FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2021

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

NILC and NILC Immigrant Justice Fund Statement on Immigration Executive Orders Issued by Newly Inaugurated President Biden

WASHINGTON — Upon the inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th president of the United States and the subsequent issuing of executive orders and announcement of proposed legislation addressing immigration policy, Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, issued the following statement:

“The inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala D. Harris marks a new day for our country and for our shared humanity. We at the National Immigration Law Center are celebrating with renewed hope and resolve to continue working toward a more just, inclusive, and equitable society, where all of us have the freedom to thrive. We are encouraged by the Biden administration’s commitment to improving the lives of immigrants, which was demonstrated today with decisive actions on his first day in office.

“President Biden is fulfilling a campaign promise to restore hope and stability through DACA to more than a million immigrant youth who call this country home. We celebrate this hard-fought victory alongside our courageous plaintiffs, partners, and communities, who over the years have fought, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, repeated attempts to end this transformative policy. We remain committed to working toward a permanent solution for immigrant youth and all immigrants whose home is here until they have a path to U.S. citizenship.

“On the day the first Muslim ban was issued, NILC was on the ground working with affected individuals. As thousands of people flocked to airports to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their Muslim neighbors, we successfully filed the first lawsuit to challenge and block its implementation that same weekend, which was the first of many of our legal victories over the last four years. Now, President Biden, in keeping with his campaign promise, has rescinded the Muslim ban and, in doing so, has helped our nation take an important step in reclaiming our role as a beacon of hope for all seeking a better life.

“This moment was made possible by the hard work and leadership of a multiracial and multigenerational coalition of voters who resoundingly and decisively rejected the hatred and division of the last four years. The Biden administration now has the mandate and the political power to transform our nation’s immigration policies while undoing four years of destructive and harmful actions.

“We look forward to our ongoing partnership with the Biden administration to implement a boldly pro-immigrant agenda, which must include a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people who call this country home and immediate financial relief, access to health care, and other support for all families struggling under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Finally, for our collective well-being, we must recognize that there is no economic or public health recovery without immigrants. Immigrants have played an essential role at the forefront of this pandemic, and must be included in economic relief and in access to health care and vaccines. We’re optimistic that this is something the Biden administration understands and will work to address within its first hundred days in office.

“As we celebrate today’s victories, we are mindful of all the pain, suffering, and loss we have collectively experienced under the last administration, and we remain resolute to doing our part to help our country heal, rebuild, and achieve justice and equity.”

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2021

CONTACT
– Juan Gastelum, National Immigration Law Center, 213-375-3149, [email protected]
– Maria Frausto, American Immigration Council, 202-507-7526, [email protected]

Federal Court Blocks Dramatic Immigration Courts Fee Increases

WASHINGTON — A federal court Monday blocked nearly all of a Trump administration rule that would have drastically increased fees in immigration proceedings in which the government seeks to deport immigrants, many of whom are long-term residents of the U.S.

The fee-increase rule, scheduled to take effect today, would have increased the filing fees for applications, appeals, and motions in removal proceedings by as much as nearly 800 percent. The substantial increases would have immediately denied access to justice for economically disadvantaged individuals seeking a fair day in court.

The National Immigration Law Center, the American Immigration Council, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher challenged the rule. The lawsuit, CLINIC v. EOIR, was filed on behalf of immigrants’ rights organizations and legal services providers Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA), and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).

The following reaction is from:

Lisa Graybill, legal director, National Immigration Law Center: “We are glad the court has intervened to halt the outgoing Trump administration’s unlawful last-ditch effort to price immigrants facing deportation out of due process. We urge the incoming administration to take all necessary steps to reverse these ill-conceived measures and give everyone facing deportation a fair day in court.”

Kate Melloy Goettel, legal director, litigation, American Immigration Council: “Yet again, the court rejected the administration’s shoddy rule-making, this time halting a pernicious rule that would have imposed a ‘wealth test’ on immigrants seeking a fair day in court. Without today’s ruling, the new fees would have meant increased deportations for many low-income immigrants for no other reason than their inability to afford access to the courts.”

Michelle Mendez, director, Defending Vulnerable Populations program, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc: “CLINIC, our affiliates, and our clients welcome this preliminary injunction as a much-needed moment of pause. It is not easy for low-income people to navigate the legal system, let alone as immigrants confronted by the incredibly complex immigration system, where the stakes are so high. The outcomes of their removal cases literally determine whether they can remain in this country, contributing to their families and communities, or be forced to leave their homes and loved ones forever. Sometimes, the outcomes literally mean the difference between life and death. Raising the price of access to immigration court would deny justice to many human beings, and we are grateful that this unjust act has been stopped, for now. The court recognized that the proposed fee increases would prejudice immigrants’ access to counsel, and delay or deny them justice.”

Richard Mark, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP: “The court’s decision recognizes that Congress intended for pro bono and low-cost legal services to be available to assist people facing removal proceedings. As a consequence, when EOIR sought to increase fees, it was obligated to respond to concerns about the impact of fee increases on these providers ‘in a meaningful way, not blithely dismiss them as outside the limited scope of this rulemaking.’” Added Joseph Evall, also of Gibson Dunn: “The court concluded that EOIR’s failure to consider these important concerns violated the Administrative Procedure Act. And because the increased fees would cause harm throughout the country, the court entered a nationwide injunction, rejecting defendants’ efforts to cabin the relief just to plaintiffs.”

The court’s ruling is available at https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CLINIC-v-EOIR-opinion-and-order-2021-01-18.pdf.

Plaintiffs’ litigation team includes Katherine Melloy Goettel and Emma Winger of the American Immigration Council; Robin Goldfaden, Michelle Lapointe, and Meredith Cabell of the National Immigration Law Center; and Richard Mark, Joseph Evall, Katherine Marquart, Anthony Moreno, Laura Mumm, Julianne Duran, Vladimir Semendyai, Alexandra Perloff-Giles, Ramona Lin, Josh Obear, Nanding Chen, Jialin Yang, and Kevin Reilly of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

###

Founded in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center is the leading advocacy organization in the United States exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their loved ones. NILC’s mission is grounded in the belief that everyone living in the U.S. — regardless of race, gender/gender identity, immigration, and economic status — should have equal access to justice, resources, and educational and economic opportunities that enable them to achieve their full human potential. NILC is committed to advancing its mission — which intersects race, immigration status, and class — through a racial, economic, and gender justice and equity orientation. NILC seeks to achieve just laws and policies that address systemic inequities, create narrative and culture change for an inclusive and equitable society, and build a healthier and more powerful movement.

The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change — litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. Follow the latest Council news and information on ImmigrationImpact.com and Twitter @immcouncil.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2021

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

NILC and NILC Immigrant Justice Fund Statement on Key Domestic Policy Council Immigration Appointments

WASHINGTON — Upon the announcement that President-elect Joe Biden has made two key immigration appointments to the White House Domestic Policy Council, Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, issued the following statement:

“The appointments of Esther Olavarria as deputy director for immigration and Tyler Moran as special assistant to the president for immigration are exciting and welcome developments as the incoming Biden administration continues to build its team. These appointments signal a new day for immigrants, who will have strong champions and allies in the White House in Olavarria and Moran.

“Both Olavarria and Moran have decades of experience working to improve the lives of immigrants through their legal and policy work. Olavarria brings her unparalleled expertise on the complex immigration issues that need to be addressed, coupled with her own immigrant experience. Moran brings a wealth of expertise on a range of issues impacting immigrants from her past work with key stakeholders at the federal, state, and local levels.

“NILC applauds these appointments, and we are especially pleased that Moran, who formerly served as NILC’s federal policy director, will play an instrumental role in developing a pro-immigrant agenda under the Biden administration, including creating a pathway to U.S. citizenship for the 11 million immigrants who call our country home.

“NILC stands ready to partner with and support the work of Olavarria, Moran, and all the leaders announced today in their new roles, both as they work to undo the harm from the last four years and also in designing and implementing a boldly pro-immigrant agenda, so that our nation can again be a beacon for those seeking a better life in our country.”

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2021

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

NILC Denounces Anti-Democratic Assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump-incited Mob

WASHINGTON — Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, issued the following statement after a riotous mob of Trump supporters violently attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021:

“The violent mobs attempting to disrupt the democratic process on Wednesday were the direct result of years of divisive rhetoric by Donald Trump and his enablers, rooted in white supremacy and division by race, class, and immigration status. The events that unfolded and the response by law enforcement also openly exposed the inequities in how peaceful protestors of color are treated.

“This was an assault on the will of the American people, who have spoken and overwhelmingly voted for Joe Biden. The election is over. Our nation’s leaders must be united in condemning this violence on our nation’s Capitol and hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

“In just under two weeks, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the next president and vice president of the United States. Democracy has prevailed, but it is frail, and it requires all of us to work together to strengthen it.

“We should learn from the multiracial organizing in Georgia that resulted in the election of two senators who have committed to represent all Georgians. We are witnessing history and look forward to helping rebuild the country so everyone, including immigrants, has the freedom to thrive.”

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2021

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

NILC and NILC Immigrant Justice Fund Statement on Nomination of Merrick Garland for U.S. Attorney General

WASHINGTON — On January 8, 2021, Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, issued the following statement on the nominations of Judge Merrick Garland for U.S. attorney general, Kristen Clarke for assistant attorney general for Civil Rights, and Vanita Gupta for associate attorney general.

“Merrick Garland is the right person at the right time to lead the U.S. Department of Justice. After four years of lawlessness and devaluing of our country’s moral and ethical code, it is vital that the United States again restore its respect for justice, due process, and equitable enforcement of the laws of our nation.

“As the next attorney general, Merrick Garland will be faced with significant challenges, including legal battles still in the courts over Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. We look forward to working closely with Garland in his capacity as attorney general to restore our country’s moral standing in the world and again become a beacon of hope for those seeking a better life.

“We applaud President-elect Biden’s nominations of top leaders in our legal profession to lead the Department of Justice along with Merrick Garland, including Lisa Monaco, who will be an experienced deputy attorney general and will be able to lead from day one. We at NILC look forward to working with her to reverse the devastating anti-immigrant policies adopted by the Trump administration.

“We are particularly thrilled to have our close colleagues Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke also named to the leadership of DOJ. Gupta is an impeccable choice to serve as associate attorney general, having previously led the Civil Rights Division under President Obama. She is exactly the visionary leader we need now more than ever, and the department, and the American people, will be well served by her.

“Clarke is a tireless fighter for civil rights, and she is the right person to lead the department’s Civil Rights Division. The Civil Rights Division will play a key role in restoring the DOJ’s reputation with communities that count on its unwavering commitment to uphold civil and constitutional rights for all, particularly voting rights, which are critical to safeguarding our democracy.”

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2021

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

NILC and NILC Immigrant Justice Fund Statement on Nomination of Marty Walsh as Secretary of Labor

WASHINGTON — Upon the announcement that President-elect Joe Biden will be nominating Marty Walsh to lead the U.S. Department of Labor, Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, issued the following statement:

“President-elect Biden has decided that Marty Walsh is the best choice to lead the Department of Labor, and we at NILC applaud his choice. As the current mayor of Boston and someone with roots in the labor movement and, in particular, the building trades, Walsh has the trusted relationship with the labor movement and experience to lead the department during these unprecedented times.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, increasing economic inequality, and the needs of essential workers, 70 percent of whom are immigrants, must be priorities for the next secretary of Labor, and we at NILC look forward to working with incoming Secretary Walsh to address these needs as we work to ‘build back better’ and to ensure that we have robust enforcement of all workers’ rights, including the rights of immigrant workers.”

# # #