Immigration Benefits and Relief
The immigration laws and regulations provide some avenues to apply for lawful status from within the U.S. or to seek relief from deportation. The eligibility requirements for these benefits and relief can be stringent, and the immigration agencies often adopt overly restrictive interpretations of the requirements. Learn about advocacy and litigation that has been and can be undertaken to ensure that noncitizens have a fair chance to apply for the benefits and relief for which they are eligible. Providing avenues for legal status, protection, and family reunification is vital to ensuring humanitarian protection for immigrants. We are leading policy changes that open more opportunities like asylum, visas for victims of crime or human trafficking, and relief for long-term residents. Explore the resources below to learn more.
Lawsuit Demands Government to Disclose Information About Unjust Deportations
The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies have increased immigrants’ vulnerability to swift deportation, making the ability to access safeguard more important than ever. The American Immigration Council and the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law filed a lawsuit to disclose critical information about how the Board of Immigration Appeals interprets legal safeguards that would allow these individuals to seek reopening or reconsidering of their immigration cases, and prevent the irreparable harms that can result from deportation. Read More
Workers with Temporary Protected Status in Key Industries and States
This fact sheet estimates the likely numbers of workers with TPS from these three countries, broken down by the states in which they reside and the industries in which they are employed. Read More
Comments Opposing “Public Charge” Plan
The American Immigration Council, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, filed comments because a financial litmus test should never serve as a measure for who we welcome into our country. Read More
DACA Is Still in Effect as It Heads to the Supreme Court
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stinging rebuke to President Trump’s ongoing efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative last week, unanimously upholding a lower court injunction which had blocked the Trump administration from ending the program. Just three days before that hearing,… Read More
The Government Outlines Its Plan to Extend TPS Benefits Under Court Order
In early October, a federal court ruled that the Trump administration had violated the law when it terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. After weeks of negotiation with the ACLU, which brought the lawsuit, the government has now come forward… Read More
Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Efforts to Terminate Temporary Protected Status for 250,000 Recipients
Just weeks ahead of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders beginning to lose their immigration status, a federal court in California blocked the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. At least for now, this unexpected lifeline will temporarily protect hundreds… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
