Blog: Think Immigration
1/15/2021
In this blog post, AILA Pro Bono Committee Chair Adonia Simpson shows how engaging in pro bono activities virtually can be efficient and effective, and highlights some easy opportunities for AILA members to plug into, including Citizenship Day, coming up February 20, 2021.
AILA Doc. No. 21011503
1/14/2021
In this blog post, AILA SoCal Chapter Media Liaison John Manley takes a stab at breaking down the tenure of Chad Wolf as Acting Secretary of DHS and the back and forth during the end of the Trump administration as we look forward to new leadership at the agency soon.
AILA Doc. No. 21011404
1/11/2021
In this blog post, Immigration Justice Campaign National Advocacy Manager Katy Murdza describes how ICE is indefinitely detaining people far past the time allowed by law, and why the Justice Campaign will be advocating for the abolition of immigration detention in 2021.
AILA Doc. No. 21011112
1/7/2021
AILA President Jennifer Minear reflects on the events of January 6, 2021, and the inequality and injustice on full display. She also offers some ideas on what we can and should be doing.
AILA Doc. No. 21010739
1/6/2021
AILA Media Advocacy Committee member Sarah Pitney shares insights into why they participate in public comment campaigns and why all AILA members should do the same; reasons to do so include benefit to clients, amplifying expertise, and hopefully ensuring better regulations result.
AILA Doc. No. 21010636
1/4/2021
AILA Media Advocacy Committee Member Tammy Lin of San Diego reflects on the last major reforms made to U.S. immigration laws by Congress and why we "can and should push for updating our immigration system now with this new administration."
AILA Doc. No. 21010438
12/31/2020
This blog post highlights the most-read blog posts and most-watched videos AILA published and produced in 2020 - take a look, learn something new, and see you in 2021!
AILA Doc. No. 20123101
12/28/2020
Andrew Nietor, chair of AILA's Southern Border Taskforce, shares insights into President Trump's recent pardon of former Border Patrol agents and the harmful impact of this and other actions by his administration on border communities.
AILA Doc. No. 20122806
12/22/2020
Members of the AILA Media Advocacy Committee share their hopes for the incoming administration and on what the next year may bring. They reflect on the changes, both large and small, that can make our immigration system more fair and just.
AILA Doc. No. 20122204
12/18/2020
The Lady Immigration Lawyers of Minnesota celebrated the season with their own rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You” this year and shared some of their wishes in this blog post for Think Immigration.
AILA Doc. No. 20121890
12/15/2020
AILA member Gabriela Pinto Vega and Andrew Wellisch share insights in two videos about their article on digital evidence in the fall 2020 edition of the AILA Law Journal. They discuss how members can use the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and similar laws in the immigration context.
AILA Doc. No. 20121538
12/11/2020
Highlighting the tremendous impact of Judge G. Ross Anderson, who recently passed away, AILA member Brad Banias reflects on why he began focusing on federal court litigation and the case that started him down that path.
AILA Doc. No. 20121134
12/9/2020
AILA member Paschal O. Nwokocha shares his insights as an immigrant and immigration attorney about the work to be done post-election and how we all can work together to ensure that "America is once more open to the world."
AILA Doc. No. 20120931
12/7/2020
Nathan Chan shares some insights into his recent article in the AILA Law Journal on marriage bona fides and answers some questions from AILA Editorial Director Danielle Polen.
AILA Doc. No. 20120713
11/24/2020
AILA Media Advocacy Committee member, and expert on business immigration, Sandra Feist highlights the problems with the recent H-1B salary level rule and urges attorneys and members of the public to take action and submit a comment before the comment period closes Dec 2.
AILA Doc. No. 20112432
11/20/2020
In this blog post, Director of the Immigration Justice Campaign Karen Lucas highlights the harm faced by Cameroonian asylum seekers who are being wrongfully deported by ICE and urges the public to take action to draw attention to this injustice.
AILA Doc. No. 20112090
11/19/2020
AILA members Angelo A. Paparelli and Stephen Yale-Loehr offer some insights and ideas for the incoming Biden-Harris administration on actions that would make the immigration system more transparent, efficient, and welcoming.
AILA Doc. No. 20111930
11/18/2020
In a short video, AILA Law Journal author Sarah Diaz discusses the process of writing for the journal, the topic she chose, and how AILA members and others can use the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction to help children separated from their parents.
AILA Doc. No. 20111836
11/17/2020
AILA Board of Governors Member Greg Siskind highlights how the Biden-Harris administration should implement digital modernization of immigration filings and urges the incoming administration to ensure that attorneys and stakeholders are part of the testing of any new process.
AILA Doc. No. 20111734
11/13/2020
AILA Editorial Director Danielle Polen interviews AILA Law Journal author Sarah Houston about how she became an advocate for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and how transgender women and men in particular face a hidden epidemic of physical and psychological abuse.
AILA Doc. No. 20111333
11/3/2020
In this post, adapted from a message to the AILA Board of Governors on November 3, 2020, AILA President Jennifer Minear reflects on the election means, and noted, "Together, we will get through this day and all the days to come, and I firmly believe that we will emerge stronger than ever."
AILA Doc. No. 20110390
11/2/2020
AILA member and practice management expert Ruby Powers highlights seven key tips she has gleaned from running a practice during the pandemic and shares that hard-won wisdom in this blog post to help you make it through.
AILA Doc. No. 20110290
10/22/2020
Jacqueline Shi, AILA member and member of the AILA National Pro Bono Committee, shares how attorneys continue to provide pro bono services to vulnerable immigrant communities during the pandemic by using technology and innovation.
AILA Doc. No. 20102330
10/13/2020
AILA Board of Governors member Ally Bolour shares his personal story of naturalization and why he feels the obligation to vote and encourage others to vote as well, including his 98-year-old father who will vote for the first time ever!
AILA Doc. No. 20101338
10/6/2020
AILA President Jennifer Minear shares how she is working to ensure her new citizen clients are ready to vote: "I'm not telling my clients how to vote, but I am making darn sure they remember the capacity they have to reshape their future, to decide who will have the power ... to effect change."
AILA Doc. No. 20100636
9/17/2020
During National Hispanic Heritage Month, AILA Diversity & Inclusion Committee Member Magaly Rojas Cheng shares her family’s story along with key data about the contributions of the Latinx community to our shared prosperity.
AILA Doc. No. 20091705
9/8/2020
AILA member Peter Choi shares an analogy that he has found makes explaining the green card process to clients easier by comparing it to a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles with various queues and required paperwork.
AILA Doc. No. 20090890
9/1/2020
Dree Collopy, chair of AILA's Virtual Asylum Conference, highlights some of the changes impacting asylum that have taken place recently and that the conference will cover, noting that while this is a tough fight, "We can lift each other up, help each other succeed, and save our clients' lives.”
AILA Doc. No. 20090138
8/6/2020
AILA First Vice President Jeremy McKinney describes his first foray into litigation, and what tools and resources can help AILA members litigate and win cases, writing that litigation "can benefit your clients, it can benefit the immigration bar, and ultimately, it can benefit everyone.
AILA Doc. No. 20080634
8/5/2020
AILA Immigration Courts Conference Chair Michael Vastine shares insights on how AILA members can prepare themselves for immigration court, offering insights into the need to be “uniformly prepared, comprehensively trained, and conditioned to assertively and persuasively defend.”
AILA Doc. No. 20080537
8/4/2020
In this blog post, members of AILA New England highlight the many questions about how USCIS has engendered a deficit requiring a congressional bailout and raise concerns about the need for data transparency and accountability.
AILA Doc. No. 20080435
7/29/2020
This blog post is an adaptation of AILA President Jennifer Minear’s installation speech in which she calls on all of us to "push ahead, sure in our cause, guided by the strength of our convictions, and buoyed by the support of this AILA community."
AILA Doc. No. 20072931
7/24/2020
In recognition of the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and acknowledgment that there is still much work to be done, AILA republishes, with permission, a piece from Diversity & Inclusion Committee member Caroline Ostrom on avoiding reinforcing the social perceptions around disabilities.
AILA Doc. No. 20072490
7/22/2020
This blog post is the published transcript of the year-end speech given by Immediate Past President Marketa Lindt during AILA’s Virtual Annual Conference on July 20, 2020.
AILA Doc. No. 20072240
7/21/2020
AILA Member John Manley compares the provisions in the RAISE Act (which Congress failed to pass) and the executive actions being taken by the Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic and notices some similarities.
AILA Doc. No. 20072137
7/13/2020
National Advocacy Counsel Katie Shepherd of the Immigration Justice Campaign shares recent work with pro bono partner Gibson Dunn that aims to free immigrants from the appalling conditions at Joe Corley detention facility through habeas petitions.
AILA Doc. No. 20071331
7/9/2020
AILA Past President Ira Kurzban details how the Trump Administration has weaponized the COVID-19 pandemic to implement long-sought immigration policies, banning immigrants and non-immigrants alike.
AILA Doc. No. 20070903
7/6/2020
In this blog post, AILA law student member Maria Jaramillo highlights the indispensable workers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas and ensure the U.S. food supply maintains continuity, and how employers need to step up and protect them during the pandemic.
AILA Doc. No. 20070693
6/30/2020
Asylum experts Dree Collopy and Lindsay Harris highlight the ways in which asylum adjudication inefficiencies have contributed to USCIS's $1.2 billion budget shortfall and urge Congress to hold USCIS accountable, linking to AILA's Take Action on the issue that members of the public can easily use.
AILA Doc. No. 20063004
6/26/2020
In this blog post, Michael Eatroff shares Mirna's story; she was one of the plaintiffs in the litigation filed by AILA, Justice Action Center, Innovation Law Lab, with pro bono counsel Mayer Brown to protect children from aging out under the April 22 Proclamation.
AILA Doc. No. 20062607
6/25/2020
AILA Member Matt Maiona highlights USCIS’s outrageous statement in response to the SCOTUS DACA ruling, showcasing the dire need for agency reform. Maiona writes: "Perhaps now more than ever, government institutions must strive to restore the faith of Americans in the integrity of government."
AILA Doc. No. 20062501
6/23/2020
In this blog post, AILA's past president Kathleen Campbell Walker reflects on her path into immigration law, the complicated nature of the field, and some of the reasons she reads and re-reads the INA/CFR.
AILA Doc. No. 20062306
6/19/2020
AILA member Paschal O. Nwokocha calls on all immigration attorneys to take concrete steps to address racism and injustice, writing, "We cannot be patient anymore; we cannot wait for racial inequality and injustice to recede. We must be involved actors in the future we seek."
AILA Doc. No. 20061902
6/18/2020
In this blog post, AILA member Maureen Sweeney previews her AILA Law Journal article and describes how litigators can fight against Chevron deference in asylum and withholding cases and presents factors that can weigh "in favor of robust judicial review of BIA and AG decisions."
AILA Doc. No. 20061800
6/12/2020
AILA Website Editorial Manager Kritika Agarwal shares insights about the civil rights movement's impact on immigrants and how we must "recognize the commonality of our struggles with the struggles of Black Americans and take concrete steps to support their fight against racism and injustice."
AILA Doc. No. 20061200
6/9/2020
AILA Director of Government Relations Sharvari Dalal-Dheini shares insights about USCIS's request to Congress for $1.2 billion, and urges Congress to "ensure that the agency is transparent about its spending, accountable for its inefficiencies, and on track towards fiscal responsibility."
AILA Doc. No. 20060934
6/8/2020
In this blog post, AILA Customer Services Manager LaJuan Campbell shares her experiences with racism and injustice and the difficult conversations they’ve forced her to have with her son Dominick about America's societal prejudices and how he could stay as safe as possible.
AILA Doc. No. 20060835
6/5/2020
The AILA Diversity and Inclusion Committee is deeply saddened by the recent unjust and tragic police killings of Black Americans and stands in solidarity for the demands for justice and accountability. This blog post includes perspectives from four members and calls for change.
AILA Doc. No. 20060533
6/4/2020
As part of AILA’s internal reflection during this time, staff were invited to share perspectives and experiences relating to America’s divisive and unjust past, the current situation, and our commitment to a better future. In this blog post, we welcome these insights from Joy Hardy.
AILA Doc. No. 20060439
6/1/2020
AILA member Patrick McCormick reviews some of the alterations to IRS policies during the COVID-19 pandemic and asks how they could impact multinationals in particular. McCormick notes: “These questions are raised even though we all realize that guidance related to COVID-19 is evolving. . . ."
AILA Doc. No. 20060130
5/22/2020
AILA Member Kevin Gregg shares his experience during COVID-19 thus far, including on how, with the time freed up from less travel and commuting, he has started a podcast on precedential immigration decisions.
AILA Doc. No. 20052235
5/19/2020
In response to rumored plans by the administration to tighten nonimmigrant visas, AILA member Doug Penn shares the impact one of his clients has had by creating American jobs while in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa and why the administration should not block these job creators from the U.S.
AILA Doc. No. 20051931
5/15/2020
AILA Member Alex George highlights how the pandemic has impacted her life and practice as a new attorney, writing, “My ‘wins’ used to look like approval notices and green cards . . . [now] success looks like making that person feel seen and heard, even when you have to tell them no.
AILA Doc. No. 20051500
5/14/2020
Chuck Kuck, AILA’s past president, highlights the H-1B class action litigation and renews the call for plaintiffs, noting: "The only way to stop USCIS from continuing to rewrite immigration law through RFE and denial is to challenge them boldly, fiercely, and publicly in the federal courts."
AILA Doc. No. 20051432
5/12/2020
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.”
AILA Doc. No. 20051231
5/7/2020
AILA member Amy Myers shares why USCIS should proactively address nonimmigrants’ (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?”
AILA Doc. No. 20050735
5/5/2020
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.
AILA Doc. No. 20050501
5/1/2020
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."
AILA Doc. No. 20050136
4/28/2020
AILA BOG member Rekha Sharma-Crawford writes about a silver lining to the lockdown, 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."
AILA Doc. No. 20042834
4/27/2020
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.
AILA Doc. No. 20042731
4/24/2020
AILA Member Hudaidah Bhimdi writes about the whirlwind of home and work responsibilities facing her as an immigration attorney and single mom during the COVID-19 quarantine, and how hope has reentered her life as she finds new perspective on day to day necessities.
AILA Doc. No. 20042434
4/22/2020
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.
AILA Doc. No. 20042235
4/20/2020
AILA member Jeff Joseph gives a rundown of the recently filed lawsuit challenging USCIS’s pattern and practice of arbitrarily denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analyst positions filed by businesses in the United States.
AILA Doc. No. 20042035
4/16/2020
Ally Bolour, a member of AILA's Board of Governors, shares his recent difficult client interaction and highlights the need for self-care in an extremely stressful time, writing: "We will survive this together and come out stronger at the other end."
AILA Doc. No. 20041604
4/14/2020
AILA member John Manley offers some practical advice as he shifts from office-based work to home-based work for the foreseeable future and comes to term with the many adaptations he will need to make.
AILA Doc. No. 20041431
4/10/2020
Michelle Saenz Rodriguez and George Rodriguez share their COVID-19 experiences thus far, writing: "As long as we continue to remind ourselves and our colleagues that we are all in this together, we will find the light at the end of the tunnel and emerge together, profoundly changed by the journey."
AILA Doc. No. 20041000
4/6/2020
In this blog post, AILA Board of Governors member Neena Dutta muses on the COVID-19 pandemic, the varying impacts on peoples' lives and livelihoods, and her personal experience, reminding everyone that in this time, socially distant though we may be, we are not alone.
AILA Doc. No. 20040638
4/2/2020
AILA’s Second Vice President Jeremy McKinney shares his plans to apply for assistance through the Small Business Administration (SBA) during the COVID-19 crisis to help his law firm stay in business; an update on how he navigates the process will be forthcoming.
AILA Doc. No. 20040234
3/31/2020
AILA member Aaron Kochenderfer shares the positive impact that immigrants have had on Detroit, Michigan, as the city orchestrates a comeback from bankruptcy only a few years ago, writing: "Detroit's history was written by immigrants and I firmly believe they will help author its future as well."
AILA Doc. No. 20033134
3/30/2020
Alma Rosa Nieto, AILA’s Media Advo Committee member, offers some details from her life and work as an immigration attorney during the COVID-19 pandemic, writing: "This too will pass and we will all have learned new ways of doing things, skills we can use later."
AILA Doc. No. 20033036
3/27/2020
AILA’s Asylum Committee Vice Chair Lindsay Harris describes the asylum seekers she met just before the COVID-19 pandemic really began in the United States. She encourages us all to take action and "right the wrongs being committed in our name on our Southern border."
AILA Doc. No. 20032735
3/26/2020
Sandra Feist, AILA’s Media Advo Committee Chair, shares a glimpse into an immigration attorney’s life during the COVID-19 pandemic, writing: "My hope is that we all come out of seclusion with greater self-confidence about our own fortitude in a crisis and a greater connectivity with our community."
AILA Doc. No. 20032632
3/19/2020
AILA’s ED Benjamin Johnson highlights USCIS processing delays, writing, "Even before the COVID-19 virus, backlogs and processing delays were staggering at USCIS. They have continued to grow thanks to burdensome policies and inefficient procedures that needlessly bog down the adjudications process."
AILA Doc. No. 20031936
3/16/2020
In this blog post, AILA member Ruby Powers offers some tips she has learned from practicing law through hurricanes and running her practice from half a world away—tips that can be applied in our current COVID-19 era.
AILA Doc. No. 20031604
3/10/2020
In this blog post, AILA member, and Immigration Justice Campaign volunteer with the El Paso Immigration Collaborative (EPIC), Elizabeth Fiechter describes the Kafkaesque labyrinth of obstacles she and her client faced trying to simply speak by phone ahead of an extremely important bond hearing.
AILA Doc. No. 20031033
3/4/2020
In this blog post, part of the Diversity & inclusion blog post series, AILA member L. Patricia Ice describes her time volunteering at the Dilley detention center helping families and how the shared bond of being members of the African diaspora helped her connect with one client.
AILA Doc. No. 20030401
2/28/2020
In this post, part of the Diversity & Inclusion Blog post series, AILA members John Pratt and Kevin Gregg offer insights into efforts to terminate TPS for Haitians, and highlight how "the work of litigators . . . is critical in the fight to expose and legally challenge . . . immigration decisions."
AILA Doc. No. 20022833
2/27/2020
AILA member Kara Hart takes a look at the new I-944 Declaration of Self-Sufficiency required to meet the public charge rule and considers whether she'd be able to meet the requirements herself.
AILA Doc. No. 20022738
2/24/2020
In this blog post, AILA member Brent Renison describes why new legislation to allow access to counsel for immigrants placed into secondary or deferred inspection upon entry would "allow fairness to have jurisdiction at the borders."
AILA Doc. No. 20022431
2/21/2020
In this blog post, AILA Director of Government Relations Greg Chen calls for change as he describes the dichotomy between how the Venezuelan opposition leader was hailed at the State of the Union and how vulnerable Venezuelan asylum seekers are treated at the border.
AILA Doc. No. 20022131
2/11/2020
Psychological evaluations can be hugely important for vulnerable clients' cases, but attorneys may have some questions about how to best approach having one done. In this blog post, Jocelyn Dyer shares helpful tips from Aimee Miller, a clinical social worker.
AILA Doc. No. 20021132
2/7/2020
In this post, part of the Diversity and Inclusion blog post series, AILA members John Pratt, David Calles Smith, and Elizabeth Montano highlight the myriad benefits of a diverse and inclusive immigration law firm.
AILA Doc. No. 20020701
1/31/2020
AILA Second Vice President Jeremy McKinney describes why an independent immigration court is so desperately needed and shares resources related to his recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Immigration Subcommittee about this issue.
AILA Doc. No. 20013101
1/30/2020
Greg Chen, Leidy Perez-Davis, and Katy Murdza report back on the recently offered tour of tent court facilities in Texas and explain why AILA remains deeply concerned about the lack of due process. They urge the administration to "end the use of tent courts and the Remain in Mexico program."
AILA Doc. No. 20013035
1/28/2020
In this blog post, AILA member Eva Garcia Mendoza describes the lengths she had to go to in order to protect her client Mario after repeated and concerted efforts to deny him the U.S. citizenship which was rightfully his, noting, "Immigration lawyers know that our work changes peoples' lives."
AILA Doc. No. 20012801
12/31/2019
This blog post highlights the most-read blog posts and most-watched videos produced and published by AILA in 2019 - take a look, and see you in 2020!
AILA Doc. No. 19123100
9/19/2019
Read today's update from inside the San Antonio, TX, court where IJs are hearing cases of asylum seekers located at DHS's new tent facilities in Brownsville and Laredo, TX, via video teleconference. AILA staff Laura Lynch and Leidy Perez-Davis are on the ground to learn about the new port courts.
AILA Doc. No. 19091603
8/5/2019
AILA member Catha (Nikki) Lyons describes how the administration's "Asylum Ban 2.0" is contrary to both domestic and international laws and encourages other lawyers to do their best to inform and educate the public about U.S. laws.
AILA Doc. No. 19080503
4/26/2019
In this blog post, AILA President Anastasia Tonello announces the inaugural edition of the AILA Law Journal, highlighting the articles and themes within the seven pieces and inviting articles for future editions.
AILA Doc. No. 19042671
2/26/2019
In this blog post, part of the AILA Diversity & Inclusion series, AILA Second Vice President Allen Orr recognizes Black History Month, shares important research and analysis, and writes, "In the drive for immigration reform, black immigrants must not be forgotten or left out of the equation."
AILA Doc. No. 19022695
1/24/2019
AILA member Sabrina Damast highlights the damaging provisions in the bill supported by the administration to end the shutdown which would negatively impact Dreamers, TPS recipients, and asylum seekers.
AILA Doc. No. 19012470
Alert: View AILA’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center
George P. Tzamaras
Belle Woods
Tessa Wiseman
Duygu Eruçman
