Legalization

Practice Advisories

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The Legal Action Center's Practice Advisories provide in depth discussion and analysis of select substantive and procedural issues in immigration law.

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Arizona teen pursues education in friendlier state

Published on Tue, Sep 07, 2010

According to the Immigration Policy Center in Washington, D.C., the DREAM Act, sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., would allow "current, former and future undocumented high school graduates and GED recipients a pathway to U.S. citizenship through college or the armed services." This means that people like Alberto would be awarded a conditional lawful permanent resident status for six years, during which time they would have to complete two years of higher education or military service, although they would not be eligible for federal education grants.

Published in the Santa Fe New Mexican

Motions to Suppress in Removal Proceedings: Cracking Down on 4th Amendment Violations

Increasingly, state and local law enforcement officers are assisting the federal government in immigration enforcement, whether through formal agreements under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; through participation in Secure Communities and the Criminal Alien Program; through state laws such as those enacted in Arizona, Alabama, and elsewhere; or through policies promoted by local mayors, sheriffs, and police chiefs. Motions to suppress seek to exclude evidence obtained by such officers in violation of an individual’s constitutional or other legal rights.

This practice advisory deals primarily with Fourth Amendment limitations on state and local immigration enforcement efforts and also briefly addresses Fifth Amendment violations that may arise from the same types of encounters with state and local officers. It also discusses some of the legal issues that may arise when noncitizens in removal proceedings move to suppress evidence obtained as a result of a constitutional violation by such officers.

Published On: Thursday, August 15, 2013 | Download File

Immigration Today

Immigration Today will allow middle grade students to develop their communications skills as speakers and writers as they discover how American immigrants continue to contribute positively to the American way of life.

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GOP aims to bolster immigration enforcement, but little change is likely

Published on Thu, Nov 04, 2010

“The new leaders of the House have made it clear that they’re going to continue to push an enforcement-only strategy,” said Mary Giovagnoli, director of pro-reform Immigration Policy Center. “It’s going to be a hard couple of years.”

Published in the New Mexico Independent

DOMA

Tell the LAC about your DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) cases

AIC’s Legal Action Center is interested in hearing about pending immigration cases that involve the validity of a marriage involving a lesbian or gay foreign national. Please tell us about any case in which relief from removal hinges upon a qualifying spouse who is a lesbian or gay foreign national or any case in which an application for an immigration benefit (such as an I-130) hinges on recognition of a marriage involving a lesbian or gay foreign national. Reply if you have a case that currently is pending:

in federal court (either district court or the court of appeals);
before the BIA or an IJ; or
before USCIS

Please tell us the status of the case, what decisions have been made on the case, and whether the adjudicator has agreed to hold the case in abeyance until the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is resolved by the courts or until there is further action by the BIA in Matter of Dorman, 25 I&N Dec. 485 (Attorney General 2011).

Please send your responses to [email protected].

In cooperation with Immigration Equality, the National Immigration Project and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, we are interested in assessing the status of pending cases and exploring possible remedies.

Also, if you are interested in developments that relate to lesbian or gay marriages (and many other LGBT issues) please join the GLIG (LGBT interest group) of AILA. You can sign up by clicking “View and Change Listservs” on your MyAILA page.)

Thank you!

The Advocates

During the 2006 Immigration Teach-In Celebration April 24th-28th, teachers across Minnesota taught a lesson to raise awareness about immigration to Minnesota and recognize the positive contributions made by immigrants to our community.

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S.B. 1070 imitators facing challenges throughout the U.S.

Published on Fri, Jan 21, 2011

The American Immigration Council reports:

This week, another batch of state legislators in Nebraska, Indiana, Colorado and Texas dipped their toes in the enforcement-only waters, but found themselves facing an even louder chorus of opposition from their communities.

In South Carolina, the farming lobby is putting pressure on lawmakers considering “papers please” Arizona-style legislation to also consider farmers who need seasonal labor. Last week, amidst questions on the bill’s legality, South Carolina legislators sent an Arizona copycat bill (SB 20 ) to committee for further discussion. This week, however, the American Farm Bureau said it would pursue a policy that “assists the federal government in helping states create programs that give growers access to enough legal labor”—that is, temporary legal status.

Published in the Florida Independent

Litigation Clearinghouse Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 10

This issue covers a Seventh Circuit decision holding that the BIA abused its discretion in denying a continuance of an "arriving alien" seeking adjustment; a lawsuit filed by Fragomen, Del Ray, Bernsen Loewy LLP against the Department of Labor; a Second Circuit decision examining the scope of APA review; and a favorable First Circuit EAJA decision in a naturalization delay case.

Published On: Sunday, September 14, 2008 | Download File