Immigration Benefits and Relief

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

The Dream Act: An Overview

The Dream Act would permanently protect certain immigrants who came to the United States as children but are vulnerable to deportation. 

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  • Practice Advisories

Arriving Noncitizens and Adjustment of Status

This Practice Advisory discusses the impact of an interim rule repealing two former regulations which barred all “arriving aliens” from adjusting status if they are in removal proceedings.

All Immigration Benefits and Relief Content

  • Advocacy

Regulatory comment: Adjustment of Status of “arriving aliens” who are in removal

The Council submitted comments on June 12, 2006, on the interim regulations that lifted the ban on “arriving aliens” being able to adjust their status if they are in removal proceedings.

  • Advocacy

Letter to DHS Urging Interim Relief Pending Final Resolution of Section 3 of DOMA

Following the Obama Administration’s February 2011 announcement that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, AILA and the Council, joined by dozens of other organizations, urged the Administration ...

  • Advocacy

Letter to EOIR Urging Interim Relief Pending Final Resolution of Section 3 of DOMA

Following the Obama Administration’s February 2011 announcement that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, AILA and the Council, joined by dozens of other organizations, urged the Administration to adopt interim measures in immigration cases involving marriages to a lesbian or gay noncitizen. Such interim measures are needed to maintain the status quo until there is a final judicial or legislative resolution regarding Section 3 of DOMA.
  • Advocacy

Letter to DOJ Urging Interim Relief Pending Final Resolution of Section 3 of DOMA

Following the Obama Administration’s February 2011 announcement that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional, AILA and the Council, joined by dozens of other organizations, urged the Administration to adopt interim measures in immigration cases involving marriages to a lesbian or gay noncitizen. Such interim measures are needed to maintain the status quo until there is a final judicial or legislative resolution regarding Section 3 of DOMA.
  • Advocacy

Council & AILA Response to DHS’s notice of revisions to Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and accompanying instructions (submitted Feb. 18, 2014)

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted suggestions to USCIS regarding the effective implementation of the renewal process.
  • Advocacy

Council, AILA & Other Stakeholders’ Response to DHS’s notice of revisions to Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and accompanying instructions (submitted Feb. 18, 2014)

The American Immigration Council along with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Educators For Fair Consideration, the National Immigration Law Center, United We Dream, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. offered comments in response to DHS’s proposed new DACA application form and instructions.
  • Advocacy

Letter Requesting Modifications to USCIS DACA FAQ (submitted June 3, 2013)

The American Immigration Council along with American Immigration Lawyers Association, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, National Council of La Raza, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and United We Dream, submitted proposals to USCIS seeking certain modifications to the DACA Frequently Asked Questions page.
  • Advocacy

Second Letter Requesting Modifications to USCIS DACA FAQ (submitted April 8, 2014)

The American Immigration Council along with American Immigration Lawyers Association, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, New York Immigration Coalition, and United We Dream, submitted proposals to USCIS seeking certain modifications to the DACA Frequently Asked Questions page.
  • Amicus Briefs

United States v. State of Texas, No. 15-674 (S.Ct., amicus brief filed November 30, 2015)

The American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the National Immigration Law Center, the Service Employees International Union, American Federal of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Advancement Project, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, among others, filed an amicus brief on behalf of a coalition of 224 immigration, civil rights, labor and social service groups, urging the Supreme Court to review the case that has blocked expanded DACA and DAPA.
  • Blog

Problems at USCIS Persist, Despite Biden’s Progress on Immigration in His First 100 Days

April 29, 2021

When President Biden took office, he inherited a legal immigration system that was teetering on the brink of collapse. Delays within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have reached...

  • Blog

Biden Begins to Restore Temporary Protected Status. Which Countries Could Get TPS Next?

March 25, 2021

By the end of the Trump presidency, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was all but destroyed. The former administration had attempted to end crucial protections for the hundreds of thousands of...

  • Blog

The House Passes Historic Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

March 18, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills on March 18, signaling that Congress might finally enact major immigration reform for the first time in over three decades. These...

  • Blog

Trump’s Citizenship Test Scrapped by USCIS Over Politicization and Complexity Concerns

March 4, 2021

Individuals hoping to become a naturalized American citizen will take a different civics test beginning this week, as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reverts back to a previous...

  • Blog

Biden Took Eight Administrative Actions on Immigration. Here’s What You Need to Know.

January 22, 2021

On his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement...

  • Blog

The United States Needs a New Approach to Visas and Immigration Benefits

January 8, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The Biden administration faces a...

  • Blog

Why Immigrants With Strong Ties to the US Should Be Allowed to Stay

January 7, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The Biden administration will soon...

  • Blog

A Judge Fully Reinstated DACA, but Dreamers Are Still in Danger

December 7, 2020

A federal judge in New York has overturned the Trump administration’s latest effort to limit the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. DACA temporarily protects certain people...

  • Blog

Who Is Alejandro Mayorkas? The New DHS Secretary Will Spearhead Biden’s Immigration Agenda

December 1, 2020

The incoming Biden-Harris administration has announced its choice for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. If confirmed, Mayorkas will represent several historic...

  • Blog

Federal Court Invalidates Changes to DACA Because Chad Wolf Was Unlawfully Appointed

November 16, 2020

A judge has ruled that recent changes to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that were a veiled attempt to gut the program are invalid because Chad Wolf—the acting secretary of the...

  • Press Release

Class Action Lawsuit for Unlawful Delays in Employment Authorizations Filed

May 26, 2015

Washington D.C.– Last Friday, three immigrants and two immigration service providers filed a nationwide class action lawsuit against U.S.

  • Press Release

Unprecedented Coalition Ask Court to Reverse Texas Ruling Blocking Immigration Initiatives

April 19, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Texas Decision at Odds with Legal Precedent, History and Facts on Immigration Enforcement

February 17, 2015

Washington D.C. - Late last night, a Texas judge issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the implementation of President Obama’s new deferred action initiatives. These initia

  • Press Release

Texas Decision at Odds with Legal Precedent, History and Facts on Immigration Enforcement

February 17, 2015
  • Press Release

Immigration Council Strongly Reaffirms Research on Reagan-Bush Family Fairness Policy

December 5, 2014

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

American Immigration Council Executive Director, Ben Johnson Comments on Executive Action

November 21, 2014

Washington D.C. - Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council offers the following quotes on the polic

  • Press Release

President’s Executive Actions on Immigration Should Spur Congressional Action

November 6, 2014

Washington D.C. – From the perspective of immigration reformers, Tuesday’s election is unlikely to change the gridlock that has stymied immigration reform for more than 15 years.

  • Press Release

136 Leading Experts on Immigration Law Agree: President Has Legal Authority to Expand Relief

September 3, 2014

Washington D.C. — U.S.

  • Press Release

Court Approves Settlement in Duran Gonzalez v. DHS; Webinar Tomorrow

July 29, 2014

Last week, the federal district court issued its final approval of a settlement agreement

  • Press Release

President Provides Immediate Relief, Creates Architecture for Reform

July 20, 2014

Washington D.C. - After decades of congressional neglect, tonight President Obama took a crucial and courageous step toward reforming our immigration system.

  • Blog

Once Again, Undocumented Youth Find Themselves in Legal Limbo After Court Decisions

October 20, 2022

After months of waiting for decisions on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth are back to where they started—waiting...

  • Blog

A New Bill Would Allow Millions of Immigrants to Apply for Green Cards

October 11, 2022

On September 28, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill in Congress that would allow millions of immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years to become Lawful Permanent...

  • Blog

DACA Is Facing a Crisis That the Senate Can No Longer Ignore

October 7, 2022

Written by Jorge Loweree and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council More than a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first created the Deferred Action for Childhood...

  • Press Release

Congress Must Ensure a Permanent Solution and Expand Protections for Dreamers as Litigation Over DACA Continues

October 5, 2022
While DACA will continue to temporarily remain in effect for renewals, the program is on tenuous ground as its legality is again tested before a Texas trial court hostile to immigrants.
  • Blog

Biden Administration Close to Reaching Increased Cap on Employment-Based Green Cards

September 13, 2022

The Biden administration is close to using all of the employment-based immigrant visas (green cards) allotted for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced...

  • Blog

Immigration Status Will No Longer Be a Barrier for Aspiring Lawyers in New Mexico

September 9, 2022

Written by American Immigration Council staff Leani García Torres and Raul Pinto The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative provides certain young, undocumented immigrants with a...

  • Blog

Biden Moves to Stabilize the Lives of Hundreds of Thousands of DACA Recipients, but Critical Work Remains

August 30, 2022

Last week, the Biden administration published the final version of a regulation that seeks to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and provide a modicum of...

  • Press Release

Biden Administration Moves to Shore Up DACA Protections but Congress Needs to Act

August 25, 2022
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomed newly published regulations that will offer more certainty for the DACA program and represent a positive step towards protecting some Dreamers.
  • Blog

What you need to know about the new proposal to update The Registry

July 28, 2022

Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least seven years to legalize their status. The...

  • Blog

USCIS Restores Pathway to a Green Card for TPS Holders

July 11, 2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new policy memorandum on July 1 that eliminated a barrier for many Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and restored a pathway...

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