Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic publishes updated toolkit on LPR Cancellation of Removal

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Penn State Law has released an updated version of its 2010 Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Cancellation of Removal Toolkit. Created on behalf of the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC), the toolkit is a resource for immigration attorneys representing lawful permanent residents who are facing removal from the United States.

LPR cancellation is a remedy under immigration law available to qualifying noncitizens who can demonstrate five years in the United States as a permanent resident (green card holder), seven years of continuous residence, and the absence of a serious criminal history, and that such relief is warranted as a discretionary matter. LPR cancellation is available only after a person has been placed in “removal” proceedings and may be granted by an immigration judge.

The toolkit was drafted by Penn State Law students Laura Lopez Ledesma and Lauren Picciallo under the supervision of Penn State Law professor Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, director of the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic. To complete the toolkit, students reviewed and researched legal standards, practice advisories, and other material pertaining to LPR Cancellation of Removal, which included collecting and analyzing information from attorneys and advocates. The 2016 toolkit includes information about:

• aggravated felonies,
• detention,
• the discretionary component of Cancellation of Removal,
• who is ineligible for LPR Cancellation of Removal,
• steps to take to apply for LPR Cancellation of Removal,
• steps for obtaining client records, and
• alternative remedies.

The students worked closely with the clinic’s client, PIRC. Located less than a mile from York County Prison, PIRC has become the leading source of legal services to immigrants detained by the Department of Homeland Security in Pennsylvania. PIRC delivers legal orientation presentations to the more than 700 detainees held at York County Prison and the Berks Family Shelter, provides individual legal consultations, self-help assistance and referrals, and offers limited direct pro bono representation to the most vulnerable immigrant detainees including torture survivors and detainees with severe mental or physical disability.

The public version of the toolkit is available on the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic website. In addition, the toolkit has a redacted section available upon request by emailing the clinic at centerforimmigrantsr@pennstatelaw.psu.edu. The redacted section includes advice from attorneys as well as memoranda and briefs written by attorneys.