Advocacy

The Immigrant Legal Center advocates for immigrants in our communities by providing technical support, analysis, testimony on state and federal legislative matters affecting immigrants, and engaging in impact litigation to monitor and correct errors in immigration law and enforcement.

2018 Legislative Priorities

Every year in January, the ILC board approves staff recommendations of Nebraska legislation priorities that should be addressed to protect the rights of our immigrant neighbors. The 2018 Legislative Priorities for ILC will be determined in January.

Previous Advocacy Posts
April 20, 2016: LB 947 is Now Nebraska Law
Mar 31, 2016: To BIA: Asylum Definition Needed for Families
Feb 22, 2016: Senator Kitner Halts LB966

Impact Litigation

Impact litigation involves monitoring the immigration legal environment to identify local and federal cases that fall within gaps in our current immigration system, and then addressing those errors through the laws that were made to protect our clients. When we fight for the rights of our immigrant neighbors through our impact litigation, we do so not only because it is the right thing to do, but because we are defending a tapestry of rights indispensable to the liberty of all people within the U.S—immigrants and citizens alike.

Aguinada-Lopez v. Lynch Changed Immigration Law

After the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully deported Remberto, the impact litigation team secured his return to the U.S. From now on, when judges within the Eighth Circuit weigh asylum cases, they will be required to consider family ties as a legitimate reason for seeking asylum.

• Case story: Remberto’s Impact Litigation Case Changed Immigration Law
• JFON Impact Litigation creates far-reaching change in the lives of immigrants
• JFON Supreme Court Amicus Brief

S.V. v. United States: Impact Litigation Holds Immigration Authorities Accountable

In the case of S.V. vs U.S., a U.S. citizen minor of Guatemalan descent was arrested, detained for over 40 days, and threatened with deportation for nearly a year before immigration authorities acknowledged her to be a U.S. citizen. ILC agreed to represent S.V. in a lawsuit against the U.S. to vindicate those rights and to hold immigration authorities accountable for their failure to follow the law.

• Case Story: S.V. v. United States: Impact Litigation Hold Immigration Authorities Accountable
• Summary of the case
• Complaint filed with U.S. Department of Homeland Security: FTCA Administrative Complaint
• Complaint filed with U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska: S.V. v. United States Complaint