Immigration News Resources

In this blog post, AILA President-elect Jeremy McKinney highlights the recent Supreme Court decision in Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, which he writes offers a takeaway "for practitioners is to push back when an agency employs Auer or Chevron deference as a shield protecting its faulty administrative decision making."

Since the founding of the United States, immigrants have served in the U.S. military. In recognition of the sacrifices involved in military service, the federal government has provided an expedited path to citizenship for immigrant servicemembers for years—but it isn’t automatic and not all who serve qualify. Given how easy it is for the federal […]

The post Biden Administration Commits to Returning Deported Veterans appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Matt Maiona highlights the impact of the existing regional travel bans, using one of his clients' situation and urges people take action and tell the Biden administration to end the bans, as well as making additional changes to allow the Department of State to address the backlog and delays in processing.

Backlogs, processing delays, and revenue shortfalls are nothing new at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency has long suffered from severe structural problems that hurt people who depend on it for work authorization, adjustment of status, naturalization, and many other immigration benefits. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agency operations has […]

The post The COVID-19 Pandemic Made USCIS Backlogs Go from Bad to Worse appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 29 in the Johnson v. Guzman Chavez case. The majority of the justices determined that people with prior removal orders are subject to mandatory detention, even while they pursue proceedings to stop their deportation to a country where they established they have a reasonable fear of persecution […]

The post Supreme Court Denies Bond Hearings to People Pursuing Protection Claims Who Have Prior Removal Orders appeared first on Immigration Impact.

A recent court win that restored lower minimum investment amounts was good news for regional centers and immigrant investors in the EB-5 program. But the bad news is the EB-5 regional center program will end on June 30, because Congress did not extend it. While Congress may restore the program, it’s uncertain how long immigrant […]

The post Will Immigrant Investors and Regional Centers Benefit From Court Win or Has Time Run Out? appeared first on Immigration Impact.

How well should someone be able to remember every detail of a traumatic event? The U.S. government argues people should have a near perfect memory to obtain asylum—even if they experienced the trauma years in the past. Due to unprecedented backlogs in immigration court and the Asylum office, U.S. officials ask asylum seekers to describe […]

The post Scientific Evidence Shows Assumptions About Asylum Seekers’ Memory Are Wrong appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson highlights how litigation with the American Immigration Council combined with liaison efforts led to USCIS accepting FY2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions rejected or closed solely because the petitioner requested a start date after October 1, 2021.

In this blog post, AILA President Allen Orr posed some questions to Jennifer Yeaw, a member of the Diversity & Inclusion committee about Pride month and how immigration law and policies have gradually grown more inclusive to LGBTQIA+ families, but there’s still a long way to go.

During the 2020 campaign, President Biden pledged to end all 287(g) agreements made by the Trump administration. More than 150 days into his presidency, the promise remains unfulfilled. The 287(g) program allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and state or local law enforcement agencies to enter into formal agreements to permit state and local […]

The post Biden’s Unfulfilled Promise to End 287(g) Agreements with Local Law Enforcement appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Asylum seekers who were ordered deported for missing their U.S. court hearings under the Trump administration’s so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)—informally known as the “Remain in Mexico” program—will be allowed to restart their proceedings in the United States. Thousands of others whose cases were terminated because of procedural errors before they had a chance to […]

The post Biden Will Admit Asylum Seekers Ordered Deported Under Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols appeared first on Immigration Impact.

As military troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Afghan nationals that supported the operations of the U.S. government—as translators and other vital roles—are in danger of violent retribution from Taliban forces. The Department of State offers resettlement to eligible Afghans through the special immigrant visa program, but slow processing and significant backlogs have failed to address the […]

The post Congress Proposes Legislation to Expedite and Expand Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Allies appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In this blog post, AILA member Yasmin Blackburn welcomes the federal recognition of Juneteenth as a holiday and urges us to use the day to reflect, research, and learn about America's history and to take action to ensure a more just future.

World Refugee Day is celebrated internationally on June 20 every year. It honors the struggle of refugees around the world who are fleeing violence and persecution and are unable to safely return to their home countries. Over this past year, in the middle of a devastating global pandemic, the number of refugees worldwide hit an […]

The post On World Refugee Day, A Call to Rebuild U.S. Refugee Resettlement appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on June 11 its plan for funds the Trump administration had planned to use to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Unspent funds will address safety and environmental issues, while funds diverted from the Department of Defense will be returned for their original purposes. President Trump centered […]

The post Biden Will Use Border Wall Funding for Safety and Environmental Protections appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on June 16 that he is restoring a vital lifeline to survivors of gender-based violence, gang violence, and violence on account of family relationships. Garland issued two decisions overruling Trump-era Attorneys General Jeff Sessions and William Barr’s rulings disqualify many such individuals from asylum in the United States. Garland’s rulings […]

The post Attorney General Rescinds Two Trump Decisions, Restoring Protection to Many Asylum Seekers appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In recognition of Father’s Day, we asked AILA members to share how something their dad did or said helped them choose immigration law as a profession; read these five inspiring and heartfelt examples.

Twice each year, the federal government publishes a “regulatory agenda,” a preview of all the proposals that are in the pipeline to become federal regulations. Last week, the Biden administration used the 2021 Spring Regulatory Agenda to indicate the many ways that it intends to move away from the Trump era, in everything from legal […]

The post Biden Signals Big Changes to Legal Immigration and Asylum Law with Spring Regulatory Agenda appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In this video blog post, Cyrus Mehta reflects on the life and impact of the late Judge Robert Katzmann, explaining how he was the impetus for projects to help immigrants receive legal representation that affected so many families and individuals.

My name is Hali Calzadillas-Andujo and I’m originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. I first came to the United States with my mother and siblings when I was eight years old. I didn’t even know what it meant, really, except that I was rejoining my father. I came to Santa Fe, New Mexico and have been here […]

The post DACA Has Allowed Me to Pursue Education, But We Need A Permanent Solution Now appeared first on Immigration Impact.