Heidi Altman is the Vice President of Policy at NILC. She previously served as the Director of Policy at the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Legal Director for the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. Heidi’s work focuses on federal legislative and administrative advocacy to advance the rights of immigrant communities.
Her background includes years of supervising and providing deportation defense to people facing immigration court and appellate proceedings, and building programs to defend the rights of those in the criminal-legal-to-deportation pipeline in New York and Virginia. Heidi is a graduate of New York University School of Law.
What’s the Alternative? Instead of Detention Centers, Use Warehouses for Communities
Published Jul 7, 2026 ICE wants to use abandoned warehouses to jail immigrants on a mass scale for indefinite periods. This resource highlights alternatives uses for these spaces—from libraries to office parks—that would strengthen communities...
ICE is detaining indiscriminately. And releasing almost no one.
Published Oct 21, 2025 Immigrants in detention and their loved ones and legal representatives are facing desperation...
The Anti-Immigrant Policies in Trump’s Final “Big Beautiful Bill,” Explained
Published Aug 20, 2025 The One Big Beautiful Bill Act slashes health care, nutrition, and tax benefits while expanding detention and enforcement—harming immigrant communities and endangering the U.S. economy. The following report explains how these changes take...
What’s in Congress’s New ICE Funding Law?
Heidi Altman and Ben D’Avanzo
Published Jun 11, 2026