions, and turnover costs for businesses.
President Trump issued an Executive Order on immigration enforcement in January 2017. The Order included sections ordering that sanctuary cities would not be eligible to receive federal funding. This fact sheet breaks down the key issues raised by the Executive Order, examining the possible meanings of the order, and the legal limitations on what the President can do.
The immigration statute designates certain types of crimes as “aggravated felonies.” See INA § 101(a)(43), 8 USC § 1101(a)(43). These are the most dangerous type of convictions for a noncitizen. Despite the name, this definition reaches offenses that are neither felonies nor aggravated. It can include selling $10 worth of marijuana, a misdemeanor shoplifting offense with a one-year suspended sentence, or failure to appear at a criminal hearing. The person must be convicted of the offense, not merely commit it, for aggravated felony penalties to apply.
As a trusted institution in immigrant families’ lives, schools can play a critical role in ensuring immigrant families have access to important information and resources during these turbulent and scary times. This document contains tips on what schools can do to help.
The Republican Administration has already issued multiple immigration-related Executive Orders and implementing memoranda. These orders and memoranda touch on nearly all areas of immigration enforcement, including the treatment of immigrant children. In this resource, we address possible ways that UACs may be affected by these sweeping changes. Keep in mind that we do not know how these policies will play out in practice, and there will likely be legal and advocacy challenges to their implementation.
Cada familia debe tener un plan de preparación. Aunque nuestro deseo es que usted nunca tenga que usar este plan, es buena práctica de tener uno a la mano para reducir el estrés de lo inesperado. Este paquete le ayudará a crear un plan de preparación familiar, independientemente de su estatus migratorio. Sin embargo, por los retos adicionales que los inmigrantes y familias con status migratorios variados enfrentan, también tenemos consejos adicionales para los inmigrantes.
Los residentes permanentes siguen teniendo todos los mismos derechos. Este document tiene información sobre sus derechos y cosas que debe tener en cuenta si desea viajar fuera de los Estados Unidos, ha sido condenado por un crimen o es elegible para naturalizarse para convertirse en ciudadano estadounidense.
With the federal government’s growing and constant threat to immigrants of all statuses, the following is a reminder worth noting: permanent residents, or “green card” holders, continue to have all the same rights. This fact sheet provides information on your rights as well as things to keep in mind if you want to travel outside the United States, have been convicted of a crime, or are eligible to naturalize to become a U.S. citizen.
Letter from 292 law professors and scholars in the areas of immigration, migration, constitutional, administrative, and international law to President Trump stating that section 9(a) of Executive Order 13768, which directs the federal government to terminate federal funding for so called "sanctuary" jurisdictions, is unconstitutional.
These flyers inform community members of the fact that it is very dangerous for any noncitizen, including a permanent resident, to discuss marijuana use with any official. This is true even if the person used marijuana in their own home and it was legal under the law of their state (because of medical or legalized marijuana state laws). Get legal counsel and get informed!
This resource in Spanish includes tips for community members to remain calm, get informed, be prepared and stay safe in the current deportation climate.
Letter from 850+ national, state, and local non-profit organizations to President-elect Trump requesting that he continue Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in light of the public safety, economic, and humanitarian benefits.
LGBTQ immigrants enjoy the same rights under immigration law as all other non-citizens. However, there are some areas where LGBTQ immigrants might face unique challenges. This resource is an outline of some special considerations for LGBTQ immigrants.
An analysis of America’s counties and their voluntary assistance with deportations.
This resource identifies and explains some key provisions that cities and counties can enact in order to protect immigrants from discrimination and deportation.
In this issue: The ILRC outlines key priorities for 2017; Post-Conviction Relief and Protecting Constitutional Rights; Immigrants Benefit from California’s New Marijuana Reform; Harris County, TX: The “Deportation Capital” of the U.S.; California has the opportunity to lead the nation with dignity, not detention
October 2017 report by the ILRC and Professor Tom K. Wong estimating the cost that ending DACA would have to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds over ten years. The report that concludes that the end of DACA will lead to $39.3 billion in losses to Social Security and Medicare contributions over ten years, half of which represents lost employee contributions and half employer contributions. Of these losses, $31.8 billion represents the decrease in Social Security contributions and $7.4 billion in Medicare contributions. This report represents an update of a previous report released by the ILRC in December of 2016.
Every family should have a Family Preparedness Plan. While it is our hope that you never have to use your plan, it is a good practice to have one in place to help reduce the stress of the unexpected. This packet will help everyone create a Family Preparedness Plan, regardless of immigration status. However, because of the additional challenges immigrant and mixed status families face, we also have additional advice for immigrants.
This Question and Answer (Q&A) addresses potential changes in a Trump administration, written for domestic violence and sexual assault advocates and attorneys who are serving immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. This information may change as we learn more about the plans of the incoming administration. This document was written by Americans for Immigrant Justice, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, ASISTA Immigration Assistance, Casa de Esperanza, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Freedom Network USA, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Immigration Center for Women and Children, Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University, Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, National Immigrant Justice Center, Tahirih Justice Center, and We Belong Together.
This advisory contains general information shared by USCIS staff during multiple stakeholder events in 2016. It is authored by ASISTA, ICWC, ILRC, AILA, Just Neighbors Ministry, and Sanctuary for Families.
It’s important for everyone to know their rights if approached by an immigration (ICE) agent as well as how families can best prepare for something happening. This resource provides practical tips for things immigrant families can do now to prepare as well as information on rights everyone has in the United States, regardless of immigration status.
A new law will go into effect January 1, 2017 that will provide people who are no longer in custody with a new way to vacate legally invalid convictions. This advisory discusses how the law can help immigrants erase old convictions thus opening up new pathways to immigration relief.
AB 813 Provides a New Vehicle to Vacate a California ConvictionSB 1242 Makes the 364-Day Misdemeanor Law RetroactiveSB 2792 (TRUTH Act) Protects the Rights of Immigrants in California Jails
This report provides a thorough analysis of California’s Proposition 64, or The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, and its potential impact on immigrants with marijuana offenses. The report covers the intersection of immigration and criminal law, the current impact of marijuana offenses on a variety of immigration outcomes, and the ways in which Proposition 64 could help mitigate the immigration consequences of some marijuana-related drug offenses. This report was generously funded by Drug Policy Action.