U.S. Immigration Law Research Guide: Home / Overview

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If you have any questions about using these materials, please contact Amber Madole at Amber.Madole@lls.edu.

This guide is created in support of the Immigrant Advocacy Concentration at Loyola Law School. It provides an overview on how to perform legal research in U.S. immigration law as well as providing links to immigration-related primary and secondary materials at Rains Library. 

Each branch of the federal government plays a distinct role in implementing immigration laws. The legislative branch creates immigration law through drafting and revising legislation. The judicial branch reviews administrative decisions of government agencies. The executive branch enforces immigration law through agency actions and administrative decisions. This guide provides guidance as to how to locate primary law from each of these sources and identifies essential secondary sources in the field.

The guide is organized as follows:

1. Home
2. Structure of Immigration Law: Describes federal agencies tasked with administration and enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
3. Primary Sources: Provides links to immigration statutes, regulations, and administrative rulings.
   1. Statutory Authority
   2. Regulations
   3. Administrative Decisions
   4. Case Law
   5. Department Manuals
4. Secondary Sources: Provides an overview of relevant treatises and other secondary sources on immigration law.
   1. Treatises
      1. General
      2. Asylum / Refugee Law
      3. Business Immigration
      4. Criminal Defense and Immigration
      5. Other Topic-Specific Sources
   2. Current Awareness Publications
      1. Law Review Articles
      2. Newsletters
5. Commonly Used Abbreviations

You may wish to consult these other research guides as well: