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.
Some 3-Year Work Permits Being Recalled by USCIS
This week, the federal government announced that it would take more aggressive steps to retrieve 2,600 3-year DACA grants, including launching home visits for a small number of people. This move stems from developments in Texas v. United States, the legal challenge to expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA). Read More
Temporary Protected Status for Nepal Designated Following Earthquake
On June 24, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it designated Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) based on the conditions resulting from the devastating earthquake in April. Starting immediately, Nepalese nationals in the U.S. can apply for protection against deportation, the ability to travel, and the… Read More
3 Years In, It’s Increasingly Clear That DACA Benefits All of Us
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), President Obama’s deportation deferral program for DREAMers–undocumented young people brought to the United States as children–is celebrating its third birthday today. Three years in, we know that DACA is benefiting the individuals who receive it, and a growing pool of evidence suggests what many… Read More
Class Action Lawsuit for Unlawful Delays in Employment Authorizations Filed
Washington D.C.– Last Friday, three immigrants and two immigration service providers filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for unlawfully delaying the adjudication of their applications for employment authorization. Filed by the American Immigration Council,… Read More
Employment Authorization Documents Adjudication Delays
Faced with increasing reports from immigration lawyers of Employment Authorization Documents adjudication delays, the Council and several partners filed this lawsuit against USCIS and DHS. Read More
Immigration Appeals Court Reverses Position on Deportation Waivers
In a decision issued last week, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed course and decided that a subset of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have been convicted of certain crimes may now have an opportunity to avoid deportation by proving to an immigration judge that their removal would cause… Read More
After Earthquake in Nepal, Bill Introduced to Grant Temporary Protected Status to Nepalese Nationals
One form of humanitarian assistance the United States can offer to Nepal, a country now recovering from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings and killed more than 7,000 people, is temporary protected status (TPS) for Nepalese nationals who currently are in the United States. Last week, several members… Read More
How Families Are Kept Apart by Current Immigration Laws
Family reunification has stood as a central pillar of the U.S. immigration system, dating back to 1965. Despite this, a new study by researchers Maria Enchautegui and Cecilia Menjivar shows that current immigration laws actually work to keep many families apart. Not surprisingly, the authors’ analysis reveals that immigrant… Read More
The Court Decision on Deferred Action Everyone Should Be Talking About
Yesterday, in Crane v. Johnson, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the same court deciding whether or not to keep in place the preliminary injunction blocking the President’s executive actions) unanimously dismissed a lawsuit challenging the original 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The court held that… Read More
Adding Up the Economic Benefits of the President’s Deferred Action Initiatives
As the Center for American Progress (CAP) points out in a new analysis, immigrants with legal status earn more than immigrants who don’t have legal status. Immigrants who earn more also buy more goods and services from U.S. businesses (not to mention paying more in taxes). And all of this extra spending creates new jobs in U.S. businesses for native-born and foreign-born workers alike. This is not a complicated economic argument to grasp. In fact, it’s common sense; workers who have legal status can change jobs more easily and don’t find themselves stuck in the lowest-wage jobs. Hence the importance of passing comprehensive immigration reform legislation—or, as a stop-gap measure until Congress gets its act together, implementing the Obama Administration’s “deferred action” initiatives. Read More
