Blog: Think Immigration
We believe that immigration law is an integral part of America’s past, present and future. We also know that immigration law is complicated. Here you’ll find experts writing in an accessible way about immigration issues, from big, broad ideas down to specific cases. Our members bring knowledge they’ve gleaned from the daily practice of immigration law to this space and offer their expertise to readers.
Browse the Blog: Think Immigration collection
Think Immigration: How AILA Helps Members Create Sustainable and Client-Focused Immigration Law Practices
AILA Practice and Ethics Counsel Charity Anastasio shares some key indicators from the AILA Practice Pulse study, which “offers a compelling look at how lawyers who understand themselves and their businesses are better equipped to serve their clients and communities.”
Think Immigration: Zealously Representing Clients in the Face of Trump Administration Attacks
AILA Past President Kathleen Campbell Walker describes how the Trump Administration's rapid changes to immigration agency policies, such as arming USCIS agents, combined with "eviscerating existing long-established uses of discretion based on regulations" affect immigration attorneys.
Think Immigration: Excluding International Students Hurts Agency Efficiency and the National Economy
AILA Policy and Practice Associate Mariah Ferguson details how the changes to policies affecting international students will not only affect the students themselves, but also agency efficiency, institutions of higher education, American students, and the national economy as well.
Think Immigration: Lighting the Path to Citizenship: AILA’s 20th Annual Citizenship Day
AILA Grassroots Advocacy Associate Paul Rampersaud highlights the 20-year history of AILA Citizenship Day and the ways our members have helped change lives and foster community through this important and inspiring pro bono effort. There is still time to get involved, find out how in this blog post.
Think Immigration: Citizenship as a Weapon: Is Denaturalization an Increasing Threat?
Gunda Brost, Past Chair of the AILA IA-NE Chapter, describes how citizenship and denaturalization have been used by nations over human history and what the new actions around denaturalization efforts by the Trump Administration might presage.
Think Immigration: How to Supercharge your Intake Interviews with an AI Tag Team
AILA member Jared Jaskot describes how he uses AI during an initial review for asylum seekers, allowing the attorney to dig in to see what might have been missed and ensure a more efficient process. His template could be modified to help with other areas of immigration law.
Think Immigration: DC Court Holds Firm Against Trump Attempt to Use 212(f) to End Asylum at Border
In this blog post, Miroslava Becerra Garcia and Amy Grenier dig in to the recent ruling in RAICES v. Noem in the D.C. District Court which found that the Administration did not have the right to suspend the entry of noncitizens at the U.S. Border which would have prevented claims of asylum.
Think Immigration: How Pro Bono Cases Change Lives
In this blog post, AILA member Nikki Esposito Whetstone shares three unique examples of AILA members’ pro bono work that changed the lives of clients, and the attorney members who were able to use their legal expertise and “skills in service of those with nowhere else to turn.”
Think Immigration: The O-1 Visa – Building an Extraordinary Ability Case in Today’s Climate
In this blog post, AILA member Muhammed Üzüm details the O-1 visa which “remains one of the most powerful yet misunderstood pathways available to individuals with extraordinary ability” and the importance of “crafting cohesive narratives where every document supports the case’s core message.”
Think Immigration: Straight From the Horse’s Mouth – An AI Experiment That You Can Absolutely Rely Upon
As AI proliferates, AILA member Vaman Kidambi asks ChatGPT itself to describe why it can serve as a tool for research but that, “No AI model, no matter how advanced, can accurately predict decisions in this environment without oversimplifying or missing critical human and legal context.”
Think Immigration: The Fourteenth Amendment Survives in 22 States: Trump v. CASA, Inc. Call to Action!
Jeremy L. McKinney, Rekha Sharma-Crawford, and Brian S. Green team up on this blog post detailing what the SCOTUS decision on universal injunctions means for the fight to preserve birthright citizenship.
Think Immigration: Riley v. Bondi – Riley’s Silver Lining
Jeremy L. McKinney, Brian S. Green, Robert Cohen, and Rekha Sharma-Crawford write up the SCOTUS decision in Riley v. Bondi, noting 6 practical takeaways the decision means for immigration attorneys in the removal context.
Think Immigration: Reconsidering the Reconciliation Bill: What it Means for Immigration
AILA's Grassroots Advocacy Associate Paul Rampersaud details the current status of the Budget Reconciliation bill under consideration by the Senate, highlighting the need for AILA members to speak out against the harmful changes it would make to immigration law
Think Immigration: What Do Tech Savvy Immigration Agencies Owe the Tech Unsavvy
In this blog post, AILA Law Journal Author Allison Huang describes how she was inspired to dig into the use of technology in immigration agencies and courts for her article in the Spring 2025 issue of the AILA Law Journal.
Think Immigration: Eroding Trust: USCIS and EOIR’s Role in Trump-Era Immigration Enforcement
AILA staff members Heather Hogan, Cristina Rodriguez and Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres describe the impact of ICE arrests at immigration courts and USCIS interviews, and how those arrests are robbing individuals of “due process, something that has stood as a bedrock of U.S. jurisprudence and principles.”
Think Immigration: Beyond the CLE: Why Every AILA Member Should Experience the Annual Conference
Roman Zelichenko from AILA’s Member Experience Committee highlights his favorite Annual Conference experiences outside the classrooms, and why he feels “The real magic lies elsewhere and is what draws me back year after year.”
Think Immigration: Why We Had to Write About Legal Reform: The Justice Gap and Immigration Law
AILA Law Journal authors Matthew Blaisdell and Michele Carney explain why they wrote about the justice gap and immigration law, noting "by understanding what’s happening-and why-it’s-happening, we can all play a part in building a system that truly delivers justice for all."
Think Immigration: Birthright Citizenship on the Brink: Takeaways from Trump v. CASA Oral Argument
Brian Green and Jeremy McKinney describe oral arguments in Trump v. CASA, Trump v. Washington, and Trump v. New Jersey, writing “The Administration came to curb what it calls judicial overreach. The Justices instead spent two hours confronting the chaos that would erupt without a nationwide bar.”
Think Immigration: DV-Lottery Results Are Announced: Application Process in a Nutshell for Lucky Selectees Outside the U.S.
AILA member Muhammed Üzüm describes the Diversity Visa process from being drawn in the lottery to successful completion and warns against scammers in this Think Immigration blog post.
Think Immigration: Dealing with Conflicts of Interest in the PERM Context
AILA Law Journal author Olivia Shaw describes the article she wrote for the latest issue of the AILA Law Journal, focused on conflicts of interest in the PERM context, writing that the article is “especially important now given the uncertainty that plagues the U.S. immigration system.”
Think Immigration: Sometimes You Have to Take ‘Em to Court
In this blog post, Sabrina Damast describes the myriad resources for AILA members considering federal litigation noting, “federal litigation is not something scary to avoid, regardless of the day’s immigration news...[it is] an essential tool to help your clients and to help you grow as a lawyer.”
Think Immigration: The Social Security Paradox
AILA Media Advocacy Committee Member Anthony Pawelski shares some of the most common questions he has fielded about social security and immigration along with straightforward answers to correct misconceptions and misinformation.
Think Immigration: Biohacking for Beginners (and Everybody Else): Welcome to Well-Being Week in Law 2025!
AILA Well-Being Committee Member Sara Mailander highlights what's coming next week for AILA's Well-Being Week in Law 2025 and how biohacking, or “leveraging strategic habits and behaviors to optimize the way your brain works and to improve your overall wellness” can help.
Think Immigration: Why We Will Win: The Power of Unity, Diversity, and Defiance in Immigration Advocacy
In this blog post, Andrew Nietor urges his fellow AILA members to stand together, writing “Whether you’re a solo practitioner in a rural town, a nonprofit advocate in a border community, or part of a large firm in a big city—your voice and your work matter. We need each other more than ever.”
Think Immigration: You Know Who Warned Us About Trump Hundreds of Years Ago? Alexander Hamilton
As due process is under attack, AILA member Matt Maiona reflects on his career as an immigration attorney, the calling he feels to this work, and urges all of us to "stand against the threats to liberty and heed the warning that Alexander Hamilton himself left us."