Immigrant and Refugee Research and Resources Guide
Notice:
The goal of this guide is to provide resources and information for TCC students, staff, and faculty. This guide is informational and does not reflect or provide legal guidance or advice. If you are seeking immigration guidance and/or legal assistance, please explore the resources on the tabs above and reach out to those agencies and organizations directly.
As of January 20, 2025 there are sweeping changes to immigration, migration and deportation policies, and to the practices of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, U.S. Armed Forces, and local law enforcement within the scope of their duties. At the most current update of this guide, February 12, 2025, there are many questions that remain unanswered about the scope of and the legality of proposed changes. Most links to resources in this guide will lead to updated information, but you should always check when any resource has been last updated before accepting the information that you find there.
Below is a 6-minute video offering strategies about how to search for up-to-date information about immigrant, migrant, and refugee law and status in the United States.
Disclosure: The above transcripts were translated from the original English using ChatGPT.
Websites and organizations
Legal Assistance Resources
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration ServicesUSCIS Contact Center, includes a "Live Assistance" option.
- Catholic Immigration Legal Services (Washington)Catholic Immigration Legal Services (CILS) provides quality legal immigration assistance to low-income residents of Washington. Currently, CILS provides free citizenship/N-400 application assistance to people who are currently on public benefits or living in the city of Seattle, and free citizenship and green card assistance to refugees and asylees who have been in the U.S. less than five years. CILS has two office locations: Seattle and Mt. Vernon.
- Colectiva Legal del Pueblo (Washington)Offers free or low-cost legal services to detained individuals, domestic violence victims, farm workers, human trafficking survivors, individuals who are not in legal immigration status, Individuals with criminal histories, Individuals with physical/mental disabilities, juveniles, lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender, and torture survivors
- Immigrant Justice NetworkIJN engages in advocacy, education, technical assistance, training, communications, and litigation to address the needs of those caught in the intersection of the criminal justice and immigration systems. We have established multi-faceted programs to assist criminal defenders, immigration advocates, community-based advocates, and immigrants and their loved ones to effectively expand rights and challenge mass detention and deportation.
- National Immigration Law CenterOne of the leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of low-income immigrants.
- Northwest Justice Project"Northwest Justice Project (NJP) is Washington’s largest publicly funded legal aid program. Each year NJP provides critical civil legal assistance and representation to thousands of low-income people in cases affecting basic human needs such as family safety and security, housing preservation, protection of income, access to health care, education and other basic needs. "
- Northwest Immigrant Rights ProjectNorthwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education. Northwest Immigrant Rights Project strives for justice and equity for all persons, regardless of where they were born.
- Tacoma Pro Bono - Free Legal AidFind more information about how you can get free legal aid on the Tacoma Pro Bono website
- Washington Defender AssociationWDA is a non-profit professional membership organization for Washington state public defender attorneys, social workers and investigators.
WDA's Immigration Project works to defend and advance the rights of non-citizens within the criminal justice system, non-citizens facing the immigration consequences of crimes, and non-citizens facing the detrimental impacts of selective state and federal enforcement policies post-9/11.
Washington State Courts' General Rule 24
Washington State Courts' General Rule 24
Washington State Courts' General Rule 24, provides a legal definition for Practice of Law, including defining what constitutes legal advice. The following is an Exception Clause. This is an important clause to know about if you are questioned about providing general information about law or rights under the U.S. Constitution to members of the public.
(d) General Information: Nothing in this rule shall affect the ability of a person or entity to provide information of a general nature about the law and legal procedures to members of the public.
Except where otherwise noted, the content in these guides by Tacoma Community College Library is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0.
This openly licensed content allows others to cite, share, or modify this content, with credit to TCC Library. When reusing or adapting this content, include this statement in the new document: This content was originally created by Tacoma Community College Library and shared with a CC BY SA 4.0 license.
Tacoma Community College Library - Building 7, 6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466 - P. 253.566.5087
Visit us on Instagram!