Policy Briefs
AILA’s policy briefs provide in-depth insight and analysis on significant issues impacting the practice of immigration law, and offer recommendations to make the immigration law system more fair, efficient, and just. Check out all of AILA’s policy briefs below, with the most recent policy brief appearing first, and make your voice heard by supporting AILA’s advocacy priorities.
Browse the Policy Briefs collection
Policy Brief: Six Ways the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill Undermines a Functional Immigration System
This brief focuses on the bill’s proposed fees that will undermine the immigration system, erect severe barriers to congressionally enacted legal pathways, and harm American businesses and communities in the process.
Policy Brief: The Scope of Immigration Enforcement Actions Against International Students
Policy brief dives into the data to paint a picture of the of the arbitrary nature of these visa revocations and SEVIS terminations.
Policy Brief: Immigration Enforcement Actions Against International Students
This policy brief explains how student visas differ from other nonimmigrant visa types, explores the legal pathways to revoking and terminating a student visa, and explains the due process protections that are available.
Policy Brief: The Alien Enemies Act
Read AILA's analysis of the Trump administration's recent use of the wartime authority, the Alien Enemies Act (AEA). This archaic authority was recently used to remove hundreds of alleged gang members to El Salvador without prior notice or due process.
Policy Brief: Explaining the Foreign Policy Ground of Removability
The federal government’s arrest and detention of a Columbia University student, Mahmoud Khalil, has put a national spotlight on an obscure provision of immigration law. This policy brief explains this law and the constitutional and statutory concerns with the government’s actions against Khalil.
Policy Brief: The Trump Administration's Assault on Immigration Courts
Analysis of the recent updates from the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) on how new policies and agency terminations will impact removal proceedings.
Policy Brief: Trump Administration Day One Executive Orders
AILA National provides summaries and analysis of each of President Trump's executive orders that impact the practice of immigration law. For questions, please contact Greg Chen gchen@aila.org or Shev Dalal-Dheini SDalal-Dheini@aila.org.
Policy Brief: Analysis of Proclamation and Interim Final Rule on “Securing the Border”
President Biden signed a proclamation, and the Administration issued an Interim Final Rule as well as a Final Rule, “Securing the Border,” relying in part on the authority in INA 212(f) that will effectively bar access to asylum for most people arriving between ports of entry when in effect.
Policy Brief: Ending the Reign of Lozada and Removing Barriers to Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims in Immigration Law
People rely on attorneys during stressful times, and ineffective assistance of counsel can have severe consequences. AILA provides a policy brief on how the Lozada standard burdens immigrants and attorneys in their effort to pursue justice when IAC occurs in removal proceedings.
Policy Brief: Presidential Authority to Block or Expel Migrants
President Biden is considering restricting the number of migrants who can enter the United States and barring asylum seekers for extended periods. AILA would oppose this policy if it prevents asylum seekers from receiving fair and accurate consideration of their requests for asylum.
Policy Brief: Solutions for the Border and America's Immigration System
AILA presents solutions to Congress and the President to address the border and modernize America’s immigration system. With the dramatic shifts in worldwide migration sustained action is needed at the U.S. southern border to ensure the fair, fast, and orderly processing of arriving migrants.
Policy Brief: Breaking Down Walls - The Status of AILA’s Customer Service Recommendations
In February 2021, AILA highlighted a shift away from USCIS's mission, affecting customer service. It proposed nine improvements for USCIS and three for Congress to enhance accountability. Despite progress, challenges remain, with AILA urging further action to ensure better service and efficiency.
Policy Brief: AILA Analysis of the Border and Immigration Provisions of the “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024”
With unprecedented levels of global migration and an outdated U.S. immigration system pushing more migrants to the southern border, solutions are urgently needed. The Senate’s emergency spending bill includes the most extensive border funding and security measures proposed in decades, perhaps ever.
Policy Brief: Why Limiting or Removing Parole Is Disastrous for Border Management
AILA provides a policy brief explaining why legislating away or limiting the authority to grant parole would needlessly strain the United States’ resources at the southern border and undermine efforts to manage it.
By the Numbers: Nationwide Expansion of Expedited Removal Will Endanger Millions of Mixed-Status Families Across the United States
AILA joined organizations who represent undocumented community members and their families in assessing the impact of proposals to expand expedited removal to the interior as part of congressional border supplemental package negotiations.
Policy Brief: Border Solutions Are Attainable, But Proposals Under Consideration Fall Far Short
America urgently needs solutions to manage unprecedented migration levels arriving at the U.S. southern border. With volumes exceeding capacity, there is a greater imperative for the country to exercise control over its borders and process migrants more rapidly, efficiently, and fairly.
What Would Be the Impact of Expanding Expedited Removal Nationwide?
AILA provides a policy brief about why we oppose a nationwide expansion of expedited removal. It would undermine due process, not improve border security or border processing of migrants, and could be used for mass deportations that would be disastrous for American communities and the economy.
Policy Brief: What Would Be the Impact of Capping Asylum
AILA provides a policy brief on the idea of limiting the number of people who could receive asylum, which has been proposed as a way to reduce or limit migration at the U.S. southern border. A cap intended to block or limit asylum seekers is not an effective solution to managing border migration.
Policy Brief: The Asylum Credible Fear Standard
Proposed legislation has threatened to further restrict access to asylum. AILA opposes this change. This brief explains the current law governing this part of the asylum process called the credible fear interview.
Policy Brief: Barriers to Immigrant Visas Driving Migrants to the Southern Border
AILA provides a policy brief that connects visa delays at the Department of State with pressure on migrants to cross the southern border without authorization. Most of these delays are a result from a lack of resources and insufficient funding, as well as inefficiencies in the agencies’ processing.
Policy Brief: Guiding Principles for an Electronic Service of the Notice to Appear
Recent developments in technology and increased migration encounters have generated interest in creating electronic systems for processing and serving NTAs. AILA provides a policy brief that outlines the parameters electronic systems and electronic service must have in order to preserve due process.
High-Stakes Asylum: How Long an Asylum Case Takes and How We Can Do Better
AILA released a first-of-its-kind report on asylum timelines, High-Stakes Asylum: How Long an Asylum Case Takes and How We Can Do Better. The report is based on a survey of over 300 asylum attorneys about how much time it takes to prepare an asylum application.
Policy Brief: What Does Effective Border Management Look Like?
To ensure lasting and meaningful change at the border, border security reforms must happen in tandem with other improvements to the immigration system. AILA offers recommendations for efficient, fair border processing, and managing migration.
Policy Brief: Timing Considerations for Effective Representation in Asylum Cases
AILA provides a policy brief on how mandating asylum processing times tread into territory that imperils our nation’s commitment to due process by creating inflexible timelines that on a practical level do not allow meaningful access to counsel for asylum seekers. s
AILA Policy Brief: Case Management: An Effective and Humane Alternative to Detention
AILA summarizes current DHS alternative to detention options and urges Congress to fund a new approach. Case management programs are a more humane and effective approach to obtaining compliance with immigration requirements while also helping migrants navigate complex removal proceedings.