Blog: Think Immigration
We believe that immigration law is an integral part of America’s past, present and future. We also know that immigration law is complicated. Here you’ll find experts writing in an accessible way about immigration issues, from big, broad ideas down to specific cases. Our members bring knowledge they’ve gleaned from the daily practice of immigration law to this space and offer their expertise to readers.
Browse the Blog: Think Immigration collection
EB-5 Up for Reauthorization: Part 1
The EB-5 “Regional Center“ visa program again finds itself in an all too familiar place - unless Congress reauthorizes by September 30, the program will sunset. For better or worse, the EB-5 program remains connected with three other sun-setting immigration programs (E-Verify, Conrad and Relig
Recognition of Some Amazing Volunteer Work
There are hundreds of individuals who have come together on the ground to work on family detention - in Artesia, in Karnes, in Dilley, and in Berks. There are people from every far-flung corner of our nation who have worked remotely on case after case, brought attention to this tragic and inhumane i
The Pro Bono Clinic: Nuts and Bolts
You may know that there's a lot that goes into a pro bono clinic. But planning the AILA Annual Conference Pro Bono Clinic takes it to another level. Here are some insights on the planning and logistics of this year's event, sharing what we learned at the AC for anyone looking to run a pro
Acting in Haste
National tragedies have long propelled political change. Often a terrible event will ignite a fervent desire in political leaders to take action on an issue that has been neglected or overlooked. However, it is in these times of passion and emotion that some of the worst mistakes are made. Following
From Systems to Substance, Digital Innovation is Welcome News for Immigration
Last week, the Office of Management and Budget released a plan for modernizing and streamlining the legal immigration system. Much of the focus was on the potential positive impact of digital innovation. Recommendations included the creation of a cross-agency digital services team to support the
Preconceived Notions Shattered by Dilley
Recently, Rochelle G. volunteered at the Dilley facility where nearly 2,000 mothers and children are incarcerated despite their status as asylum-seekers. Brian Hoffman, lead attorney for the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project which brings volunteers from all over the nation to help in this remot
The Global Team Effort that Freed a Mother and Child
Last Wednesday, July 3rd, a client from El Salvador won her merits hearing! I appeared with attorney Melisa Peña from Miami over video conference, while Elora Mukherjee appeared by telephone from Tokyo, Japan and John Bradley appeared, sitting next to the client, from Dilley, TX. Thank you to everyo
A Lot of Glass in Those Towers, Any Mirrors?
Antonio Olivio of the Washington Post hit the nail on the head in his July 6th column (At Trump hotel site, immigrant workers wary) regarding the building of the new Trump luxury hotel in Washington DC. Ever since Donald Trump made his ill-informed and untrue statements about Mexican and Latino imm
LGBT Detention Must End
On June 23, 2015, 35 members of the House of Representatives wrote to Secretary Johnson, calling on the Obama Administration to end the detention of LGBT immigrants in ICE custody, especially transgender women.[1] The letter requested the administration seek parole and alternatives to detention for
A Long Journey for Justice: the Continuing Fight for LGBT Immigrants
As the nation rejoiced after the Supreme Court ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges, I recalled the celebrations at AILA's 2013 annual conference in San Francisco on the day that the Supreme Court decided Windsor v. Connecticut. Windsor and subsequent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directives mad
A Call to Arms
(With thanks to Sir Winston Churchill) Last week, I spoke with some of our government contacts about the changes that are on the very near horizon here in Dilley. Due, I imagine, to the Congressional visit, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson's announcement, and the Flores litigation, the asylum office will r
Little By Little, We Tear Down the Walls of Family Detention
In June of 2014, the first and most remote Family Detention Center opened in Artesia. The move was a concerted effort by the Administration to deter the influx of mothers and children and unaccompanied minors from Central America fleeing violence, persecution and despair. The Administration's prem
A Look Back to Artesia, and a Look into Karnes: Part 7
As the clock ticked toward mid-June, ICE quietly hinted that the agency would be reviewing the long-term custody status of detained families at Dilley and Karnes, although ICE would not share the criteria that they intended to apply in the review process. Yet in recent conversations with E-, she re
One Less Brick in the Wall, Mata v. Lynch
We would like to thank AILA for approaching us to give our thoughts on our recent Supreme Court win in Reyes Mata v. Lynch, 576 U.S.___ (2015). We met Mr. Mata in October of 2012. Probably the most outstanding thing about his situation was how typical it was. Like so many of our clients, he [̷
H-1B Cap Slows U.S. Innovation
The Fiscal Year 2016 H-1B random selection process for skilled workers is over. As with many other immigration lawyers around the country, I am dealing with employer fallout over the loss of badly needed skilled professionals whose petitions weren't selected. Many of these would-be H-1B beneficiar
Finally Free from Fear
B- and her six-year-old daughter just received a gift of immeasurable value: the gift of safety, of security, of freedom from fear. They had been through torment the likes of which I hope no one ever faces, but they made it through and I was privileged to help them. B- is a survivor of childhood [&#
Life or Death Consequences: Part 2
Read Part 1 of this blog post. The story continues… A few days later, I got a desperate email from our local staff: we only had two volunteers lined up for the next week. Worse yet, one lawyer was only available for three days and the other didn't speak Spanish. Continuity was critical: we
Life or Death Consequences: Part 1
I wasn't going to do it. It was just crazy stupid. We didn't have the resources. The hearing was in 20 hours, and that just wasn't enough time to put a case together. And yet, knowing that there were life or death consequences, how could I tell the young mother and little boy sitting in […]
A Failed Hail Mary
A profound moment in immigration history is upon us. Through change in administrative rules, certain H-4 visa holders were able to begin applying for work authorization on May 26. This privilege did not come about easily. Activists, including H-4 spouses themselves, fought long and hard for it. Wh
There’s Something Happening Here
I haven't heard immigration lawyers called heroes many times before (though I know a lot who are). And I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've ever heard it from a sitting member of Congress. But that's what happened Thursday when Congressman Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) said that AILA member Dree Collopy
Answering Questions from the Community
Monday night, the Princeton, New Jersey Human Services Commission hosted a program addressing President Obama's Executive Order on DACA and DAPA. The Princeton community has been out in front building bridges with immigrants that live in the municipality. The DACA/DAPA event was the most recent in
Understanding the Mindset
On May 5 and 6, 2015, Ryan Hutton and Rafael Henry from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Headquarters invited a group of AILA members to attend a southern border tour in Texas. On the first day, we visited the land border crossing at the Hidalgo Port of Entry, and on the second day we visited [&#
Approaching Liberty
It was some months ago, which seems like yesterday, that volunteers representing the detained children and women in Artesia, New Mexico, were confronted with immigration judges in Arlington, Virgina who said no. There were hearings before one Immigration Judge who would go on and on and on about nat
Game Changer
During a recent campaign event in Nevada, Hillary Clinton blindsided the 2016 Presidential contestants by stating her unequivocal support for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) and a clear path to citizenship for the undocumented migrants in the U.S. She also stated the obvious - that when immig
Another Kind of Obstacle Course
Interesting piece by Kristina Wong in The Hill last week (Army already enlisting ‘Dreamers' as Congress debates immigration) about 50 DACA recipients (“illegal immigrants“ as the author calls them) joining the United States military. The US military has long tapped skilled people to join its r