Policy Briefs
AILA’s policy briefs provide in-depth insight and analysis on significant issues impacting the practice of immigration law, and offer recommendations to make the immigration law system more fair, efficient, and just. Check out all of AILA’s policy briefs below, with the most recent policy brief appearing first, and make your voice heard by supporting AILA’s advocacy priorities.
Browse the Policy Briefs collection
Policy Brief: Analysis of Proclamation and Interim Final Rule on “Securing the Border”
President Biden signed a proclamation, and the Administration issued an Interim Final Rule as well as a Final Rule, “Securing the Border,” relying in part on the authority in INA 212(f) that will effectively bar access to asylum for most people arriving between ports of entry when in effect.
Policy Brief: Ending the Reign of Lozada and Removing Barriers to Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims in Immigration Law
People rely on attorneys during stressful times, and ineffective assistance of counsel can have severe consequences. AILA provides a policy brief on how the Lozada standard burdens immigrants and attorneys in their effort to pursue justice when IAC occurs in removal proceedings.
Policy Brief: Presidential Authority to Block or Expel Migrants
President Biden is considering restricting the number of migrants who can enter the United States and barring asylum seekers for extended periods. AILA would oppose this policy if it prevents asylum seekers from receiving fair and accurate consideration of their requests for asylum.
Policy Brief: Solutions for the Border and America's Immigration System
AILA presents solutions to Congress and the President to address the border and modernize America’s immigration system. With the dramatic shifts in worldwide migration sustained action is needed at the U.S. southern border to ensure the fair, fast, and orderly processing of arriving migrants.
Policy Brief: Breaking Down Walls - The Status of AILA’s Customer Service Recommendations
In February 2021, AILA highlighted a shift away from USCIS's mission, affecting customer service. It proposed nine improvements for USCIS and three for Congress to enhance accountability. Despite progress, challenges remain, with AILA urging further action to ensure better service and efficiency.
Policy Brief: AILA Analysis of the Border and Immigration Provisions of the “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024”
With unprecedented levels of global migration and an outdated U.S. immigration system pushing more migrants to the southern border, solutions are urgently needed. The Senate’s emergency spending bill includes the most extensive border funding and security measures proposed in decades, perhaps ever.
Policy Brief: Why Limiting or Removing Parole Is Disastrous for Border Management
AILA provides a policy brief explaining why legislating away or limiting the authority to grant parole would needlessly strain the United States’ resources at the southern border and undermine efforts to manage it.
By the Numbers: Nationwide Expansion of Expedited Removal Will Endanger Millions of Mixed-Status Families Across the United States
AILA joined organizations who represent undocumented community members and their families in assessing the impact of proposals to expand expedited removal to the interior as part of congressional border supplemental package negotiations.
Policy Brief: Border Solutions Are Attainable, But Proposals Under Consideration Fall Far Short
America urgently needs solutions to manage unprecedented migration levels arriving at the U.S. southern border. With volumes exceeding capacity, there is a greater imperative for the country to exercise control over its borders and process migrants more rapidly, efficiently, and fairly.
What Would Be the Impact of Expanding Expedited Removal Nationwide?
AILA provides a policy brief about why we oppose a nationwide expansion of expedited removal. It would undermine due process, not improve border security or border processing of migrants, and could be used for mass deportations that would be disastrous for American communities and the economy.
Policy Brief: What Would Be the Impact of Capping Asylum
AILA provides a policy brief on the idea of limiting the number of people who could receive asylum, which has been proposed as a way to reduce or limit migration at the U.S. southern border. A cap intended to block or limit asylum seekers is not an effective solution to managing border migration.
Policy Brief: The Asylum Credible Fear Standard
Proposed legislation has threatened to further restrict access to asylum. AILA opposes this change. This brief explains the current law governing this part of the asylum process called the credible fear interview.
Policy Brief: Barriers to Immigrant Visas Driving Migrants to the Southern Border
AILA provides a policy brief that connects visa delays at the Department of State with pressure on migrants to cross the southern border without authorization. Most of these delays are a result from a lack of resources and insufficient funding, as well as inefficiencies in the agencies’ processing.
Policy Brief: Guiding Principles for an Electronic Service of the Notice to Appear
Recent developments in technology and increased migration encounters have generated interest in creating electronic systems for processing and serving NTAs. AILA provides a policy brief that outlines the parameters electronic systems and electronic service must have in order to preserve due process.
High-Stakes Asylum: How Long an Asylum Case Takes and How We Can Do Better
AILA released a first-of-its-kind report on asylum timelines, High-Stakes Asylum: How Long an Asylum Case Takes and How We Can Do Better. The report is based on a survey of over 300 asylum attorneys about how much time it takes to prepare an asylum application.
Policy Brief: What Does Effective Border Management Look Like?
To ensure lasting and meaningful change at the border, border security reforms must happen in tandem with other improvements to the immigration system. AILA offers recommendations for efficient, fair border processing, and managing migration.
Policy Brief: Timing Considerations for Effective Representation in Asylum Cases
AILA provides a policy brief on how mandating asylum processing times tread into territory that imperils our nation’s commitment to due process by creating inflexible timelines that on a practical level do not allow meaningful access to counsel for asylum seekers. s
AILA Policy Brief: Case Management: An Effective and Humane Alternative to Detention
AILA summarizes current DHS alternative to detention options and urges Congress to fund a new approach. Case management programs are a more humane and effective approach to obtaining compliance with immigration requirements while also helping migrants navigate complex removal proceedings.
Making Headway: An Update on DOS’s Progress toward Addressing Inefficiencies and Delays Created by COVID-19
AILA provides a policy brief on the status of our June 2021 recommendations to DOS for reducing backlogs and delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as additional recommendations that might help the agency.
Policy Brief: Use of Virtual Hearings in Removal Proceedings
AILA and the American Immigration Council make detailed recommendations on the use of virtual technology in immigration hearings, describing the challenges of video teleconferencing and recommending agency standards and guidance.
AILA Policy Brief: Recommendations on the Expansion and Implementation of Immigration Legal Representation Programs
AILA provides recommendations on the implementation of immigration legal representation programs based on the findings of the AILA Legal Representation Task Force.
AILA Policy Brief — Righting the Ship: The Current Status of USCIS Processing Delays and How the Agency Can Get Back on Course
AILA provides an update on the current state of USCIS processing delays and offers 11 recommendations for how USCIS and members of Congress can right the ship and get the agency back on course toward efficient processing of benefits.
Policy Brief: Reopening America - How DOS Can Reduce Delays and Eliminate Backlogs and Inefficiencies to Create a Welcoming America
AILA provides sensible recommendations for policies and procedures that the Department of State and Biden administration can implement to overcome the hurdles created by the COVID-19 global pandemic, while reestablishing America as a welcoming nation.
Policy Brief: Moving the Nation Forward by Leaving Immigration Detention Behind
AILA issued a policy brief calling on Congress and the Biden administration to move away from the nation’s harmful and grossly overused detention system. The brief provides recommendations for reducing and phasing out immigration detention, including community-based case management support.
Policy Brief: How USCIS Can Dismantle the Invisible Wall Slowing Case Adjudication
AILA offers a policy brief with recommendations for actions that USCIS can take to improve its efficiency in adjudications, including eliminating mandatory in-person interview requirements for routine cases, reusing biometrics and waiving the biometrics requirement for certain groups, and more.