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Enforcement

The Department of Homeland Security detains and deports hundreds of thousands of immigrants every year. The massive immigration enforcement regime has devastating effects on immigrant families and communities. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) has been at the forefront of campaigns locally and nationally to fight back against immigration enforcement and protect immigrant rights. 

The ILRC provides resources and support to communities and organizations working on immigration enforcement issues, including background explanations, strategy tools for campaigns, legal and policy analyses, and ongoing assistance to campaigns fighting against unfair immigration enforcement.

Popular Resources

A map of the U.S. highlighting states with pro-immigrant policies.

State Map on Immigration Enforcement

This map focuses on state laws that regulate the state’s involvement in immigration enforcement.
A map of the U.S. highlighting counties who work with local law enforcement.

National Map of Local Entanglement with ICE

The map represents the degree to which local policies limit assistance in immigration enforcement.
U.S. map pointing counties with 287(g) agreements.

National Map of 287(g) Agreements

This map represents the 137 total jurisdictions across the country that currently have 287(g) agreements under the jail enforcement and Warrant Service Officer models.
First four pages of this resources staked on one another.

Local Policy Interventions for Protecting Immigrants

On this resource, we identify the key policy intervention and link to examples of where state and local governments have taken this on.
First four pages of this resource stacked on each other.

Open Records Laws for Immigrant Rights Advocates

This toolkit and webinar provides advice for how immigrant rights advocates can use public records act requests to get information on how immigrants are treated by local and state government agencies.
Illustration of an ICE agent and a sheriff shaking hands.

The Role of Sheriffs and the Arrest-to-Deportation Pipeline

This short fact sheet helps explain the role and power of sheriffs and their engagement with ICE.
Sample page annotated for advocates

Annotated Detainer Form 2021

This sample ICE detainer is annotated to highlight what advocates should look for, and explains some of the legal problems with detainers.
Image of a carousel depicting the shifting nature of carceral facilities.

Carceral Carousel

This report details select case examples of jails and prisons that closed for one purpose, only to cage a different group of people.

Latest Resources

FAQs & Explainers
Resources

The Untenable Costs of Operation Lone Star (OLS)
Publication Date
02/13/2025
Operation Lone Star (OLS) is an unconstitutional and deadly Texas law enforcement scheme that wastes vital state resources to target migrants for arrest, jail, and deportation. To date, nearly $11 billion has been spent on OLS. This policy brief delves into how misguided OLS has been for Texans from a financial perspective and provides recommendations for how OLS funds could be reinvested to support the everyday lives of Texans who need strengthened public services and infrastructure.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources

Texas National Guard's MOU with CBP for Immigration Enforcement Authority
Publication Date
02/12/2025
CBP has signed an agreement delegating immigration enforcement authority to the Texas National Guard. Under the President's "mass influx" declaration, local and state law enforcement agencies may take on civil immigration enforcement authority that they wouldn't otherwise have. These specific powers are designated in a Memorandum of Understanding signed with CBP. This quick explainer highlights what this MOU says, what this means for Texas, and how it relates to Operation Lone Star.
Resources
Resources

Immigration Enforcement Takeover at the Department of Justice
Publication Date
02/12/2025
Following the new administration’s dramatic reorientation of all federal agencies into immigration enforcers, on January 21st, 2025, the DOJ issued a directive requiring all federal prosecutors to prioritize immigration prosecutions. The memorandum also threatens prosecutions and civil lawsuits to sanctuary jurisdictions and entities that seek to protect immigrants. In this analysis, we explain the different sections of the DOJ’s memo and what they mean for immigrants and federal courts nationwide.
Practice Advisory
Resources

Seeking Administrative Closure and Termination: Using New EOIR Regulations in a Hostile Enforcement Environment
Publication Date
02/05/2025
New EOIR regulations published in 2024 now allow immigration judges and the BIA to administratively close or terminate removal proceedings in a variety of scenarios. These regulations permit—and sometimes require—administrative closure or termination even where the Department of Homeland Security does not agree. In the current hostile enforcement environment, and in light of the rescission of formal guidance regarding prosecutorial discretion, these regulations are an important tool for advocates seeking to get clients out of removal proceedings.
Toolkit & Reports
Resources

Immigration In the Age of A Second Trump Term: Taking a Page out of Texas’ Playbook

Publication Date
01/27/2025
Since Donald Trump was re-elected, headlines on immigration have sounded the alarm about his administration’s plans to effectuate mass deportations, increased detentions, and indiscriminate raids. For the past three years, Governor Greg Abbott has used Texas as a laboratory for these types of policies through Operation Lone Star (OLS). This resource aims to parallel the national moves on enforcement to what has already taken place in Texas, in hopes to better equip community members and advocates with the framework to fight back.
Practice Advisory
Resources

Prosecutorial Discretion in Removal Proceedings Part 2: Navigating Unfavorable Exercises of Discretion in Removal Proceedings
Publication Date
10/15/2024
Part 2 of this 2-part advisory explores some of the unexpected consequences of PD policies adopted by the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) that can prejudice noncitizens in removal proceedings, including the practice of moving to dismiss proceedings over respondents’ objections and failing to appear at hearings.
Practice Advisory
Resources

Prosecutorial Discretion in Removal Proceedings Part 1: Strategies for Seeking Prosecutorial Discretion During Uncertain Times
Publication Date
10/15/2024
Part 1 of this 2-part advisory provides updates on DHS’s prosecutorial discretion in removal proceedings and explores the various factors that advocates should consider when deciding whether to seek a favorable exercise of discretion from the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA). Part 1 also highlights new regulations and discusses how the upcoming presidential election may impact prosecutorial discretion.
Toolkit & Reports
Resources

Expose and Disrupt
Publication Date
10/01/2024
The “Expose and Disrupt” guide illustrates how immigrant rights advocates can use state Public Records Act (PRA) requests to fight back against immigration enforcement. Strategic PRA requests can peel back the curtain on ways state and local agencies work together with immigration authorities to reinforce the deportation machinery and traumatize our communities. The guide explains the mechanics of requesting public records, strategies on what information can be useful for campaigns to stop or limit immigration enforcement, and includes examples of what kinds of records exist.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources

Proposition 36 Is Bad for Immigrants. This is Why.
Publication Date
08/21/2024
Prop 47 (2014) reclassified six felony offenses to misdemeanors, including shoplifting and simple drug possession, and funneled costs savings into safety measures like drug and mental health treatment and victim services centers. Proposed Prop 36 (November 2024) would roll back those reforms and add new criminal penalties and sentencing enhancements. Prop 36 will also impose severe immigration consequences on immigrants and their families. It will result in more Californians being deported and more families being separated. This resource provides some of the specific examples of the ways in which Proposition 36 will harm immigrants if passed.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources

ILRC Comments on SB 602
ILRC comments on Texas House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety Testimony on SB 602.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources

ILRC Comments on Proposed Marijuana Rescheduling
Publication Date
07/24/2024
On July 23, 2024, the ILRC provide comment on the Biden Administration’s proposed re-scheduling of marijuana. The ILRC advocated for the complete de-scheduling of marijuana instead of rescheduling. The comment highlighted the racist impacts of maintaining marijuana on the schedule of controlled substances and the lack of any mitigating effect that rescheduling will have on immigration consequences of marijuana-related crimes
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ILRC Resources on 287(g)

Check out our map of 287(g) agreements and various resources to fight 287(g) in your community.
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Related Products

Webinar
Webinar

Challenging a Deficient NTA
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Pereira v. Sessions in 2018, there has been a long line of caselaw about whether a Notice to Appear (NTA) missing the time, date or location of proceedings strips the immigration court of jurisdiction to hear a case, triggers the stop-time rule in various contexts, or is sufficient for the issuance of an in absentia removal order. In this webinar, we will discuss how to challenge a NTA that is missing the time, date, or location of proceedings, and we will review the latest caselaw on this topic, including Matter of Fernandes, 28 I&N Dec. 605 (BIA 2022). We will also discuss best practices for preserving arguments for appeal, even when BIA or circuit court caselaw is not on our side.
Webinar
Webinar

Challenging a Deficient NTA
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Pereira v. Sessions in 2018, there has been a long line of caselaw about whether a Notice to Appear (NTA) missing the time, date or location of proceedings strips the immigration court of jurisdiction to hear a case, triggers the stop-time rule in various contexts, or is sufficient for the issuance of an in absentia removal order. In this webinar, we will discuss how to challenge a NTA that is missing the time, date, or location of proceedings, and we will review the latest caselaw on this topic, including Matter of Fernandes, 28 I&N Dec. 605 (BIA 2022). We will also discuss best practices for preserving arguments for appeal, even when BIA or circuit court caselaw is not on our side.
Webinar
Webinar

Requesting Bond and Parole for Asylum Seekers
In this webinar, we will discuss how asylum seekers, including recent entrants, can seek release from immigration custody via bond and parole. We will review eligibility for bond and parole for arriving aliens, and the implications of Matter of M-S-, 27 I&N 509 (AG 2019) on asylum seekers. We will also discuss who may seek bond before the immigration judge and strategies for the bond hearing. This webinar will leave advocates armed with tips and best practices when representing asylum seekers requesting release from detention.
Video
Video

San Francisco Rapid Response Network: Lessons Learned and Best Practices
This recording provides a review of San Francisco’s rapid response program, including a discussion of lessons learned and best practices. Topics include: Considerations when assessing whether a rapid response network is needed, and if so, what components to consider when establishing a local network, and lessons learned by guest presenters.
Webinar
Webinar

Challenging Expedited Removal and Reinstatement Orders
Level: BeginnerThis webinar will help advocates understand expedited removal and reinstatement of removal, including how to help clients who have been subjected to such summary removal procedures. We will cover how advocates may be able to move to reopen orders of expedited removal and reinstatement of removal, including practice tips.PresentersErin Quinn, Senior Staff Attorney - ILRCErin Quinn is an attorney based in San Francisco. Her work focuses on building capacity of organizations and practitioners to assist immigrants. She conducts trainings on immigration law throughout the United States and provides legal expertise through the ILRC’s Attorney of the Day program. Erin has contributed to numerous ILRC publications as author or editor, including Removal Defense: Defending Immigrants in Immigration Court; Essentials of Asylum and many others. In addition, Erin works on issues related to immigration status and healthcare as well as consumer protection. She has published articles with LexisNexis Emerging Issues and American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

National Map of Local Entanglement with ICE

A map showing the degree to which local policies limit assistance in immigration enforcement
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