Federal Courts/Jurisdiction

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  • Practice Advisories

Litigation for Business Immigration Practitioners

This Practice Advisory has information practitioners need to assess whether filing suit in federal court is the right option for challenging an employment-based petition denial.

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  • Blog

Supreme Court Rules Against Citizenship Question on 2020 Census

June 28, 2019

In a rebuke to the Trump administration, the Supreme Court ruled against adding a question on citizenship to the 2020 U.S. Census form—for now. Critics feared the question may discourage immigrant...

  • Blog

Federal Court Tells ICE to Stop Arrests in Massachusetts Courthouses

June 27, 2019

In Massachusetts, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are barred from making civil arrests in courthouses. Such arrests have a chilling effect on the administration of justice...

  • Blog

Federal Court Allows Controversial ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy to Continue

May 15, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is resuming its controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy. This policy requires asylum-seeking Central American migrants who arrive at our Southern border...

  • Blog

Federal Court Stops USCIS Policy Harmful to Students and Exchange Visitors

May 7, 2019

A federal district court recently prevented U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from imposing a new policy that radically changed how the agency determines when a foreign student or...

  • Blog

Government Will Help 2,700 Central American Children Reunite With Their Families After Court Settlement

April 16, 2019

The Trump administration has agreed to reverse course and begin the process of reuniting 2,700 children living in Central America with their parents in the United States. The decision comes as...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Expansive Immigration Detention

March 21, 2019

Immigrants with even minor, dated criminal convictions will now be placed in mandatory detention without the possibility of a bond hearing—even if they have already served their time and been...

  • Blog

Appeals Court Says Asylum Seekers May Now Challenge Their Deportation in Federal Court

March 11, 2019

Many asylum seekers who travel to the United States seeking protection often receive something much less—they are arrested by immigration officials and provided no meaningful way to challenge...

  • Blog

Congress Members and Others Argue Against Turning Back Asylum Seekers

February 26, 2019

The Trump administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers has been devastating, as vulnerable people are repeatedly denied access to the asylum process at ports of entry (POEs) along the U....

  • Blog

TPS Holders from Honduras and Nepal Sue the Trump Administration Over Terminations

February 14, 2019

With the fate of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in jeopardy, immigrants from Honduras and Nepal brought a class action lawsuit against the federal government this week to stop the Trump...

  • Blog

Trump Administration’s Immigration Proposal Is Dead on Arrival

January 22, 2019

President Trump went in front of the public on Saturday and claimed he was going to propose a “compromise” to end the ongoing government shutdown. Instead of offering a bipartisan bill that would...

  • Press Release

Legal Action Center Welcomes Ninth Circuit’s Decision on Child Status Protection Act

September 28, 2012

An en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of young adults who, due to long delays caused by visa backlogs, lost the opportunity to obtain their green cards before they t

  • Press Release

Supreme Court Limits Arizona’s Overreach on Immigration, Leaves Door Open to Future Challenges

June 25, 2012

Washington D.C. - In a blow to the state anti-immigration movement, the Supreme Court ruled today that the authority to enforce immigration laws rests squarely with the federal gov

  • Press Release

Legal Action Center Files Suit Against DHS for Failure to Disclose Records on "Voluntary" Returns

June 8, 2012

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

The Council Applauds Supreme Court Decision Rejecting Retroactive Application of Immigration Law Provision

March 29, 2012

Washington, D.C.—Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court issued an important decision, Vartelas v.

  • Press Release

En Banc Court Reverses Adverse Holding, Says Immigrants Can Pursue Cases from Outside U.S.

January 30, 2012

Washington, D.C.- Today, an en banc panel of the U.S.

  • Press Release

LAC Urges Fifth Circuit to Permit Removal Cases to Continue from Outside the United States

December 15, 2011

Washington, D.C.—The Legal Action Center, along with the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG), filed an amicus brief yesterday urging the Fifth Cir

  • Press Release

Lawsuits Filed Against Department of Homeland Security Seek Greater Transparency

November 9, 2011

Washington, D.C.—The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center (LAC) this week filed two lawsuits

  • Press Release

Federal Court Decision Protects H-1B Employees from Wrongful Arrest

April 13, 2011

Washington D.C. - A recent ruling from a federal judge in

  • Press Release

Legal Action Center Pursues Campaign to Protect Judicial Review

March 30, 2011

Washington D.C. - In a continuing effort to protect the right to judicial review and promote greater federal court oversight of immigration decisions, the American Immigration Coun

  • Press Release

Legal Action Center Urges Court to Strike Down Regulation Barring Post-Departure Motions to Reopen

March 11, 2011

Washington D.C. - This week, the American Immigration Council's Legal Action Center, joined by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, submitted an amicus brief to

  • 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...

  • Blog

Trump’s Public Charge Rule Blocked Yet Again in Court

November 2, 2020

Update: On November 5, the Seven Circuit Court of appeals placed an administrative stay on the district court’s ruling, restoring the public charge rule at least temporarily. The Trump...

  • Blog

Ninth Circuit Court Allows Trump’s Plan to End Temporary Protected Status to Go Forward

September 14, 2020

In a split decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for four countries can proceed. The fate of nearly 250...

  • Practice Advisories

Requesting Attorneys' Fees Under the Equal Access to Justice Act

Publication Date: 
August 14, 2020
In the immigration context, Equal Access to Justice Act fees generally are available in petitions for review, mandamus actions, Administrative Procedure Act suits, habeas corpus actions, and naturalization actions.
  • Blog

Legal Victory Brings Hope to Asylum Seekers Turned Away at the Border

August 12, 2020

Asylum seekers got a major win in a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) illegal policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry. In Al Otro Lado v. Wolf, a...

  • Blog

Federal Court Strikes Down Trump’s Asylum Transit Ban in Momentous Victory

July 1, 2020

On June 30, a federal judge in the District of Columbia struck down the Trump administration’s asylum transit ban, ending a sweeping policy that had shut down asylum for most people entering the...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Limits Court Oversight for Fast-Track Deportations  

June 25, 2020

The Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that certain asylum seekers forced through a fast-track deportation process at the U.S. border, called “expedited removal,” cannot challenge their deportations...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Safeguards Federal Court Review of Torture Protections

June 4, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that federal courts have the authority to review certain claims from people who are seeking protection from torture. The case, Nasrallah v. Barr, is about...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Makes It Harder for Green Card Holders to Get Relief From Deportation

April 24, 2020

In a 5-4 decision on April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the types of criminal offenses that bar green card holders from seeking a form of relief from deportation. The case, Barton v. Barr,...

  • Blog

Judge Voids USCIS Asylum Policies Because Ken Cuccinelli Wasn’t Appointed Legally

March 3, 2020

The Trump administration suffered another blow on Sunday, when a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting director of U.S....

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