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.
Are you a member who was quoted in a news story? Contact newsroom@aila.org to let us know.
Are you a member of the press? Visit the Press Room.
AILA in the News
Browse the Immigration News collection
On Tap for Tuesday’s Hearing: Nonimmigrant Visas
After working its way through 32 amendments related to border triggers and the rest of Title I at their markup last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to jump ahead on Tuesday to Title IV, which has a mixed bag of nonimmigrant provisions for business immigration. These provisions came aft
Like Déjà Vu, All Over Again
Really? Seriously? Wow. Not the most erudite comment I've ever made but that's what I'm reduced to facing this week's Amendmentpalooza. Wow. I'm looking at the breakdown of proposed amendments to the Senate immigration reform bill (S. 744). AILA National is conducting careful analysis of the hund
Senator Leahy’s Refreshing Amendment Policy
Listen carefully. That ‘click' ‘click' ‘click' sound you hear isn't your clock. Around the country, and potentially around the world, immigration advocates and restrictionists alike are hitting the “refresh“ button over and over and over again on a Senate Judiciary Committee website. Why? W
The Time Is Now: Five Reasons Why Congress Will Pass Immigration Reform
Things are different this time around. The passion is different, the energy is different and, most of all, America is different. As Congress gets ready to take on what is arguably the most contentious issue in the country, there is no mistaking it: America is ready to create an immigration process
Why the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) is an integral part of immigration reform
As the Senate gets ready to unveil the details for what is to be the biggest reform of our immigration laws this week, families across our nation hope their fears and struggles will be ended or at least eased with the new laws. A major concern revolves around the definition of marriage for the purp
Immigration Rally in Washington, DC: Marching for Change
On Wednesday, April 10, just the day before AILA's National Day of Action kicked off in Washington, DC, tens of thousands of protesters marched on the Capitol in support of immigration reform. Advocates came by foot, car, bus, train, and plane from all over the country. They held signs telling the
Politics of immigration: A style change or attitude change?
Last week the Associated Press (AP) changed its style manual so that the term “Illegal“ is to be used to describe an action or procedure, but not a person. No more “illegal immigrant“ in AP stories. News organizations have debated the use of the term “illegal immigrant“ before bec
A Bird in Hand—CIR and Deferred Action
With all the buzz about immigration reform, why apply for deferred action now? For those who were waiting to see how the elections turned out or whether the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or “DACA“ program was “real“ and not just a trick, the answer is clea
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Ronald Reagan once said that “All great change in America begins at the dinner table“. He was right. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn. The film considered the then controversial subject of interracial marria
Stateside Waivers: Some Families Still Left Out in the Cold
This week, USCIS launched the new I-601A provisional waiver program, allowing certain relatives of American citizens who are in the country illegally to get a decision on their waiver case, before leaving the United States. The exact numbers are not known, but it is clear that the new rules will imp
The Need For A Realistic Pathway to Citizenship
We are witnessing the most robust debate in more than a generation on how to reform our antiquated immigration laws to meet the demands of our twenty-first century economic and security needs. In coming up with a broad framework for this comprehensive legislation, we must stand firm against ideologi
Public Service Announcement: Scammers are lying about immigration reform. Please do your part and share facts and information with your community.
If you are reading this column, it is probably not written for you. It is written for your friends, relatives or neighbors that may not fully understand what has happened, what has not happened and what may happen this year with immigration reform. For those reasons, I write this with only one req
Our Lady Liberty Still Stands As A Beacon Of Freedom
To every immigrant, nothing rings more true than the words of the Emma Lazarus Poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp
The WHY?s of Immigration Reform 2013
There is growing agreement that the immigration system in the United States is a moral, humanitarian and economic disaster. While I welcome the attention Congress, President Obama and the media are finally giving to immigration reform, I cannot seem to shake my growing feeling of uneasiness and ove
The Time is Now for Immigration Reform
“Tough, but fair.“ That's how President Obama described a critical element of any immigration reform plan: a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants now living in the shadows. For these aspiring Americans, many of whom have been caught in our dysfunctional immigration system for mor
The Road to Comprehensive Immigration Reform
These days, there are daily advancements on the road to the realization of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). President Obama campaigned on it. The House of Representatives needs it. The Senate has a bipartisan Gang of Eight working on it. It appears that all parties are ready and set to cro
A Call for a Journey
With anticipation, I awaited President Obama's inauguration speech. As I have listened over the years to many presidents speak, I waited for a call to action. Most years, we were lucky to hear a couple of words that referred in passing to the need to “secure the borders“ (at the cost of 18 b
Illinois Driver’s Licenses: A Small Step in the Right Direction
Kudos to Illinois for joining Washington and New Mexico as the only states to allow undocumented immigrant motorists to apply for driver's licenses. Last week Governor Pat Quinn promised to sign a bipartisan bill that will allow approximately 250,000 undocumented immigrants to obtain a three year,
Six Things You Need to Know about Stateside Processing of I-601A Waivers
Starting March 4, 2013, certain relatives of American citizens who are in the country illegally and need a waiver of unlawful presence before being eligible for a green card can get a decision on their case before leaving the United States. For those who can take advantage of the new rule, this mean
AILA Takes Manhattan
The holiday season was in full swing in New York when AILA President-Elect Doug Stump and I “invaded“ the city last week. No stealth maneuvers here, this was a planned, coordinated campaign - we were there to talk to the press. Most of the reporters were people AILA Communications has been wor
Our Grandparents were Entrepreneurs Too!
Anyone who believes that the entrepreneurial spirit is bred in the business school or the boardroom should visit “Shop Life,“ a new permanent exhibit that opened recently at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York. The Tenement Museum tells the story of the immigrant families that live
Prosecutorial Discretion for the Families of Deferred Action Recipients
On the eve of Thanksgiving, I think I'm doing what most Americans do this time of year - I'm counting my blessings. I have so much to be thankful for - both in my personal life as well as my professional life. In my professional life, I find myself extremely thankful for several new policies imple
Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Let’s Get It Right This Time
Last week's national elections made it abundantly clear that the Latino communities and new citizens from other parts of the world have changed the equation on the issue of immigration. The impact these communities had on the re-election of Barack Obama has clearly changed the political landscape f
JUST A LITTLE RESPECT…¿Que no?
It was a frantic Tuesday with voters lining up in the early morning to cast their votes in another historic election. Media coverage lit up the screens of homes and businesses across the nation, social media crowded the internet and pundits began their analyses. By the time night had descended on
By Reelecting Barack Obama, the American People Have Demanded Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Originally posted on Huffington Post American voters chose to renew their contract with a President whose vision of economic vitality involves three distinct pillars — innovation, education and rebuilding of America's infrastructure. Nearly two years ago, during his 2011 State of the Union address,