Immigration News Resources

AILA Member Jennifer Schear offers a glimpse into her work and office situation in Tel Aviv, Israel, and shares how during this time she has gleaned some “valuable insights into law firm management, productivity, efficiency, what and who is truly essential.”

The prognosis for people in immigration detention facilities during this global pandemic is grim. On Wednesday, news broke of the first person to die while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after testing positive for the coronavirus. Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia was a long-time member of the Los Angeles community. He died in […]

The post What ICE Must Do Following the First Coronavirus Death in Its Custody appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Amy Myers shares why USCIS should proactively address non-immigrants’ (such as students on OPT) concerns about falling out of status, writing "When we are already in a recognized crisis situation, why should discretionary post-situational relief be the only available remedy?”

The Trump administration has used the coronavirus pandemic to justify shutting down the southern border—and much of our asylum system along with it. But long before the pandemic, the administration set up obstacles to asylum. Newly released data shows that one of those obstacles, which made U.S. Border Patrol agents the gatekeepers to the asylum […]

The post New Data Shows Border Patrol Agents Reject More Asylum Seekers appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is currently proposing significant changes to the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), and related forms I-864A and I-864EZ. One of the major changes would be to require that U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents sponsoring a foreign spouse or relative for a green card must disclose detailed bank […]

The post USCIS’ Proposed Changes to the Affidavit of Support are Unnecessary and Unlawful appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA's Director of Government Relations Sharvari Dalal-Dheini highlights the bill Congress can and should consider quickly to address the physician and nurse shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic and the integral role AILA and its members played in urging Congress to take this important issue up.

A free phone call can mean the difference between a fair day in court and being deported to harm—or worse—for individuals held in immigration detention centers. Immigrants may not be able to meet with their attorneys in person, leaving phone calls as the only way to communicate about their cases. Being able to communicate with […]

The post ICE Faces Lawsuit Over Blocking Phone Access to Detainees appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The coronavirus presents a clear and immediate danger to America’s food supply. Meatpacking plants in particular have taken a huge hit. To mitigate the loss of production, President Trump signed an executive order on April 28 to ensure that meatpacking plants “continue operations uninterrupted to the maximum extent possible.” The order may help put food […]

The post As Coronavirus Fatalities Rise, Trump Sends Immigrant Meatpackers Back to Work appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Member Sabrina Damast shares lessons learned over the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of practice management, writing "I’ve learned that as prepared as I thought I was for business emergencies, there are still contingencies that I did not think to address."

In recent years, states have increasingly embraced their role in immigration by exploring and enacting policies and positions to address the needs of their communities. States are doing what they can, given that Congress has been unable to pass meaningful policies to update the immigration system for decades. 2019 was no exception to this trend. […]

The post With Congress Gridlocked on Immigration, State Lawmakers Step in to Support Their Residents appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) proposed rule mandating the collection of DNA from nearly all immigrants in government custody became final on April 8, 2020. For the first time in U.S. history, the federal government will be able to collect DNA from people–without consent–who have never been accused of a crime. This represents a massive […]

The post The US Government Can Now Collect DNA From Thousands of People Who Have Never Committed a Crime appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA BOG member Rekha Sharma-Crawford writes about a silver lining to the lockdown on the blog which "has allowed us to be able to think of ways to use technology to enhance our practices and…may have also opened the door…to finally contemplate work life balance in a way we have never before."

Medical experts and government officials urge people to social distance to avoid contracting the coronavirus. Yet, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to hold tens of thousands of people in cramped detention facilities. Fearing for their safety, immigrants and their advocates have turned to the courts to seek release from these unsafe conditions. The conditions […]

The post Fearing Coronavirus, People in ICE Custody Ask the Courts to Order Their Release appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In this blog post, Danielle Polen, AILA’s Director of Publications & Online Resources shares some highlights from the latest edition of the AILA Law Journal, hot off the presses this week with articles by leading experts on a wide array of issues affecting immigration law.

In a 5-4 decision on April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the types of criminal offenses that bar green card holders from seeking a form of relief from deportation. The case, Barton v. Barr, is about who is eligible to apply for a form of relief from deportation called cancellation of removal. Cancellation allows […]

The post Supreme Court Makes It Harder for Green Card Holders to Get Relief From Deportation appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Member Hudaidah Bhimdi shares a bit about the whirlwind of home and work responsibilities facing her as an immigration attorney and single mom during COVID-19 quarantine, and how hope has reentered her life as she finds new perspective on the day to day necessities.

At a time when our country is united in the fight against the coronavirus, President Trump is seeking to divide us by turning to a familiar target—immigrants. The president first threatened a full ban on immigration via a tweet Monday night. On Wednesday, he issued a somewhat narrower ban aimed at those seeking to permanently […]

The post What You Need to Know About President Trump’s Latest Ban on Immigration appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Countries around the world that still have few coronavirus cases are bracing themselves for the spread of the pandemic. Many have restricted international arrivals to prevent a surge in cases like the one in the United States, which they would not have the resources to fight. Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to […]

The post US Endangers Other Countries by Deporting People With the Coronavirus appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Jennifer Walker Gates highlights how the CARES Act harms American mixed-status families by denying stimulus funds and the efforts underway to address that negative impact.

There will be many key stories that emerge out of the coronavirus pandemic. One will be of an America where people banded together to help one another battle this crisis. And another will be of a president who used a dangerous public health crisis to advance his own political agenda. Since the outbreak began, we […]

The post Trump’s Immigration Tweet Is a Harbinger of Things to Come appeared first on Immigration Impact.