WASHINGTON, D.C. June 15, 2022 – Today, the American Immigration Lawyers Association celebrates 10 years since the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (better known as DACA). DACA offered an opportunity for people brought to the U.S. as children who met certain criteria to apply for temporary protection from deportation. But over […]
American Immigration Lawyers Association
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New ICE Guidelines for Its Attorneys Prioritize Prosecutorial Discretion
Washington, D.C. — The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomed the April 3, 2022, memorandum issued by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Kerry Doyle intended to direct ICE’s resources to the Administration’s enforcement priorities, reduce backlogs, and ensure a fairer process. The memo is effective April 25, 2022. AILA President […]
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Big Win on Pro Bono Suit Challenging Department of Labor’s Midnight Rule Changing Prevailing Wage Determinations
WASHINGTON D.C. December 14, 2020 – Today, 17 individual and organizational plaintiffs, including institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and businesses, represented by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Jeff Joseph of Joseph and Hall PC, Charles Kuck of Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC, and Greg Siskind of Siskind Susser PC, won a summary judgment against […]
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New Rule Spells Death for the Asylum System
Washington, DC, December 10, 2020 – The Trump administration has finalized a regulation that will devastate the United States asylum system by making it nearly impossible for most applicants to successfully claim humanitarian protection in the United States. The rule is set to go into effect on January 11, just nine days before President-Elect Biden takes office. […]
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Federal Court Orders DACA Program Restored
NEW YORK, December 4, 2020 — Today, in the Batalla Vidal v. Wolf lawsuit, a federal court ordered the Trump administration to restore Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to its 2012 original form — reopening DACA to first-time applicants, restoring work authorization and renewals to two years, and making travel on advance parole more widely available to DACA […]
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AILA Publishes Immigration Road Map for Incoming Biden-Harris Administration
WASHINGTON, DC, November 10, 2020 – Today, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released recommendations on immigration reform and called upon the incoming Biden-Harris Administration to take swift action to fix the immigration system. The set of key actions were developed in consultation with AILA’s national policy committees and its network of pro bono volunteer lawyers. AILA […]
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USCIS Fee Rule Halted in its Entirety in Response to Litigation Filed by AILA and Sidley Austin LLP
Washington, DC, September 30, 2020 – Jesse Bless, Director of Federal Litigation at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), issued the following statement on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California’s decision yesterday to block the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from increasing application fees for immigration benefits, including citizenship and […]
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Individuals, Employers and Organizations Join to File First Lawsuit Challenging Entirety of Trump’s Immigration Ban
WASHINGTON D.C. July 17, 2020 – Today, 23 individual and organizational plaintiffs, including family-based immigrant visa petitioners, diversity visa lottery winners, and nonimmigrant visa sponsors, including those who want to bring in healthcare professionals from abroad to help during the pandemic, sued to prevent the devastating effects of President’s Trump’s unlawful and unconstitutional immigration ban. […]
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Applicants, Sponsors, Groups Sue Over Law Violations in Implementation of Trump Administration’s Public Charge “Wealth Test”
WASHINGTON, DC, July 13, 2020— Today, a group of applicants for lawful permanent residence, their sponsors, nonprofit immigration legal service providers, and immigrant and civil rights groups sued the Trump administration for violating the law in its implementation of the new “public charge” regulation, alleging that the new guidance goes further than the regulation itself […]
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Trump Administration Makes Immigration Courts an Enforcement Tool by Appointing Prosecutors to Lead
WASHINGTON, DC, July 6, 2020 — The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) condemns the Trump administration’s recent ramp-up of efforts to turn the immigration court system into an enforcement tool rather than an independent arbiter for justice. The immigration courts are formally known as the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and are overseen by […]
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Children of Permanent Residents and U.S. Citizens Exempt from New Immigration Ban
June 24, 2020 – Last month, litigators from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Justice Action Center (JAC), and Innovation Law Lab, with pro bono support from Mayer Brown LLP, filed a lawsuit on behalf of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents petitioning for their children and derivative child relatives to join them in the […]
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Administration Expands Ban on Legal Immigration – Pursuing Campaign Promise to Shut Down Legal Immigration
WASHINGTON, DC, June 22, 2020 – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) denounces President Trump’s decision to block access to certain nonimmigrant workers until at least the end of the year, including H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 nonimmigrants and their family members. This ban, which has few exceptions, will harm employers, families, universities, hospitals, communities, […]
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AILA: Trump Administration’s Indefinite Border Closure is a Campaign Tool, Not a Public Safety Measure
Washington, DC May 20, 2020 – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) expressed dismay over the announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extending indefinitely their order blocking entry to asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson said, “The Administration’s latest […]
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Trump’s Continued Disdain for U.S. Asylum Law and Lack of Concern for Vulnerable Asylum Seekers on Display at Border
WASHINGTON, DC, May 11, 2020 — On the evening of Sunday, May 10, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a joint DHS/EOIR statement on the rescheduling of MPP hearings. This statement changed prior DHS procedures without adequate notice to affected migrants or their […]
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AILA: President Focuses on Irrational Immigration Policy Instead of Choosing to Strengthen America
WASHINGTON, DC, April 23, 2020 – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) denounces President Trump’s decision to temporarily block access to immigrant visas with some exceptions. A summary of the ban is available on AILA’s website. AILA President Marketa Lindt noted, “The crisis that has gripped the nation and the world demands rational, thoughtful, fact-based policies […]
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AILA Urges Rational Response on COVID-19 and Immigration Policy
Washington, DC, April 21, 2020 – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has been closely following the latest tweet from President Trump announcing his plan to sign an order to “temporarily suspend immigration into the United States.” To date, the White House has issued no further details as to the scope and breadth of the […]
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Temporary Restraining Order Requested to Stop Dangerous EOIR and ICE Policies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON, DC—Immigration groups today moved for an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to protect the health of immigration attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Represented by the […]
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New Rule Seems Designed to Halt Valid Immigration Court Petitions By Drastically Hiking Fees
WASHINGTON, DC February 28, 2020 – Today, the Trump administration submitted a proposed rule to the Federal Register that would detrimentally impact individuals seeking a fair day in immigration court. The fees would apply when forms were submitted to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) which is part of the Department of Justice. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) […]
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Bipartisan Legislation Underscores Need for Transparency and Accountability Within USCIS
WASHINGTON, DC February 26, 2020 – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomes a new bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives that will hold United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accountable for severe case processing delays and an ever-growing immigration backlog. The “Case Backlog and Transparency Act of 2020” (H.R. 5971) was introduced today by […]
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AILA Files Suite to Halt Last-Minute Form Changes as Administration Seeks to Implement Public Charge Rule
WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 7, 2019 – Today, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) filed suit in United States District Court for the District of Columbia to ensure a workable transition over to new forms as the administration seeks to implement the public charge rule. The case is American Immigration Lawyers Association, et. al. v. Cuccinelli, […]