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During his campaign, President Biden promised that immigration reform would be one of his top priorities upon taking office. After unveiling the summary of a sweeping immigration reform bill on Inauguration Day, the Biden administration appears to have kept that promise. If passed, the bill will provide a pathway to legal status for most of […]

The post Why Biden’s Immigration Bill Is the Boldest in Decades appeared first on Immigration Impact.

America turned a corner today. We not only installed new leadership, but these leaders set a distinctively new tone for the next four years. A president is a political and policy leader, but he or she is also our conductor-in-chief, coordinating the timing and performance of government agencies and setting the direction and tempo of […]

The post New Leadership Strikes a New Tone for America appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to stop low-income immigrants from accessing protections and exercising their rights in the United States. Its last attempt—increasing immigration court fees by up to 800% through a new rule—was largely blocked in federal court on January 18, just hours before the rule was due to take effect. The new […]

The post Trump’s Drastic Immigration Court Fee Hikes Are Blocked in Court appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Pro Bono Committee Chair Adonia Simpson offers reasons engaging virtually on pro bono activities can be efficient and effective and highlights some easy to plug into opportunities for AILA members.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a final rule changing the way U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to file H-1B petitions subject to the annual “cap.” The end result could dramatically reduce the number of recent foreign graduates who can work in the United […]

The post What You Need to Know About the Latest Changes to the H-1B Registration Process appeared first on Immigration Impact.

A federal judge in California blocked a sweeping “death to asylum” rule on January 8, just three days before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The asylum rule is just one of many regulations attempting to limit access to asylum, but one of the Trump administration’s most expansive. The 419-page rule represents the most […]

The post ‘Death to Asylum’ Rule Halted in the Last Days of the Trump Administration appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In this blog post AILA SoCal Chapter Media Liaison John Manley takes a stab at breaking down the tenure of Chad Wolf as Acting Secretary of DHS and the back and forth during the end of the Trump administration as we look forward to new leadership at the agency.

The Trump administration’s latest effort to prevent refugee resettlement in the United States was halted after a federal court ruled that the president’s order allowing state and localities to refuse to take in refugees is illegal. The January 8 ruling puts a stop to one of President Trump’s most blatant attacks on the country’s refugee […]

The post Court Blocks One of Trump’s Final Efforts to Keep Out Refugees appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Five years ago, Donald Trump descended an elevator and declared that Mexico was sending rapists and “bringing crime” across the border. Now, while America still reels from the deadly insurrectionist attack on the Capitol building, Trump is set to travel to Texas on January 12 to boast about the border wall. But rather than “highlight […]

The post Trump’s Presidency Begins and Ends With Demonizing Immigrants appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In this blog post, Immigration Justice Campaign National Advocacy Manager Katy Murdza describes how ICE is indefinitely detaining people far past the time allowed by law, and why the Justice Campaign will be advocating for the use of proven alternatives to detention in 2021 and the abolition of immigration detention.

The Biden administration faces a fundamental challenge in reforming the U.S. immigration system: making the United States more welcoming to immigrants. Part of this effort will involve overturning Trump-era bans on visa categories and immigration from certain parts of the world. But it will also involve reimagining how immigration benefits are provided to noncitizens already […]

The post The United States Needs a New Approach to Visas and Immigration Benefits appeared first on Immigration Impact.

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The backbone of a functioning justice system is due process. Yet over 1.25 million immigrants are fighting for their right to survive in an immigration court system that is anything […]

The post It’s Time to Fix the Immigration Court System appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Biden administration will soon lead a vibrant nation of immigrants—a nation that includes millions of noncitizens with deep ties to the United States who are at risk of deportation. This important and diverse population includes immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years, have close family in this country, and make […]

The post Why Immigrants With Strong Ties to the US Should Be Allowed to Stay appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA President Jennifer Minear reflects on the events of January 6, 2021 and the inequality and injustice on full display, and offers some ideas of what we can and should be doing.

AILA member Sarah Pitney shares insights into why they participate in public comment campaigns and why all AILA members should do the same to benefit their clients, share their expertise, and hopefully ensure better regulations result.

The United States has long been a place of refuge for those seeking protection. At least one million people have arrived at our southern border seeking such refuge since 2013. Unfortunately, both the Obama and Trump administrations have viewed asylum seekers as an immigration crisis to prevent and not a humanitarian challenge to solve. Now, […]

The post How Biden Can Restore Humanitarian Protection at the Border appeared first on Immigration Impact.

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  When the Biden administration takes office on January 20, it will have both the opportunity and responsibility to begin the difficult work of reforming immigration enforcement in the United States. […]

The post How Biden Can Reform Immigration Enforcement and Detention appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Media Advocacy Committee Member Tammy Lin of San Diego reflects on the last major reforms made to U.S. immigration laws by Congress and why we "can and should push for updating our immigration system now with this new administration."

This blog post highlights the most-read blog posts and most-watched videos AILA published and produced in 2020 - take a look, learn something new, and see you in 2021!

Andrew Nietor, chair of AILA's Southern Border Taskforce, shares insights into President Trump's recent pardon of former Border Patrol agents and the harmful impact of this and other actions by his administration on border communities.