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Policy Alert: Policy Manual Updates for VAWA
Written By: ASISTA
Updated : 2/17/2026 Written : 2/3/2026On December 22, 2025, USCIS updated its Policy Manual on petitions filed under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). It noted the changes would be effective immediately and apply to all pending and future petitions. When announcing this change, USCIS explained that it was responding to filing trends, including increases in filings, higher numbers of male and parent filers, recent findings that some bad actors had committed fraud when submitting self-petitions, and the need to shore up the integrity of the immigration legal system. This Policy Alert reviews the changes USCIS highlighted and comments on their impact.
Read More →Policy Manual Updates to 8 USC § 1367 Confidentiality Protections
Written By: ASISTA
Updated : 2/17/2026 Written : 2/3/2026On December 22, 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released an update to its Policy Manual relating to confidentiality protections located at 8 USC § 1367 (“1367 protections”). The Policy Manual update was issued purportedly to “restore integrity to the legal immigration system” and to “better combat fraud and ensure that only qualified [noncitizens] receive immigration benefits.” This Policy Alert will review the changes introduced by the policy update and provide initial guidance to practitioners filing cases affected by them.
Read More →Practice Advisory: The Laken Riley Act's Mandatory Detention Provisions
Written By: National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
Updated : 10/8/2025 Written : 5/7/2025On January 29, 2025, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act (LRA) into law. The law expands no-bond detention for certain noncitizens in immigration proceedings, and it also purports to give states the ability to sue the federal government over immigration decisions they dislike, opening the door to politically motivated and discriminatory actions. The goal of this practice advisory is to support practitioners in defending noncitizens impacted by the LRA's detention provisions. It summarizes the law’s detention provisions, discusses groups of noncitizens whose detention should not be impacted by the LRA, provides potential arguments for a narrow interpretation of the provisions’ scope, describes procedural options for contesting a client’s mandatory detention under the LRA, and identifies considerations for criminal defense attorneys.
Read More →President Biden's Marijuana Pardons: Who Do the Pardons Apply To?
Written By: National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
Updated : 10/8/2025 Written : 5/7/2025This resource explains who President Biden's 2021 marijuana pardons apply to.
Read More →The INA's Distorted Definition of "Conviction"
Written By: National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
Updated : 10/8/2025 Written : 5/7/2025Criminal convictions often carry immigration consequences, including mandatory detention and deportation. A conviction is when a criminal court or jury decides that a person is guilty of a crime or a person pleads guilty to having committed a crime. This community explainer discusses the INA's distorted definition of "conviction."
Read More →The Power of a Pardon: Breaking Down the Intersection of Pardons and Immigration
Written By: National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)
Updated : 10/8/2025 Written : 5/7/2025This details the intersection of pardons and immigration and explain why increasing the accessibility, transparency, and frequency with which governors, pardoning bodies, and the president grant pardons should be an advocacy priority.
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