Immigration News Resources

Several members of the AILA Media Advocacy Committee shared their hopes for the incoming administration and what next year may bring, including changes both large and small to make our immigration system more fair and just.

People who need access to their government immigration records scored a huge victory in the Nightingale et al. v. USCIS case on December 17. A judge ruled that a nationwide class of individuals should have access to their immigration files—called A-Files—within the timeframes outlined in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) statute. A-Files contain records […]

The post USCIS and ICE Must Give People Access to Their Immigration Files After Losing Lawsuit appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Lady Immigration Lawyers of Minnesota celebrated the season with their own rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You” this year and shared some of their wishes in this blog post for Think Immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an important announcement on December 9 about the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) designations for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. TPS recipients from these six countries received an additional nine-month permission to remain and work in the United States. There has also been increased […]

The post TPS Extended Another 9 Months for Certain Countries, While Calls for Expanding Protection Increase appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives are gearing up to demand a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system when the Biden administration and a new Congress are in place early next year. This reform effort will go beyond reversing the Trump administration’s extreme anti-immigrant policies, with the stated goal of “creating a fair […]

The post Congressional Democrats Announce One of the Most Progressive Immigration Reform Plans in History appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Gabriela Pinto Vega and coauthor Andrew Wellisch share insights in these two videos about their article on digital evidence featured in the AILA Law Journal Fall 2020 edition, transcripts follow.

The Trump administration secretly implemented one of its most horrific attacks on America’s long tradition of asylum—holding asylum seekers in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody during their initial asylum interview. The “Prompt Asylum Claim Review” and “Humanitarian Asylum Review Process,” (“PACR/HARP”) put in place in October 2019, marked the first time in American […]

The post Court Upholds Rushed Screening Process at the Border That Endangers Asylum Access appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is a global endeavor. The scientists and entrepreneurs creating the vaccine are of many nationalities and immigration statuses—as are the millions of people impacted by the pandemic who are anxiously awaiting a vaccine. The three pharmaceutical companies with vaccines near-ready for distribution—BioNTech, Pfizer, and Moderna—were all founded by immigrants. […]

The post Your COVID-19 Vaccine Was Likely Made by an Immigrant appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Brad Banias reflects on why he began focusing on federal court litigation and the case that started him down that path, highlighting the tremendous impact of Judge G. Ross Anderson who recently passed away

The Trump Administration has finalized a sweeping regulation that will effectively end asylum protection in the United States. The regulation, which was proposed in June, is set to go into effect on January 11—only nine days before President Trump leaves office. If implemented, it will mean that very few people fleeing persecution will be able […]

The post Trump’s ‘Death to Asylum’ Rule Will Go Into Effect Days Before He Leaves Office appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Thousands of Liberians living lawfully in the United States run the risk of detention and deportation if they do not apply for the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program (LRIF) by the December 20 filing deadline. The LRIF program offers an estimated 10,300 Liberians who have lived in the United States since November 20, 2014 the […]

The post Liberians Have Until December 20 to Apply for a Green Card Under the LRIF Program appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Trump administration has used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to curtail many immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs, including J-1 cultural exchange visitors. But with vaccines on the immediate horizon and a new Biden administration soon to take office, what should we expect for programs like the J-1 visa? Many visa programs have faced […]

The post What to Expect for the J-1 Exchange Program Under Biden appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Paschal O. Nwokocha shares his insights as an immigrant and immigration attorney about the work to be done post-election and how we all can work together to ensure that "America is once more open to the world."

A federal judge in New York has overturned the Trump administration’s latest effort to limit the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. DACA temporarily protects certain people without immigration status from deportation and provides them with a work permit. The Trump administration’s previous effort to end the initiative altogether was rejected by the U.S. […]

The post A Judge Fully Reinstated DACA, but Dreamers Are Still in Danger appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Law Journal article author Nathan Chan shares some insights into his recent article on marriage bona fides answering some questions from AILA Editorial Director Danielle Polen.

Our nation has been stuck in a dangerous “us v. them” mindset for some time now. We also live in a moment where many Americans are exhausted by the politics of division and are looking for an alternative. There is no doubt we need a new way forward where we begin to see each other […]

The post National Public Service Campaign Reminds Americans That Belonging Begins with Us appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has proposed two rules that would significantly decrease the due process rights of people in immigration court. Both rules would restrict judges’ abilities to manage their dockets and require them to push through cases at breakneck speeds, further transforming the immigration court system into a deportation machine. While […]

The post How Two Proposed Rules Make It Harder for Immigration Judges to Manage Their Docket appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On December 1, a federal district court judge disrupted the Trump administration’s relentless attack on legal immigration by halting two new sets of regulations. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others challenged interim final rules issued by the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL) impacting the H-1B category. The DOL interim final […]

The post District Court Stops Regulations Restricting the H-1B Visa Category appeared first on Immigration Impact.

As the Biden-Harris administration prepares to take office, many anxiously await what immigration policies the Trump administration will finalize in the lead up to Inauguration Day in the form of new regulations, memos, and proclamations. While it may be a “lame duck” period, it is one of the busiest as an administration will do all […]

The post The Trump Administration Will Inflict More Damage to the Immigration System Before Leaving Office appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The incoming Biden-Harris administration has announced its choice for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. If confirmed, Mayorkas will represent several historic firsts for the department—he will be the first Latino and immigrant to lead DHS. This is a significant departure from the leadership installed at DHS under the Trump administration. His […]

The post Who Is Alejandro Mayorkas? The New DHS Secretary Will Spearhead Biden’s Immigration Agenda appeared first on Immigration Impact.