Request for Legal Assistance

Seeking asylum is a basic human right, protected by both U.S. and international law. The National Immigration Law Center works to protect the right to seek asylum, fighting against harsh laws and advocating for humane and fair solutions to modernize our immigration system in a way that treats all people with respect.

NILC challenges the mistreatment of immigrants in Customs and Border Protection custody through litigation and federal advocacy. We work to hold administrations of both parties accountable by exposing and opposing policies that tear families apart, incarcerate children, undermine due process, and encourage racial profiling of immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. Learn more about our border and asylum work.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program that helps young immigrants who grew up in the U.S. avoid deportation and allows them to work. However, some politicians have attacked DACA from the start, causing uncertainty for those who rely on it.

DACA recipients need a pathway to citizenship, but Congress has not provided a pathway or permanent protection. Since drafting the original bipartisan DREAM Act in 2001, NILC has been a leading advocate for protections for immigrant youth, successfully defending DACA against the Trump administration’s unlawful attempts to end it, including a Supreme Court victory in 2019. Texas and several other states have challenged the legality of DACA itself and the case is winding its way through the courts. While the case remains pending, current DACA recipients may renew their DACA status, but no new DACA applications are being accepted. Learn more about our DACA work.

A driver’s license is not just an identification card; it opens the door to opportunity, helping people get to work safely, to pick up their kids from school, go to the doctor and travel around their community.

When everyone, no matter their immigration status, can get a driver’s license, our communities become safer and stronger. At NILC, we successfully challenged discriminatory laws in Arizona and Indiana that denied equal access to these essential documents. While much work remains, we are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their country of origin or immigration status, can access a driver’s license. Learn more about our driver’s license work.

Economic justice means that everyone, no matter who they are or where they were born, can participate in the economy and have the tools they need to succeed. We are fighting for a system where people can not only survive—by earning a living wage and having access to health care, housing, and education—but can thrive.

For years, NILC has worked to get rid of barriers to the essential safety nets that families need to live healthy and full lives. We successfully challenged the Trump administration’s cruel wealth test that made it harder for people to immigrate to the U.S. or be granted lawful permanent resident status because of their income. We also urged President Biden to create new policies to reduce unfair treatment based on income and race. Additionally, we are pushing for changes that would make it easier for everyone to pay taxes and access important economic support like the Child Tax Credit. Learn more about our economic justice work.

The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) fights to protect the right of all children, regardless of immigration status, to attend public schools in the U.S. We also work to make it easier for students to access higher education through legal action, policy changes, and community support. NILC has successfully helped undocumented students access education in states like California and Alabama and recently launched a nationwide campaign to protect access K-12 education for all students. Learn more about our education work.

Affordable health care is often limited based on immigration status, creating an unjust system. The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) advocates for policy reform at the federal, state, and local levels to ensure that all immigrants, regardless of legal status, receive access to affordable care. NILC has defended attempts that weaken access to health care or enact discriminatory restrictions policies in court.

We know that health care for all is possible. Through our work with state partners, we have advanced new programs for immigrants excluded from federal health coverage. Some states have advanced coverage for immigrant children or seniors while others have moved to implement access to affordable health coverage for all immigrants.

We successfully challenged Trump-era “public charge” policy in court, worked to improve language access civil rights requirements, and led the charge to expand access to health coverage to DACA recipients. Learn more about our health care work.

The National Immigration Law Center challenges federal, state, and local enforcement policies and practices whose main targets are low-income immigrants and their families. These unjust enforcement policies rip families apart, encourage racial profiling and weaken due process.

We file lawsuits against unjust enforcement policies, like the mistreatment of immigrants in Customs and Border Protection custody and the Trump administration’s Muslim Ban. We sue to stop unjust state laws, like Texas’ S.B.4 and Oklahoma’s HB 4156, which attempt to usurp federal immigration authority. We also advocate for federal, state, and local laws and policies that protect immigrant communities from government overreach or abuse. Learn more about our enforcement work.

In 1996 changes to federal welfare and immigration laws gutted the federal safety net for vulnerable families and targeted immigrant eligibility for a variety of programs that support basic needs. Since that time, some federal and state programs have been partially restored and provide critical services, but it is extremely difficult to keep current with the latest rules, even for experts.

Our website has information on eligibility and other rules governing immigrants’ access to federal public benefits programs. Many states have attempted to fill in the gaps in noncitizen coverage resulting from the 1996 laws, either by choosing federal options to cover more eligible noncitizens or by spending state funds to cover at least some of the immigrants who are ineligible for federally funded services.

In determining an immigrant’s eligibility for benefits, it is necessary to understand the federal rules as well as the rules of the state in which an immigrant resides. Updates on federal and state rules are available on NILC’s website in English.

Safe workplaces mean all people—no matter where we come from or our immigration status—should be paid fairly and have safe and healthy working conditions. This includes the ability to report abuse or labor violations without fear of deportation or retaliation by employers.

The National Immigration Law Center fights to empower immigrant workers by advocating for inclusive laws, policies, and reforms that improve workplaces for everyone. NILC also defends the rights of immigrant workers in the context of worksite immigration enforcement, including worksite raids, I-9 audits, E-Verify, and “no match” letters.” NILC also provides know-your-rights training and educational materials, and challenges worker abuse in court. Learn more about our workers workers’ rights work.