Center for Immigration Law and Policy News
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News and Press Releases
Immigrant Leaders at the University of California Secure Procedural Victory In Discrimination Lawsuit
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a lower court to rule on the merits of a lawsuit filed against the University of California for discriminating against undocumented students enrolled at the university. Read more.
CILP Welcomes New Director of Strategic Communications
The Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law is thrilled to welcome Sandra Hernandez as the new Director of Strategic Communications. Read more.
CILP Message to Students on 2024 Presidential Election
The 2024 presidential election result raises profound questions for immigrant communities across the United States. Read more.
Immigrant Leaders at the University of California Sue School for Discrimination
Today, a UCLA alumnus and a university lecturer, represented by attorneys from the law firm of Altshuler Berzon LLP, Organized Power in Numbers, and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, filed a lawsuit against the University of California (UC) for discriminating against undocumented students enrolled at the institution. Read more.
Amidst Rise of Anti-Immigrant Policies Across the Globe, New Report Examines Treatment of Migrants Seeking Protection in U.S. and EU
A new report released today by the Immigrants' Rights Policy Clinic, part of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, and Equal Rights Beyond Borders, a European human rights organization, takes a rare transnational look at the detention of asylum seekers, finding striking similarities in the United States (U.S.) and European Union (EU) detention systems. Read more.
New Report: Family Separation Persists at the U.S.-Mexico Border
A new report from the Immigrants' Rights Policy Clinic, part of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, sheds light on how U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to separate families at the U.S.-Mexico border. Told through timelines, policies, and personal stories, the report, entitled Cruel Indifference: Family Separation at the U.S.-Mexico Border Before and After Zero Tolerance, addresses the common misconceptions that family separation started under the Trump administration and ended under President Biden. Read more.
Federal Court Upholds Biden Immigration Parole Policy, Allows Thousands of Americans to Welcome Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to the U.S.
The federal district court for the Southern District of Texas ruled against states today in Texas v. DHS, a lawsuit that attempted to curtail the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela Humanitarian Parole program. The court found that states lacked standing to sue. Read more.
University of California Defers Promise for Equitable Student Employment
Over strong dissents from several regents, the UC Board of Regents and UC President Drake rejected undocumented students’ demands for equitable access to employment opportunities on campus through the Opportunity for All campaign, deferring for one year a May 2023 commitment that it would devise and implement a policy allowing the UC to hire students, regardless of immigration status. Read more.
No Fair Day: Damning New Report Reveals the Biden Administration’s Unlawful Treatment of Children in Immigration Courts
A damning new report finds that the Biden administration has failed children in immigration court under its watch. Despite taking important steps in its early days, the report details how the administration's policies have led to grave injustices for children facing immigration court proceedings in the United States, and resulted in tens of thousands of children ordered deported, most without legal representation or a fair day in court. Read more.
CILP Joins #WelcomeWithDignity in Rejecting Efforts to End Asylum
Several media outlets have reported that the Biden administration is willing to curtail life-saving protections to people fleeing persecution, as well as expand the use of rapid deportation proceedings for those already in the United States, in exchange for emergency foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel. Read more.
Solutions That Work? Analyzing State Employment Authorization for Noncitizens in the U.S.
Although border and asylum issues remain front and center in virtually all U.S. immigration news, a key question lurking just beneath the surface is now arising in several different contexts: Can states authorize noncitizens to work? Read CILP Faculty Co-Director Ahilan Arulanantham's latest blog post in Just Security.
UCLA Legal Experts Join Calls for U.S. Senators to Stand Against Callous Efforts to Restrict Asylum
Legal experts at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law are joining growing calls urging U.S. Senators to reject negotiations that threaten to dismantle access to asylum and other humanitarian protections. Read more.
Opportunity for All Campaign Continues as UC Regents Fail to Meet Self-Imposed Deadline for Announcing Plan to Implement Equitable Employment Opportunities for Undocumented Students
Undocumented student leaders at the University of California secured a critical victory in the Opportunity for All campaign in May 2023 as the UC Board of Regents announced their commitment to move forward with removing hiring restrictions for all UC students, regardless of immigration status. Read more.
NEW REPORT: Migration, Race, & Criminalization: Federal Criminal Entry & Reentry Laws in the United States
In June 2023, we submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) alongside the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law and several regional partners. The report details personal testimony and legal analyses of structural racism in migration throughout the Americas. The report follows our groundbreaking hearing before the IACHR in March 2023, where we were joined by more than a dozen partner organizations working across the Americas to present at a thematic hearing regarding human mobility, structural racism, and the need for an anti-racist approach. Read more.
‘Gross Miscarriages of Justice’ Continue Two Years into Biden Administration’s Fast-Track Court Program for Families Seeking Asylum
Two years ago, the Biden administration launched the “Dedicated Docket,” a fast-track immigration court program targeting families seeking asylum at our southern border, promising that it would resolve cases “more expeditiously and fairly.” Read more.
Undocumented Student Leaders Secure First Victory in Opportunity for All Campaign as UC Announces its Support of Removing Hiring Restrictions for Undocumented Students
Undocumented student leaders at the University of California secured a critical victory in the Opportunity for All campaign today as the UC Board of Regents announced their plan to move forward with removing hiring restrictions for all UC students, regardless of immigration status. Read more.
New Evidence of Horrific Treatment of Pregnant People in CBP Custody Reignites Demands For Change
Jewish Family Service of San Diego, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and ACLU of Texas, along with over 175 advocacy organizations, medical professionals, and individuals sent a letter today to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Acting Commissioner Troy Miller demanding CBP uphold the reproductive rights and health of migrants in the wake of new evidence of harm. Read more.
District Court Grants U.S. Citizens’ Motion to Intervene in Texas v. DHS
A federal district court in Texas has granted a motion by seven U.S. citizens over the objection of plaintiff states to become parties in Texas v. DHS, ensuring that their voices will be heard as they defend their ability to sponsor loved ones and others from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela through a recently announced “CHNV” humanitarian parole program. Read more.
U.S. Citizens and Leading Immigrant Rights Groups File Intervention in Texas v. DHS
A schoolteacher, a retiree, a doctor, and four other U.S. citizens asked a federal district court to allow them to become parties to Texas v. DHS to defend their ability to sponsor loved ones and others from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela through a recently announced “CHNV” humanitarian parole program. Read more.
CILP’s Ahilan Arulanantham, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Broach Child Deportations, Immigrant Representation, Temporary Protected Status and More
Ahilan Arulanantham, Professor from Practice and Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, interviewed Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Thursday, March 9 at Fordham University Law School. Read more.
In Groundbreaking Testimony, Migrant Justice Advocates from Across the Americas Highlight Effects of Racism in Migration Before the IACHR
During the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ (IACHR) Period of Sessions in Los Angeles today, the Promise Institute for Human Rights and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at UCLA Law were joined by more than a dozen partner organizations working across the Americas to present at a thematic hearing on human mobility, structural racism in the region, and the need for an anti-racist approach. Read more.
Immigration Law Scholars Publish Groundbreaking New Report Exposing Anti-AAPI Racism Behind U.S. Immigration Laws
The Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, in partnership with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, with research support by students at the UCLA School of Law, and with state funding provided at the behest of the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, published a groundbreaking new report that details the history of anti-AAPI racism in U.S. immigration policy and the devastating and pervasive impact these laws continue to have on AAPI communities to this day. Read more.
Statements By TPS Holders and Civil Rights Groups on Ninth Circuit Decision to Rehear Case Against Trump TPS Terminations
Today, the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a petition for a rehearing en banc, filed by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and their U.S.-citizen children in the case, Ramos v. Mayorkas. Read more.
Illegal Entry and Reentry Laws: Their Racism, Their Impact and the Movement to End Them
On Wednesday, November 2, at 12:15 pm Pacific, 3:15 pm Eastern, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) will host Illegal Entry and Reentry Laws: Their Racism, Their Impact, and the Movement to End Them. Read more.
Undocumented UC Student Organizers, Professors from UCLA CILP & Labor Center Launch Groundbreaking Campaign for Equal Access to Job Opportunities
Today, undocumented student organizers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), along with professors from the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Labor Center, launched Opportunity for All: a campaign that could remove significant barriers to important educational opportunities for thousands of undocumented students in the UC system. Read more.
Children Ordered Deported, Lack of Legal Representation, Families Retraumatized: Legal and Medical Professionals Call on Biden to End Dedicated Dockets
Legal service providers, court observers, medical professionals, and allied organizations from across the country are calling on the Biden administration to end the fast-track court process for families seeking asylum, known as Dedicated Dockets. Read more.
Javier Martinez Deserves the Right to Challenge Imprisonment by ICE
This week, the ACLU, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) filed an amicus brief in support of Javier Martinez, a Nicaraguan man whom the federal government has imprisoned for more than four years for a nine-year-old drug offense. Read more.
Citing Racist, Anti-AAPI History at Root of ICE Transfer Policies, Legal Experts Express Disappointment in California State Senate’s Failure to Pass the VISION Act
In response to the California State Senate failing to pass the VISION Act, Professor Hiroshi Motomura, Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, released the following statement: Read more.
Inside the U.S. Immigration System: USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou in Conversation with Professor Ahilan Arulanantham
Please join UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy’s Ahilan Arulanantham for a conversation with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur M. Jaddou, UCLA Law ‘01, on Monday, August 29, at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Read more.
CILP Sends Letter in Support of VISION Act, Exposing History of Anti-Asian Racism Behind California’s ICE Transfer Policies
The Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law sent a letter to the California State Senate yesterday urging, based on CILP’s research, support for Assembly Bill 937, the Voiding Inequality and Seeking Inclusion for Our Immigrant Neighbors (VISION) Act. Read more.
Innovation Law Lab Files Appeal in Louisiana v. CDC
Today, Innovation Law Lab, a non-profit organization that seeks to advance refugee and immigrant justice, filed its appeal brief at the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana v. CDC, a case brought in the Western District of Louisiana by Arizona, Texas, and 22 non-border states seeking to stop the Biden Administration’s termination of the Title 42 order, which has effectively shut down access to asylum at the southern border. Read more.
In Biden v. Texas, Supreme Court Rules Against Texas and Missouri, Allowing Biden Administration to End the Remain in Mexico Policy, For Now
The United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Biden v. Texas, holding that the Biden administration's decision to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain in Mexico policy, did not violate federal immigration law, and the DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ second memorandum terminating the program was a valid final agency action. Read more.
Settlement Negotiations Begin in Landmark Case Against Indefinite Detention of Immigrants
Yesterday, after 15 years of litigation, including two arguments before the Supreme Court and four before the Ninth Circuit, the Biden Administration and class counsel will begin formal settlement negotiations in Rodriguez v. Jennings, the landmark class-action lawsuit that successfully challenged ICE’s practice of jailing noncitizens for long and indefinite periods of time without a bond hearing. Read more.
Innovation Law Lab Files Motion to Stay Nationwide Injunction in Arizona v. CDC
Innovation Law Lab, a non-profit organization that seeks to advance refugee and immigrant justice, has filed a motion to stay the nationwide scope of the injunction issued in Arizona v. CDC, a case brought in the Western District of Louisiana by Arizona, Texas, and 22 non-border states seeking to stop the Biden administration’s termination of the Title 42 order. Read more.
New Report Finds Children Ordered Deported, Families Without Lawyers, and Other Gross Miscarriages of Justice on the Biden Administration's Dedicated Docket
A report released today reveals gross miscarriages of justice in the expedited immigration court docket established by the Biden administration for families seeking asylum, including the deportation of several hundred children who never had their day in court. Read more.
Innovation Law Lab, Counsel, Respond to Dangerous and Unlawful Ruling in Arizona v. CDC
In response to Judge Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana’s ruling allowing Arizona, Texas, and 22 non-border states to stop the Biden Administration from terminating Title 42, Innovation Law Lab, a nonprofit organization that has filed an amicus brief and a motion to intervene in Arizona v. CDC and their counsel, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law (CILP) and the National Immigration Project for the National Lawyers Guild, issued the following statements. Read more.
Asylum-Seeking Family and Innovation Law Lab File Motion To Intervene in Arizona v. CDC
A family seeking asylum at the California-Mexico border and Innovation Law Lab, a non-profit organization that seeks to advance refugee and immigrant justice, filed a Motion to Intervene in Arizona v. CDC. Read more.
CILP’s Ahilan Arulanantham Hosts Conversation with Lead Plaintiff in Jennings v. Rodriguez, National Leaders in Movement to Abolish Immigration Prisons
On Friday, April 22, at 12:15 pm Pacific, 3:15 pm Eastern, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) will host Immigration Prison: Hard Questions About Abolition. Read more.
Lawmakers Must Confront Racist History of Illegal Reentry Statute To Stop Perpetuating White Supremacy
Last Friday, the Center for Immigration Policy, the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies, and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Carillo-Lopez, a case involving a racial justice issue of enormous significance. Read more.
To Stop Perpetuating White Supremacy, Lawmakers Must Confront Racist History of Illegal Reentry Statute
This week, the Center for Immigration Policy, the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies, and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Rodrigues-Barios, a case involving a racial justice issue of enormous significance. Read more.
In Biden v. Texas Amicus Brief, CILP Asks Supreme Court to Limit National Injunctions
The Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law today filed an amicus brief in Biden v. Texas arguing that injunctions obtained by individual states should rarely be applied nationwide, and instead should generally be limited to the territory of the states that filed suit. Read more.
Ruling in Doe v. Mayorkas Ensures Individuals Seeking Asylum and Forced into MPP Can Continue Their Fight for Access to Counsel
This week, Judge Dana Sabraw rejected the Biden Administration’s attempts to indefinitely stay or dismiss Doe v. Mayorkas, a case challenging the government’s practice of denying access to counsel to people fleeing persecution who are forced to undergo nonrefoulement interviews along the California-Mexico border in order to be able to pursue their case for asylum in the United States, under to the Trump-era “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP). Read more.
Supreme Court Reverses Ninth Circuit, But Rules Sheik Yassir Fazaga, Ali Malik and Yasser AbdelRahim Can Pursue Their Religious Discrimination Claims In Lower Courts
Today, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to endorse the federal government’s attempt to win dismissal of the religious discrimination claims presented by Sheik Fazaga, Ali Malik, and Yasser AbdelRahim. Read more.
Trailblazing Immigration Lawyer Talia Inlender Joins UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy as Deputy Director
Talia Inlender joins CILP after launching and leading Public Counsel’s Detained Deportation Defense Program for over a decade. Read more.
The Center for Immigration Law and Policy Announces Fall Conference: The Road Ahead in Immigration Law: What Can the President Do?
Univision National Network Anchor Jorge Ramos to kick-off conference convening leading activists and scholars. Read more.
Muslim Americans File Brief Challenging Religious Discrimination in U.S. Supreme Court Case FBI v. Fazaga
At stake is whether the U.S. Government can escape accountability for secretly spying on Americans due to their religious beliefs. Read more.
Ahilan Arulanantham, Counsel for the Plaintiffs in Ramos v. Mayorkas, Responds to Extension of Temporary Protected Status
The decision impacts TPS holders from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sudan, and Haiti. Read more.
Leading Law Professors to Mayorkas: “Prosecutorial discretion guidelines need not be focused on who to deport, but who can stay.”
In a new letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a group of leading immigration law professors and scholars submitted a detailed legal analysis for the Secretary to consider prior to announcing his department’s new guidelines for prosecutorial discretion in immigration law enforcement. Read more.
CILP Welcomes Inaugural Visiting Scholar Moritz Baumgärtel
The Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law today announced that Dr. Moritz Baumgärtel has joined the Center as its first Visiting Scholar. Read more.
Seasoned Immigration Advocate Gabriela Domenzain Joins UCLA Law’s New Center for Immigration Law and Policy
The Center for Immigration Law and Policy today announced that Gabriela Domenzain, a seasoned communications professional with over twenty years of experience in immigration advocacy, media, and politics, is joining the organization to serve as its inaugural Communications Director. Read more.
UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy Hosted DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
On April 30, 2021, with the Biden administration officially past the 100-day mark, the Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, participated in the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy's first-ever virtual conference. Read more.
Learn more about Immigration Policy in the Biden Administration: The First 100 Days and Beyond, a virtual conference held April 23, April 30, and May 7, 2021.
Scholars Describe Racist Origins of Unlawful Reentry Law in Supreme Court Amicus Brief
Three leading scholars of the history of immigration law from UCLA and Columbia University filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in United States v. Palomar-Santiago. Their brief describes the explicitly racist, anti-Mexican origins of the federal law criminalizing unlawful reentry after deportation. Read more.
UCLA Law launches Center for Immigration Law and Policy with $5 million commitment
Expanding UCLA School of Law’s role as a national leader in immigration law and boosting its robust immigration programming and clinics, the school has established the Center for Immigration Law and Policy with a $5 million commitment from alumna Alicia Miñana and her husband, Rob Lovelace. Read more.