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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Traitor? Not So Much.
I was called a traitor, twice, in less than an hour today. It's not the first time in my role as AILA's Executive Director that I've been called that, but it still offends. The fallacies about immigrants, about the undocumented, about our borders and our government's actions continue to linger. This
In Defense of Consular Officers
For over 25 years, I have been living and working abroad helping noncitizens secure family, work and other types of visas to the United States. As a specialist in consular law and procedure, I've had the honor and the privilege to deal with American consular officers at posts around the world, and
Politicizing Established Principles of Prosecutorial Discretion Without Offering Real Solutions
Judge Andrew Hanen's ruling this week issuing a temporary injunction to the expanded DACA and new DAPA programs announced as part of the President's concrete steps to alleviate our current dysfunctional immigration system is nothing more than a political kneejerk reaction to the Administration's eff
Who Will Carry the Torch?
Even now, over seven months since my first tour of duty in Artesia, I still get chills just thinking about it. I am not sure I have really taken the time to process everything I experienced. I am not sure I want to. Last Wednesday morning I got a text message from Christina Brown. She […]
Big Data, Bad Data: Resolving the Tyranny of the Database
This term, the Supreme Court is considering a case that implicates the doctrine of “consular non-reviewability“-the legal principle that generally, courts in the United States will not review the discretionary decisions of American consular officers if they deny visa applications overseas. The
The Weight of 216 days
216 days. That is how long Sofía and her daughter Isabel* had to wait for a chance at release from family detention at the southern border. After over seven months of confinement at two different facilities, they will finally be reunited with their family lawfully residing in the United States. The
America’s Economy Needs Real Solutions, Not the Legal Workforce Act
In this press release, AILA recommends Congress reject the “Legal Workforce Act” being considered today by the House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Subcommittee, calling it an “unworkable bill which would do more harm than good to our nation’s economy.”
Bad Choices
Last week, my state's attorney general, Adam Laxalt, did something that is wrong for my community, my state, and my country. He signed Nevada to the lawsuit against President Obama's executive action to defer deportation for potentially millions of long-time residents. I've been here in Nevada for d
Ending Artesia
Artesia changed me. It changed me as a lawyer and it changed how I interact with people. I know that it changed all the volunteers, it changed the officials who worked there, and more than anyone, it changed the children and mothers who were held there, sometimes for months on end, in fear. For thos
Claiming Victory at What Price?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is claiming victory in the transition of its family detention center model from Artesia, New Mexico to Dilley, Texas. On a working group tour of the Dilley detention center on January 13, 2015, ICE sang its own praises about all of the changes they had imple
Mexican Consulates Will Issue Birth Certificates…Starting Today!
A longtime struggle for many Mexican citizens living in the United States is the inability to access their birth records. Some may have been born in a state where they no longer have contacts and they struggle to acquire their birth certificate. In practice, this can definitely be a significant hu
AILA: Immigration Innovation Act Would Help Economy
AILA President Leslie Holman lauded the introduction of the Immigration Innovation (“I-Squared” Act) saying, “I’m encouraged that this bipartisan group of Senators recognizes what so many economists and business leaders do as well: that welcoming innovative thinkers is key to economic prosperity.”
New Yorkers Get New ID to Get Past the Velvet Rope
Clubs are synonymous with New York, and in order to get past the velvet rope, what do you need? Identification. It always helps to know somebody and have a lot of money, but I will curb the comparison of immigrating to the US with getting into Studio 54, lest someone think you can “bribe the […
‘Tis the Season – H-1B SEASON!
I'm surrounded by dry Christmas trees lying on the sidewalk, nobody is eating and drinking ridiculous amounts any more, and people are pretending to exercise as part of their New Year's resolutions - it must be H-1B season! For 2015, here we are again, with no increase in numbers to the H-1B cap (a
Starting Off the New Year
I promised myself that this year I would sleep in and not rush to my email and/or open my computer before I had my first cup of coffee. Sigh. At 6:45 a.m. on the first day of 2015 I had already broken my first resolution. Resolutions are the bane of many an existence right about […]
The Happiest Day Still Shadowed by Injustice
Yesterday was one of the happiest days in my life as an immigration lawyer. I'm helping out pro bono with clients at the Karnes Family Detention Center in Texas and yesterday Immigration Judge Glenn McPhaul granted a $1500 bond to my client from El Salvador and her 19 month old toddler. They've both
Building on a Shared Moment of Community to Move Forward
I was in the Copernicus Community Center last week, in the heart of Chicago's Polish community, when President Obama stood in front of a diverse crowd of Chicagoans and made his case in support of the executive actions he announced on November 20. There was energy, there was excitement, and there wa
The Business Related Provisions of the President’s Executive Action – A Call for Prompt Action
While the centerpiece of President Obama's courageous executive order is the provisions which grant employment authorization and provide protection from deportation for an estimated 4 million immigrants, important business-related immigration procedures were also part of this action. In a carefully
Action at Last
I watched with bated breath. I listened to President Obama make his last case for why administrative action was not just the right thing to do, it was the only thing to do. And I heard from him what his plans entailed. I read, amazed, the barrage of news reports and opinion pieces before, during, [&
Who Are We Turning Away?
A pregnant woman, separated from her husband in a time of regional conflict and instability, flees the central region of her country with a single suitcase and her 2 year old daughter and 1 year old son. The goal is to travel by train to the closest major southern land border in the hopes of […
National Inaction Leads to Local Legislation
On Friday, New York City's (NYC) Mayor Bill de Blasio signed local legislation, Introductions 486-A and 487-A, which will significantly restrict the city's cooperation with inappropriately broad federal immigration enforcement practices, except in instances where there are public safety concerns, i.
Administrative Action Wish List, Part 3
As immigration advocates we generally find ourselves in the position of trying to rationally explain rules and regulations that we personally find maddening. Maddening how? Well, come with me for a few moments as I sit down with “Muresh“ and discuss immigration rules with him. He's not real bu
Administrative Action Wish List, Part 2
During the past several presidential election cycles, politicians of all stripes have acknowledged that our immigration laws are antiquated and need reform. Unfortunately, for all of their bluster, nothing has been accomplished through Congress. Lacking Congressional action, the President announced
Administrative Action Wish List, Part 1
It's post-election time. Do you know what that means? It's time for some broad administrative action on immigration! No more broken promises. The more than decade-long delay in passing comprehensive immigration reform into law has had a significant and damaging toll on families, businesses, comm
What It Boils Down To
Well, pundits are hashing over what happened on Tuesday but here's what it boils down to: Republicans will have control of the Senate in the next Congress (at least 52-43), as well as strengthening their majority in the House (at least 243-175). A new Congress offers possibilities, offers the hope o