National Immigration Law Center


The National Immigration Law Center is a center in the United States that "engages in policy analysis, litigation, education and advocacy, to achieve vision" of "a society in which all people — regardless of race, gender, immigration or economic status — are treated fairly and humanely." They claim to concentrate on social, economic, and racial justice for low-income immigrants. They have offices in Washington, D.C., as well as in Los Angeles and Oakland, California. Their executive director is Marielena Hincapié.

Activities

NILC plays a role both in advocacy to influence legislation in a manner that would provide greater justice to immigrants and in spreading awareness and information so that immigrants can better navigate the existing social, political, and legal landscape. Unlike the National Immigrant Justice Center, they do not provide or facilitate direct legal representation to immigrants. Their activities include publishing information on immigration reform legislation, immigration enforcement, workers' rights, education, driver's licenses, taxes, and litigation. Their litigation activities are intended as impact litigation, i.e., they focus on litigation that might have an effect on state laws or on the judicial interpretation of these laws.

External coverage

Media coverage

The New York Times lists NILC as one of the main advocacy groups related to immigration in the United States, alongside the Federation for American Immigration Reform, National Immigration Forum, and American Immigration Lawyers Association. NILC has been cited in discussions of immigration and immigrant legal rights in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Washington Post.