The ILRC's newsletter, The Immigrant Advocate, is published bi-annually. Each edition of The Immigrant Advocate features articles about ILRC’s current work in advancing immigrant rights. ILRC’s Annual Report provides an overview of our previous year and includes our financial position and highlights of the year’s focus.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is an important form of humanitarian relief for people from certain designated countries that have experienced armed conflict, natural disaster, or others conditions that prevent nationals from returning safely. Currently, there are approximately 400,000 people from 12 countries with TPS status, which provides the right to live and work lawfully in the United States but no permanent status. 

ILRC develops TPS resources and materials to keep legal advocates and community members updated about TPS designations and application processes as well opportunities for TPS recipients to pursue more permanent forms of status. This area of immigration law changes frequently, so please visit this page for regular updates as well as the USCIS TPS page: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status.

“Public charge” is a ground of inadmissibility. Grounds of inadmissibility are reasons that a person could be denied a green card, visa, or admission into the United States. In deciding whether to grant some applicants a green card or a visa, an immigration officer must decide whether that person is likely to become dependent on certain government benefits in the future, which would make them a “public charge.” It is not a test that applies to everyone, not even to all those applying for green cards.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) provides trainings and technical assistance on public charge, produces numerous practice advisories, toolkits, and other resources, and authors a comprehensive manual, Public Charge and Immigration Law.

As a national expert, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) provides technical assistance, trainings and practice manuals on critical immigration options for vulnerable immigrants including immigrant victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and other crimes.

U Visa: Immigration Relief for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Other Crimes

Immigrant victims of certain crimes who have been helpful in a criminal investigation or prosecution may qualify for a visa that can lead to a green card. The ILRC’s practice manual entitled The U Visa: Obtaining Status for Immigrant Survivors of Crime is a comprehensive explanation of the law and application process that also includes sample materials and practice tips.

VAWA: Immigration Relief for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Other Crimes

VAWA allows an abused spouse or child of a U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident or an abused parent of a U.S. Citizen to self-petition for lawful status in the United States, receive employment authorization, and access public benefits. VAWA provides domestic violence survivors with the means that are essential to escaping violence and establishing safe, independent lives. ILRC has co-authored The VAWA Manual, a step-by-step guide to assist advocates working on VAWA cases.

T Visa: Immigration Relief for Survivors of Sex or Labor Trafficking

Human trafficking survivors may be eligible for lawful status, employment authorization, and a potential path to permanent residency, but they are a unique population with diverse and resource-intensive needs. The ILRC publishes a guide, Representing Survivors of Human Trafficking, on special considerations when working with human trafficking victims. 

Use of the Term “Victim” vs. “Survivor”

Please note that the ILRC often uses the terms “victim” and “survivor” interchangeably. Because a “victim” is typically defined by harm done to them, many advocates choose to instead use the word “survivor” to refer to clients. “Survivors” are defined by their lives after the harm, allowing them to reclaim control of their lives and their recovery. While our goal as advocates is to help community members survive and thrive despite harms they have suffered, we sometimes use the term “victim” when referring to a particular aspect of the criminal legal system, penal code, or immigration law; when describing someone recently affected by crime; when talking about the actions of a perpetrator; or when discussing the harm inflicted on those who did not survive. When working with impacted community members, we recommend asking people which term they prefer, as some may identify with the term victim, while others may prefer the term survivor.  

The Department of Homeland Security detains hundreds of thousands of immigrants every year throughout the United States. This entirely unnecessary, inhumane practice is wrought with extreme human rights abuses, and severely erodes the few due process protections provided to immigrants in removal proceedings. 

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center works in partnership with a broad array of organizations including impacted immigrants themselves, to advocate for policies that create a path toward abolishing this abusive system. Our team works at the forefront of statewide campaigns to dismantle immigrant detention, as well as engaging in federal advocacy in Washington, DC. In California, the ILRC has been leading on these issues for several years -- co-sponsoring California’s historic Dignity Not Detention Act (SB 29), which was first introduced in 2016. We have continued this work by pushing for stronger legislative protections around immigration detention, for example by advocating for AB 103 in 2017 and AB 32 in 2019. The ILRC is available to provide support on similar laws or policies in other states.  Locally, the ILRC provides resources and support to communities and organizations working to fight immigration detention and other enforcement issues, including background explanations, strategy tools for campaigns, and legal and policy analyses.