Government Agencies produce various documents to help officials apply the law correctly, such as guidance documents and memorandum, and legal opinions interpreting and applying law to specific cases in their quasi adjudicative capacity. These opinions and guidance documents provide helpful insight into how an agency is likely to apply or interpret a particular statute or regulation, or what an agency is likely to decide regarding a particular case or application.
Many government agencies are involved in immigration or fighting human trafficking. Government bureaucracy can be very complex and it is easy to accidentally overlook an agency that might have useful information or resources. For a very comprehensive list of all federal government departments and agencies, see A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies.
Law enforcement agencies help bring perpetrators to justice, but they also help victims in various ways such as issuing Supplement B Certification for a U-Visa or recommending Continued Presence status for undocumented victims of trafficking. The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the agency most likely to be involved in a situation involving human trafficking, and most applicable forms and instructions are available for free on the USCIS website as well as many other resources such as administrative case decisions.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has information on Human Trafficking and much more.
Another law enforcement agency that fights human trafficking is U.S. Customs and Border Protection which has a web-page dedicated to raising awareness of Human Trafficking.
The Department of Homeland Security has web-pages discussing Human Trafficking, Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Immigration Enforcement.
Other law enforcement agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Department of Justice (DoJ), and also local law enforcement agencies such as police and local sheriffs.
The Executive Office of Immigration Review, part of DoJ, includes information about different organizations within it, the Board of Immigration Appeals which includes administrative case decisions, a Virtual Law Library, and a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Library.
The Department of Labor (DoL) has resources to fight trafficking and other labor exploitation crimes, but it is also a law enforcement agency that investigates certain crimes and, consequently, it can issue Supplement B Certification for U-visas.
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, a part of the Department of Labor, has resources and information about Reducing Child and Forced Labor, information about Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Reports on Current Issues, Reports specifically on child labor and forced labor, information on offices that fight child labor and forced labor, and Fact Sheets on Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking.
For information on human trafficking in the international context, the Global Affairs web-page, part of the State Department, has an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons as well as a Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Additionally, the Office of Refugee Resettlement has information relating to its Anti-Trafficking in Persons program.
For general research, the Library of Congress and the National Archives, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, all have many resources available.
For updates on proposed or recently enacted laws and recently decided cases that might affect trafficking victims and other victims of similar crimes, see the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Administrative Agencies that make dispositive rulings on non-immigrant visas and related matters include:
Other Administrative Agencies that make dispositive rulings on immigration cases include:
Other Courts:
The USCIS website contains the most relevant administrative materials including recent guidance documents and memorandum from 1998 to present, as well as a Significant Guidance page for the decisions USCIS considers most important. Old administrative documents from INS, the agency that preceded USCIS, are available on Lexis and West but their main value is historical background.
Agency Operations Manuals provide useful information about agency practices and procedures providing insight into how the agency will most likely respond to particular types of applications, petitions, or cases. These operations manuals can be helpful for issue spotting and analysis because they reveal the agency's perspective of the immigration process which may reveal weaknesses in an application or petition that would otherwise have done unnoticed. Some agencies provide public access to their operations manuals, including:
Ask for Help! Most government agencies have free help-line 800 numbers for people to call and ask questions. Also, many government officials will respond to polite requests for information such as how to fill out a form or what procedures to follow to file an application.
6 A.L.R. Fed. 76 (Originally published in 1971) "Comment Note. --Hearsay evidence in proceedings before federal administrative agencies," Ernest H. Schopler, LL.B., J.U.D., S.J.D. (Including discussion of administrative proceedings pertaining to aliens).
60 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 59 (Originally Published in 2011) "Comment Note: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Removal Proceedings--Particular Omissions or Failures," Emmanuel S. Tipon, LL.B. LL.M.
196 A.L.R. Fed. 337 (Originally published in 2004) "Validity, Construction, and Application of Hardship Standard for Cancellation of Removal of Alien Under 8 U.S.C.A. § 1229b(b)(1)(D), Including Jurisdictional Issues," Kurtis A. Kemper, J.D. (Discussing how the court has jurisdiction to review a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals and how the Attorney General is authorized to grant cancellation of removal for aliens who are otherwise inadmissible if it would cause an unusual and extreme hardship on the alien's spouse, parent, or child who is a citizen or legal resident).
74 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 341 (Originally published in 2013) "Application of Res Judicata Doctrine in Removal, Deportation, Exclusion, or Denaturalization Proceedings," Karen Moulding, J.D.
Don't forget, it might be necessary to work collaboratively with other various agencies as well. For example, a victim might receive some form of victim's compensation from a state administrated fund, or some form of public benefits such as refugee foster-care or assistance of a social worker. There are far too many state and local agencies that might assist victims to list all that might possibly become involved in this guide. The local law enforcement victim's advocate or the local social services agency will have information on resources that might be available to a particular individual. If a victim has non-legal needs, such as a need for counseling, financial assistance, medical care, or other social services the state government website will likely have a link to the agency responsible for social services in that jurisdiction and the web-page for the local social services agency will likely have a lot of additional information about types of assistance offered and how to find help.
