Blog: Think Immigration
We believe that immigration law is an integral part of America’s past, present and future. We also know that immigration law is complicated. Here you’ll find experts writing in an accessible way about immigration issues, from big, broad ideas down to specific cases. Our members bring knowledge they’ve gleaned from the daily practice of immigration law to this space and offer their expertise to readers.
Browse the Blog: Think Immigration collection
Fair Treatment Under the Law
Indiana's highest court handed down a unanimous ruling earlier this month protecting the rights of injured unauthorized immigrants to seek recovery of lost wages and decreased earning capacity and importantly, making their undocumented status inadmissible at trial in most cases. I represented the In
MAVNI: A Successful Program Currently SNAFUed
Imagine you are a Polish- or Punjabi-speaking graduate of a United States school and you volunteered to join the U.S. Armed Forces, ready to serve this country and America's interests. Your recruiter told you about the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Pilot Program which al
5 Questions and Answers about the EB-5 Program
It's pretty rare that an investor visa gets press attention from all over the world. But this is exactly what happened when reports surfaced of Jared Kushner's sister promoting the EB-5 visa in China. What I saw repeatedly in coverage was confusion about the EB-5 program, what it is designed to do,
Despite the Odds
On a Sunday in February 2016, I was at the San Francisco airport ready to travel to the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, to meet with my new pro bono clients, Marta and her two young sons. Moments after I arrived at SFO, I received word that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was tra
The Courage of Mothers in Family Detention
Over the past two years, hundreds of volunteers have given up a week or more of their lives to help nearly 30,000 mothers and more than 33,000 children detained by the federal government as they seek asylum as our laws allow. Pro bono attorneys, joined by translators and legal assistants, help them
Standing Up for One Family and Making a Difference
A few weeks ago, we had a chance to stand up for one Central American family and make a real difference. We, one law professor and one law student, were the latest in a chain of connections that helped ensure that this vulnerable family will have a meaningful chance to claim asylum. Each semester, l
It’s time to tackle the 3/10 year bar!
Perhaps not since the Japanese internment camps of the 1940's, or during the aftermath of 9/11, have immigrants been more fearful than they are now. Never have I seen immigration attorneys and advocates more concerned about what might happen to their clients and communities. And never has an admini
Say It with Me: It Is Not Illegal to Seek Asylum
Reading this recent Reuters article, from the headline to the end, I'm not sure what offends me most. Is it the Trump Administration's concerted effort to scare people away from seeking safety in the U.S.? That's pretty disgusting. Is it the fact that those threats only work if people believe our go
Our Immigration Laws Are Bad for Small Businesses
We've just wrapped up another H-1B lottery season, during which United States companies submit H-1B petitions on behalf of skilled workers to fill professional-level positions. This year, nearly 200,000 petitions were submitted for just 85,000 visas. Once again, the government must resort to a compu
ICE Enforcement in Courthouses is a Dangerous Mistake
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been stepping up its enforcement operations, this time in and around courthouses. There have been reports of ICE officers increasingly showing up in courthouses across the country to arrest unsuspecting immigrants. This is a misguided policy…and a
Our Battles Are Only Beginning
Regardless of the veracity of President Trump's negative immigration rhetoric, it is undoubtedly sparking and emboldening anti-immigration groups. Constitutional battles that have long been over and won are creeping back with validation from the new administration. In California, the American Childr
Kids These Days
A child can be sweet, mad, smart, hilarious, whiny, silly, or sad. A child can be an angel, a terror, a silly goose, Captain America, Wonder Woman, a kitty cat, or a Tyrannosaurus Rex. A child cannot be an immigration lawyer. And yet… In immigration courts across the United States, every singl
Block the Money, Block the Wall
The Trump Administration has developed an immigration-related agenda that rejects long held American values, our country's commitment to due process, and what our economy needs to keep America working. His first Executive Orders related to immigration have one important theme in common: to be imple
Staining America’s Image
Tuesday night, I spoke at a “Know Your Rights“ event in Tucson, Arizona, to a large group of concerned and fearful refugees from all over the world, including countries such as Iraq, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. Afterward, I spoke individually to several of the attendees who expressed anguis
Why You Need to be in D.C. Next Month
The actions and rhetoric throughout the first weeks of the Trump Administration have placed immigration at the top of the national agenda. Beginning with the three Executive Orders the first week, followed by the chaos at the airports due to the Muslim/refugee ban, and the stark realization that Can
Reactions to the President’s Joint Address to Congress
Several members of AILA's Executive Committee share their reactions to President Trump's Joint Address to Congress on February 28, 2017: “We agree that we have to restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders, and especially to the agencies responsible for enforcing that law. The record of di
Is ICE Making Us Safer or Less Secure?
What is the mission of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? Its website states: ICE's mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. This mission is executed through the enforcement of more than 400 federal s
Standing Firm Against Discrimination
The past 100+ hours have certainly been the most tumultuous we as immigration practitioners have seen in a long while. I could write another article or blog post about how many concerns we as lawyers have with the Executive Orders (EO) or how they were abruptly rolled out but that just keeps us stuc
Running a Marathon Every Day
I journeyed to Dilley, Texas, in December to volunteer at the South Texas Family Residential Center, where up to 2,400 women and children seeking asylum in the United States are detained. Each day, we arrived at the facility before 8am and stayed for more than 12 hours, and my heart was broken ove
Change in Policy for Cuban Immigrants
I started working in the nonprofit sector in 2008, where I witnessed and helped a slow trickle develop into a healthy stream of Cubans on the West Coast needing representation. They refer to me as “la Chinita.“ The Cubans, just like any other immigrant community, disseminate news amongst each
Why All the Worry Over Senator Sessions as Attorney General?
The veterans among us know all too well the vast power that the Attorney General of the United States (AG) has in immigration matters, but for those who are new to the practice of immigration law, or just interested members of the press or public, here is a primer on the power of this office […
We Cannot Turn Away from Mesa Verde
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies force hundreds of asylum seekers into detention in the Central Valley, one of the most rural parts of California. In March 2015, ICE contracted with GEO Group, a private prison company, to re-open the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield, Ca
Asylum Backlogs Wreak Havoc with Our Clients’ Lives, Part 2
(This is part two of a two part blog post; the first part can be found by following this link. Please note that all client names are pseudonyms) As of October 31, 2016, there were more than 521,000 cases pending in our nation's immigration courts - the most ever. By comparison, just 10 years ago, [&
Asylum Backlogs Wreak Havoc with Our Clients’ Lives, Part 1
(This is part one of a two part blog post; to read part two, please follow this link. Please note that all client names are pseudonyms) Sitting across the conference room table from Imani, we broke the bad news. “We are so sorry, but your hearing tomorrow is cancelled. It's been rescheduled to the e
Business Community: Speak Up on DACA!
What if someone told you that by the stroke of a presidential pen, the United States was set to lose at least $433.4 billion from the U.S. gross domestic product over the course of a decade? Would that be a good policy, or even a prudent economic decision? According to a recent study from the [R