Appleseed and our Centers have worked on immigration for many years and assumed an important national role. 

Almost a decade ago, a trade association representing a group of depository institutions approached Appleseed and pointed out that when immigrants leave the U.S., they often leave children and assets behind. Depository institutions want physical assets returned to the rightful owner rather than have them languish in a bank or credit union.

In response, Appleseed worked with several pro bono partners to draft its first “Protecting Assets and Child Custody in the Face of Deportation: A Guide for Practitioners Assisting Immigrant Families” in 2009. The Guide, also known as the Deportation Manual, was updated in 2012 and again in 2017 and 2018. This publication is available in English and Spanish and has been distributed to hundreds of thousands of attorneys, social workers, child welfare professionals, tax and insurance specialists, psychologists, immigration advocates and more. 
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Immigration Work

Over the course of the last decade, Appleseed’s national network office has merged forces with several of our Centers, as well as important pro bono partners to undertake complementary issues (listed in reverse chronological order):

• 2017: Appleseed and dozens of pro bono partners collaborate to complete update and release a new edition of “Protecting Assets and Child Custody in the Face of Deportation: A Guide for Practitioners Assisting Immigrant Families”. ​
• 2016: Chicago Appleseed, Appleseed and Akin Gump publish “Getting Off the Assembly Line: Overcoming Immigration Court Obstacles in Individual Cases.” This Practice Guide for attorneys provides an overview of immigration court proceedings, as well as specific sections on working with clients in detention, obtaining client documents from the government, pre-hearing communications with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), dealing with interpretation and videoconferencing challenges and reporting immigration judge and DHS attorney misconduct. The Guide also provides several template and sample documents to assist attorneys in these cases.
• ​2014: Appleseed, along with eight Appleseed Centers and our pro bono partners at Akin Gump, released "A DREAM Deferred: From DACA to Citizenship: Lessons from DACA for Advocates and Policymakers," a comprehensive review of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The report also provides guidance for improving the DACA program, running group clinics to reach those who have yet to apply, and implementing a more permanent immigration reform solution.
• 2013: Working with U.S. Senator Chris Coons, Chicago Appleseed and Appleseed successfully saw the approval of an amendment to S.744, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate, which mandated that immigrants should not have to file Freedom of Information Act requests in Immigration Court to receive their own records. 
• 2012: Appleseed and Chicago Appleseed (with the support of Akin Gump and Latham & Watkins) released an update to the original “Assembly Line” report titled “Reimagining the Immigration Court Assembly Line: Transformative Change for the Immigration Justice System.” 
• 2011: Mexico Appleseed and Appleseed publish “Children at the Border: The Screening, Protection and Repatriation of Mexican Unaccompanied Minors,” which focused on U.S. compliance with the Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act and the Mexican government’s treatment of repatriated minors. This report won an award from UNICEF Mexico in 2012.
• 2009: Chicago Appleseed and Appleseed publish “Assembly Line Injustice: Blueprint to Reform America’s Immigration Courts,” focused on the operation of the immigration courts, followed by direct advocacy with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the agency responsible for the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. 

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​Tools and Resources

InformedImmigrant.com and 
​InmigranteInformado.com
A comprehensive website for individuals, service providers, and educators containing important resources and trusted information on being undocumented in the U.S.

Lawful Permanent Residents and the January 27, 2017 Executive Order  
​Memorandum by Nixon Peabody

Attorney Resources for Representing Minors in the Wake of President Trump’s Recent Executive Orders 
​Memorandum by Skadden, February 10, 2017

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