Practice resources
Search immigration practice advisories, sample filings, manuals, brief banks, and government guidance from trusted practitioner sources.
Call and message your members of Congress telling them to oppose any effort to give ICE and Border Patrol more funding.
IMPORTANT: On February 6, 2026, the Fifth Circuit ruled in Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi , No. 25-20496, that noncitizens in removal proceedings who have not been admitted are subject to "mandatory" detention under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(A). This resource has not been updated since the Buenrostro decision. If you are filing a habeas petition in a district within the Fifth Circuit, you will need to adapt your legal claims in light of the Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision, e.g. by focusing on constitu
Quick guide on detention-release arguments for SIJS youth, including practical reminders on posture, custody, and the limits of older detention assumptions.
On December 22, 2025, DHS published a final rule impacting processing of FOIA requests by all DHS components. The rule is effective January 22, 2026. Despite the major changes made by the rule, no period of public comment was provided. The rule eliminates paper filing of FOIA requests with DHS as of January 22, 2026. FOIAs to DHS must be filed online after that date. The rule also states that DHS can, in its discretion, administratively close or make “requests for clarification” where it deems t
In recent months, practitioners have been reporting troubling new patterns in FOIA processing of A-file requests. Some people report unusually high rejection rates on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for reasons related to address requirements. Rejections due to “no record” also have been reported even where the requester is sure that there is a record because they have a partial paper trail of contacts with USCIS. Frequent over redaction of FOIA responses also has been reported. This
Motions to reopen are extremely important for people with final removal orders. Final orders of removal render people vulnerable to detention and immediate removal from the United States. However, a successful motion to reopen places the person back in active removal proceedings before an immigration judge where they can pursue immigration relief, provides additional arguments for release from detention, and prevents their immediate removal. This practical resource provides fifteen concrete step
The Trump administration’s January 2025 expansion of expedited removal to people residing in the interior of the United States has raised concerns about whether the government could try to apply this summary removal process to young people who entered the country as unaccompanied children (UCs) but no longer meet the definition. This resource – created with our partners at the Children’s Immigration Law Academy and National Immigration Project – answers common questions about expedited removal a
The Trump administration’s January 2025 expansion of expedited removal to people residing in the interior of the United States has raised concerns about whether the government could try to apply this summary removal process to young people who entered the country as unaccompanied children (UCs) but no longer meet the definition. This resource—created with our partners at the Children’s Immigration Law Academy and Immigrant Legal Resource Center—answers common questions about expedited removal an
Call and message your members of Congress telling them to oppose any effort to give ICE and Border Patrol more funding.
On September 12, 2025, the D.C. Circuit denied the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal, dissolved its temporary, partial administrative stay, and fully restored the district court’s August 1 order in CHIRLA v. Noem , a lawsuit challenging Trump 2.0 government directives applying expedited removal to paroled individuals. The August 1 order, which is now fully in effect, stays policies that allowed DHS to put individuals who were previously paroled into the United States at a port of ent
This resource is a comprehensive client intake form meant to assist practitioners in screening for immigration relief options and assessing red flags. Accompanying the intake form are notes to assist practitioners in spotting issues and relief options as well as a summary of common forms of relief. This sample client intake form is generic, to screen for general relief since the goal at the screening stage is not to make a final determination of eligibility but to assess pathways for relief.
This practice advisory provides information about recently implemented fee increases at USCIS and EOIR. These fee increases are a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” also known as HR1. This advisory explores what we know and what we still don’t know about the fees, how to pay them, and potential future changes.