Immigration lawyers
Immigration lawyers are legal professionals who specialize in assisting immigrants with navigating the complexities of U.S. immigration law. Their role has become increasingly significant due to the evolving and often restrictive nature of immigration regulations. Historically, the need for specialized immigration attorneys arose during the late 19th century when the U.S. government began to impose stricter controls over immigration. As a result, these lawyers have developed into essential advocates, helping clients understand the administrative procedures and legal requirements for entry and residency.
The field of immigration law has expanded dramatically since the establishment of the American Immigration Lawyers' Association (AILA) in 1946, which promotes professional standards and education among practitioners. Some immigration lawyers also engage in social-cause lawyering, advocating for immigrant rights and supporting asylum claims for individuals fleeing violence and persecution. Despite the challenges, including instances of corruption within the profession, immigration lawyers remain crucial allies for individuals seeking to navigate the often daunting immigration system. They provide tailored legal guidance, helping immigrants make informed decisions and alleviating some of the stress associated with the immigration process.
Immigration lawyers
DEFINITION: Attorneys who specialize in representing immigrants
SIGNIFICANCE: As the complexities and restrictions of United States (US) immigration law have increased, the legal profession’s subspecialty of immigration lawyers has flourished, extending in some cases to social-cause lawyering.
During the era of relatively open immigration that existed in the US until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, there was little need for specialized immigration lawyers. However, as the federal government began enacting immigration restrictions during the 1870s, a new field arose in the legal profession: lawyers who specialized in helping immigrants navigate the increasing stream of regulations and restrictions emanating from the federal government.
Immigration Lawyers on Ellis Island
During the 1890s, the US Congress established exclusive oversight over immigration to the US. It established official immigration reception stations on Ellis Island in New York Harbor in 1892 and on Angel Island in California’s San Francisco Bay in 1910. These immigration facilities were staffed by federal officials enforcing the restrictions enacted by Congress in a series of immigration acts. Immigrants responded by beginning to turn, in large numbers, to lawyers to assist them in the immigration process.
Given the almost plenary power vested in immigration officials at that time, early immigration lawyers played a mostly advisory role. Becoming experts in the administrative processes required for immigration, lawyers coached their clients on what to say to customs officials and tried, usually in vain, to appear as counsel for their clients in immigration proceedings. However, in cases that went before the immigration Boards of Special Inquiry, which were authorized in 1893 to make determinations as to the entry of aliens, lawyers played more active roles.
Records have survived from about 424 appeals of decisions made by Boards of Special Inquiry in New York during the 1890s. In 277 cases—about two-thirds of the total—the immigrants involved were represented by attorneys. Of the 277 cases involving attorneys, five of the attorneys appeared in five or more appeals each, thus demonstrating a nascent immigration bar. The most notable of the five attorneys was Henry Gottlieb of the firm of MacKinley & Gottlieb, who handled eighty-five appeals. A lawyer named John Palmieri handled the second-greatest number of appeals, thirty-seven. Given that the 1890s represented the first great wave of Jewish and Italian immigration to New York, it is safe to conclude that Gottlieb specialized in helping Jewish immigrants and that Palmieri helped Italian immigrants.
Social Cause Immigration Lawyering
Both immigration and federal immigration legislation steadily increased during the first decades of the twentieth century. With these increases came growth in the number of immigration lawyers. Once part-time legal work for general practitioners, lawyers practicing immigration cases were increasingly becoming full-time specialists. With this increased specialization came two developments.
The first development was the immigration lawyer’s Bar Association began looking to promote its own professionalization and expertise. The American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA) was founded in 1946 as a national nonprofit organization dedicated to practicing and teaching immigration law. In 1975, it had about 600 members. By 1985, its membership had grown to about 1,800 lawyers. In 2009, the association claimed more than 11,000 lawyers and law professors as its members, with thirty-six chapters and more than fifty national committees. By 2024, the AILA had over 16,000 members, comprising practicing immigration attorneys and professors. The organization had thirty-nine local and regional chapters and expanded its reach internationally. AILA continued operating through over fifty national committees, each focusing on a unique aspect of immigration law.
In the second development, some immigration lawyers began to consider their specialty an opportunity for social-cause lawyering. The AILA established in 1987 the American Immigration Law Foundation (later renamed the American Immigration Council) as a charitable organization to advocate on behalf of immigrants and to promote public awareness of immigration issues. One of the most successful examples of social-cause lawyering was that of immigration lawyers securing the right to asylum of refugees from the violence engulfing Central America during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In alliance with members of the Sanctuary movement, immigration lawyers filed politically oriented lawsuits such as Orantes-Hernandez v. Meese (1988), American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh (1991), and Mendez v. Reno (1993). After years of litigation, these lawyers helped secure the right of Salvadorans and Guatemalans to obtain asylum status in the US, even though the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala were nominally allies of the US, receiving extensive American support. Other groups that advocated for immigration rights and accessible borders included the American Civil Liberties Union, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Immigration Forum, and the National Immigration Law Foundation.
Practicing Immigration Law for Profit
Immigration remains a complicated issue in twenty-first-century America. Obtaining residency in the modern US can be arduous, and most aliens seeking residency require legal services. Many lawyers have generously devoted their time to assisting immigrants with reduced or no fees. However, as the size of the legal profession in the US has boomed, and as more avenues have been opened for solicitation and profit-making by lawyers, the immigration bar has become plagued by allegations of corruption, scandal, and exploitation. In 1985, several high-profile immigration lawyers were convicted and disbarred. In 2003, immigration lawyer Samuel Kooritzky was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for engaging in immigration fraud through his Capital Law Centers. In 2005, the federal Executive Office for Immigration Review disciplined fifty-four immigration lawyers. As the twenty-first century progressed, additional scandals came to light. In 2024, Kofi Amankwaa, a Bronx-based immigration lawyer, and his son, Kofi Amankwaa, Jr., were charged with orchestrating a large-scale immigration fraud scheme. The Amankwaas filed hundreds of false claims of immigrant abuse under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), hoping to sway the immigration status of their clients.
Still, in the twenty-first century, immigration lawyers remain valuable partners for foreigners seeking to navigate the complex US immigration system. Immigration lawyers provide a roadmap for the complicated and frequently changing US immigration laws. They provide the expertise necessary for immigrants to make informed decisions. Immigration lawyers can tailor their expertise to specific cases and people from distinct countries. They can be immigration advocates and protect the rights of their clients. During an already stressful situation of immigrating to a new country and culture, immigration lawyers can ease the stress on the individual making the journey.
Bibliography
"AILA - About." American Immigration Lawyers Association, www.aila.org/about. Accessed 2 Sept. 2024.
Anthes, Louis. Lawyers and Immigrants, 1870-1940: A Cultural History. Levittown, N.Y.: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2003.
"Bronx Legal Office under Fire for Deceptive Immigration Services." Brooklyn Eagle, 23 Jan. 2024, brooklyneagle.com/articles/2024/01/23/bronx-legal-office-under-fire-for-deceptive-immigration-services. Accessed 2 Sept. 2024.
"Immigration Lawyers: Who Are They & What's Their Role." MetLife, 7 Nov. 2023, www.metlife.com/stories/legal/immigration-lawyer. Accessed 2 Sept. 2024.
Salyer, Lucy. Laws Harsh as Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995.
Sarat, Austin, and Stuart Scheingold, editors. Cause Lawyers and Social Movements. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2006.
Serrill, Michael. "A Booming but Tainted Specialty." Time, July 8, 1985.
Warner, Judith, editor. Battleground Immigration. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2009.