Skip to Content

Legalization

Deportation reviews raise some immigrants' hopes

Published on Sun, Aug 28, 2011

Hilda Jauregui and dozens of women at an Orange County immigration detention center recently gathered to hear the news on television that the Obama administration will review thousands of deportation cases with an eye closing those considered "low-priority."

FOR THE RECORD:

Deportation order: An article in the Aug. 29 LATExtra section about the Obama administration's plans to review 300,000 deportation cases was missing the word "toward" in the first paragraph. The paragraph should have said: Hilda Jauregui and dozens of women at an Orange County immigration detention center recently gathered to hear the news on television that the Obama administration will review thousands of deportation cases with an eye toward closing those considered "low-priority." Also, an earlier version of this online article stated that the Jauregui family had ignored a deportation order issued more than 10 years ago. The family actually appealed the order.

"Everyone was shouting and hugging each other," Jauregui said in a telephone interview from the James A. Musick jail facility last week. "One woman said 'I'll qualify because I'm older,' another said she had children who were born in the country. Everyone was trying to find something positive that would make them qualify."

U.S. Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano announced the review Aug. 18 as the administration was seeking to counter criticism that it has been too harsh in its deportation policies. The case-by-case review is intended to refocus efforts on felons and other public safety threats, officials said.

Now immigrants around the country are trying to find out how the review of nearly 300,000 deportation cases will actually work. The administration has said it would try to identify immigrants considered low-priority — including students, the elderly, victims of crime and people who have lived in the U.S. since childhood.Read more...

Published in the Los Angeles Times

Export Licensing Requirements for Foreign Nationals

This Practice Advisory focuses on the deemed export rule under the Commerce Department's EAR which governs exports of non-military technology.

Published On: Thursday, July 17, 2003 | Download File

Access to Counsel

The LAC has long advocated for the right to appointed counsel for indigent immigrants in removal proceedings, as well as fair standards and procedures to remedy the sometimes devastating results of ineffective assistance of counsel. Access to counsel lies at the very core of our legal system and is integral to ensuring a fair process and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Without counsel, vulnerable noncitizens are often deported without inquiries into their ability to comprehend the proceedings against them.

Attorneys

Image: 
Tab Headline: 
Create New Opportunities

The J-1 visa is the answer for many of your business clients’ needs.  The J-1 visa gives your clients the opportunity to train highly qualified and motivated individuals from overseas; you expand your practice and the organizations you represent benefit from hosting these professionals.  From small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, many employers are participating in the J-1 exchange program as host companies to emerging young professionals and accomplished overseas employees.  Find out how to create new opportunities for your clients.

Link: 
Click to learn more »

Conn. mayor seeks to let illegal immigrants vote

Published on Tue, Dec 20, 2011

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Already known as a refuge for people from other lands, New Haven is tightening its embrace of newcomers as its mayor seeks to extend voting rights to illegal immigrants and other noncitizens, a policy challenge that comes shortly after attacks on "sanctuary cities" by Republican presidential candidates.

The Democratic mayor, John DeStefano, helped illegal immigrants come out of the shadows four years ago when he launched a first-of-its-kind program to give them city resident cards. Despite crackdowns elsewhere, he has forged ahead with proposals that he says are designed to find common ground in a diverse city.

"We're a place of differences," he said. "We're a place that sees a strength and places a value on welcoming folks from all over."

Dozens of American cities including New York, San Francisco and Cambridge, Mass., take a hands-off approach to pursuing illegal immigrants. While advocates say they are rightly distancing themselves from a broken immigration system, critics accuse them of flouting federal law as "sanctuary cities" — a label not all of them accept.

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has vowed to cut off federal funding for such cities. One of his rivals, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, pushed a bill this year that would have prohibited cities from acting as "sanctuaries" for illegal immigrants and allowed local law enforcement to become more involved in immigration enforcement. Mitt Romney has said he opposed sanctuary cities as Massachusetts governor and, as president, he would "find the right approach" to ending them if legally possible.

President Barack Obama has resisted calls from some Republicans to crack down on sanctuary cities. As a Democratic candidate in 2007, he said the U.S. government should address the issue by providing a rational immigration system, not by withdrawing funds from cities that shelter noncitizens.Read more...

Published in the Associated Press

Enforcement, Lawsuits

ICE has expanded its enforcement activities, resulting in many highly publicized and criticized enforcement actions at workplaces and in homes and local communities. ICE also is employing local and state officers in some of these actions. This Litigation Issue Page highlights litigation challenging the legality of enforcement activities.

Unlawful Searches and Seizure (outside the workplace)|Worksite Raids|Additional Resources

Unlawful Searches and Seizure (outside the workplace)

Arizona 

Suit Challenged Unlawful Stop; Alleged Ethnic Profiling
Mora v. Arpaio, No. 09-01719 (D.Ariz. dismissed July 13, 2011)
(CASE CLOSED)

An LPR and his U.S. citizen son filed a suit against Sheriff Joseph Arpaio and several other Maricopa County officials, charging that sheriff’s deputies unlawfully stopped their vehicle on a public street, then searched and detained them for several hours during an immigration-related raid at a worksite 100 yards away. Plaintiffs charge, inter alia, that they were targeted because of their ethnicity and/or perceived national origin and were subjected to unreasonable search and seizure. Plaintiffs claim that the deputies’ actions in this case form part of a pattern or practice of constitutional violations by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in its conduct of immigration enforcement raids. Plaintiffs are seeking declaratory relief and compensatory and punitive damages.Read more...

Fundamental Principles of J Sponsorship

We are frequently asked by interested members of the immigration law community what are the basic principles which we use for strategic planning in the development of the International Exchange Center.

Here are the ten principles that guide our planning and decision making:

  1. Our primary role is to intercede on behalf of the J participants to ensure their safety and well-being.
  2. The J-2 dependent is as much our program participant as the J-1 trainee or intern.
  3. The J exchange must be mutually beneficial to both the J participant and the American host organization.
  4. The J exchange must foster the exchange of ideas between the international visitor and the American community.
  5. The exchange is not complete until the exchange visitor returns home and shares the experience in the United States with friends, family, and colleagues.
  6. The exchange should foster a deeper understanding of American cultural values for all involved.
  7. As a Designated Sponsor of J exchange, we have an obligation to the U.S. Department of State to know where our J-1 participants are and that they are receiving the training outlined in the approved training plan.
  8. We have an obligation to the U.S. Department of State that our J participants will have experiences that will improve the image and influence of the United States abroad.
  9. We believe that short-term exchange is a powerful tool to demonstrate the value of ideas from around the world to American companies and communities.
  10. We have a responsibility to educate the American immigration law and business communities as to the value and proper use of the J visa.

These ten principles inform all of our program development, communications, and placement decisions. They constitute our recipe for successful intercultural exchange.Read more...

Litigation Clearinghouse Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 1

in

This issue covers the Supreme Court’s recent decision on judicial review of motions to reopen; upcoming BIA oral arguments addressing Brand X and whether the date of adjustment qualifies as the date of admission under INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(i)(I); a BIA decision on portability; a favorable K-2 “age out” decision; and motions to reopen after deportation.

Published On: Monday, January 25, 2010 | Download File

2012 Creative Writing Contest Winner Announced!

The American Immigration Council is pleased to announce that the first place winner of our Community Education Center's 15th Annual 'Celebrate America' Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest is Alexander Tymouch of Chicago, IL. His poem entitled America, the Magical Land was chosen from among thousands of entries nationwide.

Alaska immigrants' economic role grows

Published on Thu, Feb 18, 2010

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - An immigration policy reform group says Alaska's foreign-born and minority populations have a growing presence in Alaska and its economy.

In a new publication, the Immigration Policy Center based in Washington, D.C., says one in 10 Alaskans are Asian or Latino, and those communities have more than $2 billion in buying power. It says the information comes from Census data and economic information from other research.

 

Published in the Associated Press