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Immigration Law Research Guide: Organizations

Provides general and specialized sources for researching U.S. immigration law, including online government resources, statutes, regulations & case law, plus general and specialized secondary sources and immigration-related organizations.

Organizations

ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project.  Advocacy organization; includes press releases, information on asylum/refugees, detention, discrimination & workplace rights.  The site also includes select immigration cases and legislative testimony.

 

Al Otro Lado.  Bi-national advocacy and legal services organization. "Al Otro Lado provides holistic legal and humanitarian support to indigent refugees, deportees, and other migrants in the US and Tijuana through a multidisciplinary, client-centered, harm reduction-based practice." Has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tijuana.

 

American Immigration Council (formerly the American Immigration Law Foundation). Non-profit, advocacy organization.  Includes detailed Practice Advisories for practitioners, topical reports, and a fact sheet on "How the United States Immigration System Works" (Oct. 2019).

 

Americans for Immigrant Justice (formerly the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center). Non-profit, direct-services law firm; "fights for justice for immigrants through a combination of direct representation, impact litigation, advocacy, and outreach."  National organization; based in Miami, Florida.  Founded in 1996. 

 

American Immigration Lawyers Association.  The professional organization for immigration attorneys; holds an annual conference.  Resources include immigration news (Daily News Clips), AILA Policy Briefs, Featured Issue Pages, and the AILA Blog: "Think Immigration."   Many of the materials are restricted to AILA members.

 

Center for Gender & Refugee Studies.  Based at UC Hastings School of Law, CGRS supports women asylum-seekers through scholarly research, policy work, and impact litigation. The site has a wealth of information on gender-based asylum, including general background information, US and international case law, country conditions information, scholarly articles and news.

 

Immigrant Defense Project.  Based in New York.  Conducts impact litigation, policy & advocacy work, and provides resources to communities to help defend against ICE raids and deportation.  IDP’s Padilla Support Center offers legal support to attorneys representing immigrants in New York City; part of a statewide network of regional (NY) immigration assistance centers (criminal & family court cases).

 

Immigrant Legal Resource Center.  Provides trainings, materials and advocacy to advance immigrant rights.  Many online resources for practitioners, including publications.

 

Immigration Advocates Network. "The Immigration Advocates Network (IAN), a program of Pro Bono Net, is dedicated to expanding access to immigration legal resources and information through collaboration and technology."  Includes a National Immigration Legal Services Directory, where you can search by state.

 

Immigration Equality.  Advancing equal immigration rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV-positive community. Includes LGBT and HIV Immigration Basics, the LGBT/HIV Asylum Manual, news, and resources for lawyers.

 

Justice Action Center.  "Dedicated to fighting for greater justice for immigrant communities by combining litigation and storytelling."  Focuses on impact litigation, creating "original, immigrant-centered content," and partnering with direct service providers and organizers.  Based in Los Angeles.

 

National Conference of State Legislatures - Immigration Policy Project.   Includes information on state immigration laws (including a searchable database of enacted state laws and resolutions since 2008), sanctuary policies, immigrants and public charge, and a U.S. Immigration Primer (June 2018). 

 

National Immigration Law Center.  Advocacy and policy organization for the rights of low-income immigrants, with a focus on employment rights and public benefits.  Includes issue briefs, news, select cases, and statistics.

 

National Immigrant Justice Center.  Advocacy and policy organization, based in the Midwest (Chicago, Indiana), but with additional offices in San Diego and Washington, D.C. Focuses on "ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers."  Also provides direct legal services.  Advocacy consists of policy reform, impact litigation, and public education.
 

National Lawyer's Guild: National Immigration Project.  Provides advocacy-oriented legal support on immigrant rights issues.  Specializes in defending the rights of immigrants facing incarceration and deportation.  Website includes practice advisories, description of litigation, policy and legal updates, and links to other organizations.  Members can access technical assistance and case support.

 

Refworld.  Extensive collection of reports on country conditions, and policy & legal documents.  A project of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

 

Southern Poverty Law Center, Immigrant Justice Project.  Advocacy organization; conducts impact litigation.  Issues: Family separation, rights of asylum seekers, local policing and immigration enforcement; guest worker rights, and the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI), which "enlists and trains volunteer lawyers to provide free legal representation to detained immigrants facing deportation proceedings in the Southeast."