Immigration News
Check out daily roundups of immigration-related news stories, read articles that quote and cite AILA and AILA leadership, and check out analysis from AILA members and leadership on the AILA blog.
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AILA in the News
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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
AILA Gravely Concerned by Reports that USCIS Recommends Ending Protections for Haitian Nationals
AILA expressed grave concern regarding reports that USCIS is recommending that the United States end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals in January 2018.
AILA: Impact of “Hire American” Provisions in New Executive Order Remains to Be Seen
AILA President Bill Stock noted, “Any reforms proposed by the Trump Administration as a result of this Executive Order should be based on facts and data, not innuendo and anecdote, and must ensure that our immigration system, including the H-1B program, remain viable tools for U.S. businesses.”
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
AILA: Job Creators Again Stymied by Outdated Cap
AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson responded to the USCIS announcement that the H-1B cap had been surpassed within the first five business days of the FY 2018 filing period noting, “Each year that we limit these visas with an artificial cap, we stifle economic growth and all of us lose out.”
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
AILA: Revised Muslim and Refugee Ban Halted by Federal Courts
AILA welcomed the issuance of two temporary restraining orders halting implementation of key parts of President Trump’s revised Executive Order, issued March 6, 2017, which would temporarily ban Muslims and refugees from travel and admission to the United States.
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
New State-by-State Interactive Shows How Much Federal Funding Sanctuary Cities Could Lose at the Hands of President Trump’s Administration
AILA partnered with CAP and NILC on a new interactive resource which calculates the amount of funding in sanctuary jurisdictions in 32 states that could be targeted by President Trump’s January 25 executive order.
AILA: No Matter How Written, a Muslim and Refugee Ban Won’t Make U.S. Safe
AILA denounced President Trump’s rewritten Executive Order, effective March 16, 2017, which is again based on the false premise that barring Muslims and refugees from coming to America will make the country safer.
State-by-State Guide Sheds Light on Laws Governing Legitimate Immigration Law Practices
CLINIC and AILA share details about their freely available state-by-state guide to the laws governing the unauthorized practice of immigration law and how legal service providers can protect their clients and recover damages.
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
AILA: Ramped Up Enforcement Will Trample Due Process and Harm Families and Communities
AILA condemned the recently released DHS memos that set forth a series of aggressive enforcement tactics to be rolled out on a massive scale. These policies, if implemented as written, will trample due process.
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
AILA: Court Rules in Favor of American Values in Refusing to Reinstitute Travel Ban
AILA welcomed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to keep in place the temporary restraining order barring implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order banning Muslims and refugees from entering the United States.
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
AILA: Targeting Muslims and Refugees Betrays American Values and Will Not Make Us Safer
AILA denounced President Trump’s Executive Order targeting Muslims and refugees, calling the policies antithetical to core American values.
AILA: President’s Border and Immigration Enforcement Policies Will Undermine Rights and Weaken Public Safety
AILA condemns President Donald Trump’s Executive Orders on border security and immigration enforcement and calls for an end to these divisive policies that undermine rights and weaken public safety.
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