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Non-profit

American Immigration Council (AIC)

Website:

www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org
Location:

WASHINGTON, DC
Tax ID:

52-1549711
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $9,942,402
Expenses: $9,583,212
Assets: $7,160,143
Formation:

1987
Executive Director:

Beth Werlin
Formerly:

American Immigration Law Foundation

For more information, see American Immigration Lawyers Association (Nonprofit)

The American Immigration Council (AIC) is a 501(c)(3) advocacy group in favor of expanding immigration to the United States and granting legal status to some populations of illegal immigrants. It was founded by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in 1987. AIC is AILA’s public policy advocacy affiliate.1

AIC engages in strategic lawsuits that advance its policy objectives (such as suing the U.S. government to obtain faster hearings for asylum seekers detained after entering the United States without permission2), produces policy documents that promote its agenda (such as a report arguing legal status for undocumented residents would boost U.S. job growth3), and sponsors foreign applicants who wish to come to the U.S. for internships and job training with U.S.-based businesses.4

AIC frequently cites and rhetorically supports the work of the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). This includes praising the objectives of SPLC lawsuits,5 defending SPLC from its critics,6 and joining with SPLC in litigation.7

AIC receives major funding from its parent organization, AILA, and large left-wing foundations such as the Foundation to Promote Open Society (founded by left-wing billionaire George Soros),8 Unbound Philanthropy,9 and the Ford Foundation.10

Background

Formerly known as the American Immigration Law Foundation, AIC is an advocacy group in favor of expanding immigration to the United States and granting legal status to some populations of illegal immigrants. It was founded by the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 1988.11 As of 2015, at least 7 of the 30 trustees on the AIC board of directors are also on the AILA board, and AILA provided $72,341 in donated staff assistance to AIC.12

Since 2015, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, AIC, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association have jointly operated the CARA Family Detention Project, an initiative that provides pro-bono legal services to families that have entered the United States without permission and are seeking asylum. “CARA” is an acronym representing the first letter of the names of the four participating organizations.13

AILA has been a vocal and consistent critic of the U.S. government policy of using family detention centers. AILA’s denunciations began when the administration of President Barack Obama launched the policy in 2014, and continued into 2018 as the administration of President Donald Trump continued the policy. Many AILA member lawyers have provided pro-bono legal assistance to the asylum seekers.14

Activities and Associations

Alone and with other organizations, AIC engages in litigation, sponsors foreign applicants for U.S.-based job training, and produces policy advocacy documents in favor of its immigration objectives.

Policy Analysis and Development

AIC produces immigration policy reports that promote the benefits of immigrants to the U.S. economy, and of immigration reforms that prioritize easier pathways to legal immigration. Examples include a May 2014 fact sheet explaining the process a refugee must go through to obtain asylum status and under what circumstances the U.S. government must accept refugees,15 reports for all 50 states detailing the contribution of immigrants to each state’s economy,16 and a January 2011 report arguing that granting legal status to illegal immigrants would boost U.S. job growth.17

News Analysis

AIC has a dedicated website, ImmigrationImpact.com, publishing regular staff commentaries regarding current immigration news and policy issues. Examples from October 2018 include an analysis arguing the U.S. should grant entry to a so-called “caravan” of an estimated 4,000 mostly Honduran asylum seekers intending to enter the United States without other authorization18 and a criticism of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsenof the U.S. Department of regarding statements she made to the U.S. Senate about her department’s refugee detention policy.19

Cultural Exchange

In cooperation with for-profit businesses and non-profit partners, AIC’s cultural exchange program sponsors foreign-national interns and job trainees coming into the United States. AIC also provides U.S. visa application assistance to both the applicants and U.S.-based organizations and businesses seeking to hire them.20

Litigation

AIC files lawsuits challenging government behavior that conflicts with its immigration policy objectives. Examples include a June 2018 case aimed at forcing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to expedite hearings for asylum seekers being detained after entering the United States without authorization21 and an October 2018 case against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) that seeks to reverse recently imposed restrictions on “specialty occupation” H-1B visas.22

As of October 2022, the AIC, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is handling a lawsuit filed by several nonprofit legal service organizations representing detained migrants within the states of Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Arizona. 23 The lawsuit, filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) argue that attorneys were “severely limited” 24 in their ability to communicate with their clients due to a lack of private visitation rooms, rigorous scheduling requirements, and limited telephone access while even citing a “$20 rate for a 25-minute call.” within ICE facilities. 25 Homero López Jr., the legal director for Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy (ISLA) and one of the organizations suing the DHS and ICE, stated “The right to a lawyer should be the minimum level of fairness that someone gets when the government puts them in jail…[h]owever, ICE attempts to remove even that minimal semblance of fairness by constantly placing barriers that limit one’s access to their attorney.” 26

Association with the Southern Poverty Law Center

AIC’s website has often cited the work of the controversial far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and has quoted SPLC staff in commentaries, such as those criticizing Donald Trump,27 praising SPLC lawsuits,28 and defending SPLC from its critics.29

As of October 2015, the AIC was participating in a class action lawsuit with SPLC filed against the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). An SPLC news release regarding the case alleges many forms of “abusive treatment” inflicted on asylum seekers by CBP, including “yelling at, harassing, and assaulting asylum seekers and their children,” and telling Guatemalan asylum seekers that “Guatemalans make us sick.”30

Funding

In its 2015 tax documents AIC reported $4,070,277 in revenue, expenses of $3,782,725, and total net assets of $3,039,630.31 AIC’s parent organization, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), contributed cash grants of $258,909 toward this total. (Note: AILA also provided AIC with another $72,341 in donated staff assistance for 2015).32

Other significant sources of 2015 revenue included large foundations with a history of giving to left-of-center advocacy organizations. Examples include $350,000 from the Foundation to Promote Open Society (founded by left-wing billionaire George Soros), 33 Unbound Philanthropy (giving $233,300),34 and the Ford Foundation ($180,000). 35

Additionally, the Ford Foundation website shows its annual giving to AIC increased to $450,000 for 2017 (the latest year for which the website provided records).36

References

  1. “Executive Director Benjamin Johnson to Take Helm at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.” American Immigration Lawyer’s Association. Accessed October 24, 2018. https://americanimmigrationcouncil.org/news/executive-director-benjamin-johnson-take-helm-american-immigration-lawyers-association
  2. “Challenging Credible Fear Interview and Bond Hearing Delays.” American Immigration Council. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/litigation/challenging-credible-fear-interview-and-bond-hearing-delays
  3. “Immigration Reform and Job Growth.” American Immigration Council. January 20, 2011. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigration-reform-and-job-growth
  4. “Cultural Exchange.” American Immigration Council. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://exchange.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/
  5. Johnson, Tory. “Government Sued For Withholding Records on Immigration Raids.” American Immigration Council. August 11, 2016. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/08/11/immigration-raids-lawsuit/
  6. Ewing, Walter. “Restrictionist Group Strikes Back.” American Immigration Council. March 18, 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://immigrationimpact.com/2010/03/18/restrictionist-group-strikes-back/
  7. “SPLC lawsuit challenges Trump administration’s turnback policy against asylum seekers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. October 15, 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.splcenter.org/news/2018/10/15/splc-lawsuit-challenges-trump-administration%E2%80%99s-turnback-policy-against-asylum-seekers
  8. Foundation to Promote Open Society, IRS Form 990, 2015.
  9. Unbound Philanthropy, IRS Form 990, 2015.
  10. “Grants database: Immigration.” Ford Foundation. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/grants-database/grants-all?search=%26SearchText%3DImmigration&page=0&minyear=2014&maxyear=2016
  11. “Executive Director Benjamin Johnson to Take Helm at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.” American Immigration Lawyer’s Association. Accessed October 24, 2018. https://americanimmigrationcouncil.org/news/executive-director-benjamin-johnson-take-helm-american-immigration-lawyers-association
  12. American Immigration Lawyers Association, IRS Form 990, 2015; and American Immigration Council, IRS Form 990, 2015.
  13. “Who.” CARA Pro Bono. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://caraprobono.org/partners/
  14. “Expanding Family Detention Is Not the Answer to Cruel Family Separation Policy.” American Immigration Lawyers Association. June 20, 2018. Accessed October 24, 2018. https://www.aila.org/advo-media/press-releases/2018/aila-expanding-family-detention-is-not-the-answer
  15. “Asylum in the United States.” American Immigration Council. May 14, 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/asylum-united-states
  16. “State Fact Sheets.” American Immigration Council. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/topics/state-by-state
  17. “Immigration Reform and Job Growth.” American Immigration Council. January 20, 2011. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigration-reform-and-job-growth
  18. Cruz, Melissa. “A Caravan of Migrants Makes Its Way to the US, as Trump Threatens to Close the Border.” American Immigration Council. October 18, 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://immigrationimpact.com/2018/10/18/a-caravan-of-migrants-makes-its-way-to-the-us-as-trump-threatens-to-close-the-border/
  19. Breisblatt, Joshua. “DHS Secretary Nielsen Makes Laughable Claim That Agency Does Not Detain Children.” American Immigration Council. October 11, 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://immigrationimpact.com/2018/10/11/dhs-secretary-claim-agency-does-not-detain-children/
  20. “Cultural Exchange.” American Immigration Council. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://exchange.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/
  21. “Challenging Credible Fear Interview and Bond Hearing Delays.” American Immigration Council. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/litigation/challenging-credible-fear-interview-and-bond-hearing-delays
  22. “Challenging USCIS “Not a Specialty Occupation” H-1B Petition Denial.” American Immigration Council. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/litigation/challenging-uscis-not-specialty-occupation-h-1b-petition-denial
  23. Larose, Greg. “Lawsuit says ICE ‘severely’ limits attorney access to immigrant detainees.” AZ Mirror, October 19, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/blog/lawsuit-says-ice-severely-limits-attorney-access-to-immigrant-detainees/
  24. Larose, Greg. “Lawsuit says ICE ‘severely’ limits attorney access to immigrant detainees.” AZ Mirror, October 19, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/blog/lawsuit-says-ice-severely-limits-attorney-access-to-immigrant-detainees/
  25.  Larose, Greg. “Lawsuit says ICE ‘severely’ limits attorney access to immigrant detainees.” AZ Mirror, October 19, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/blog/lawsuit-says-ice-severely-limits-attorney-access-to-immigrant-detainees/
  26. Larose, Greg. “Lawsuit says ICE ‘severely’ limits attorney access to immigrant detainees.” AZ Mirror, October 19, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/blog/lawsuit-says-ice-severely-limits-attorney-access-to-immigrant-detainees/
  27. Ewing, Walter. “Nativists Line Up in Support of Trump’s Presidential Campaign.” American Immigration Council. March 2, 2016. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/03/02/donald-trump-nativist/
  28. Johnson, Tory. “Government Sued For Withholding Records on Immigration Raids.” American Immigration Council. August 11, 2016. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/08/11/immigration-raids-lawsuit/
  29. Ewing, Walter. “Restrictionist Group Strikes Back.” American Immigration Council. March 18, 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://immigrationimpact.com/2010/03/18/restrictionist-group-strikes-back/
  30. “SPLC lawsuit challenges Trump administration’s turnback policy against asylum seekers.” Southern Poverty Law Center. October 15, 2018. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.splcenter.org/news/2018/10/15/splc-lawsuit-challenges-trump-administration%E2%80%99s-turnback-policy-against-asylum-seekers
  31. American Immigration Council, IRS Form 990, 2015.
  32. American Immigration Lawyers Association, IRS Form 990, 2015.
  33. Foundation to Promote Open Society, IRS Form 990, 2015.
  34. Unbound Philanthropy, IRS Form 990, 2015.
  35. “Grants database: Immigration.” Ford Foundation. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/grants-database/grants-all?search=%26SearchText%3DImmigration&page=0&minyear=2014&maxyear=2016
  36. “Grants database: Immigration.” Ford Foundation. Accessed October 23, 2018. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/grants-database/grants-all?search=%26SearchText%3DImmigration&page=0&minyear=2016&maxyear=2018
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: May 1, 1989

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $9,942,402 $9,583,212 $7,160,143 $839,926 N $8,876,172 $685,308 $4,900 $279,811
    2019 Dec Form 990 $9,225,114 $8,838,177 $7,060,260 $947,023 N $7,361,396 $1,745,155 $9,356 $241,019 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $7,521,579 $7,138,832 $6,453,895 $727,595 N $5,632,370 $1,861,237 $3,685 $216,088 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $7,835,035 $5,483,109 $6,094,406 $750,853 N $6,147,717 $1,577,675 $7,345 $197,587 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $3,803,903 $4,113,882 $3,916,777 $925,148 N $1,972,401 $1,777,660 $6,347 $165,748
    2015 Dec Form 990 $4,070,277 $3,782,725 $4,197,661 $870,479 N $2,307,284 $1,709,079 $3,659 $176,139 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $4,278,115 $3,797,614 $3,760,404 $720,774 N $2,329,211 $1,566,715 $5,353 $177,309 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $3,666,084 $3,486,772 $3,170,121 $610,992 N $2,273,938 $1,307,402 $5,800 $178,376 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $2,942,528 $2,522,168 $2,579,514 $199,692 N $1,873,743 $1,053,279 $7,687 $169,471 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $2,215,004 $2,474,924 $2,215,693 $256,231 N $1,346,730 $830,189 $11,763 $168,526 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Map image for American Immigration Council (AIC)

    American Immigration Council (AIC)

    1331 G ST NW STE 200
    WASHINGTON, DC 20005-3141