National Immigration Project’s Removal Defense Course 2025

National Immigration Project’s Removal Defense Course 

March 4th through April 17th

Tuesdays and Thursdays 

12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

Total CLE Credits: 18.00, Ethics Credits: 1.5 (1.5 out of 18.00)

Faculty: Michelle Méndez, Vickie Neilson, Rebecca Scholtz, and Dana Leigh Marks [retired Immigration Judge]

Join us for this 12-part webinar series on removal defense advocacy!

1. Anatomy of a Removal Proceeding

Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: The faculty will provide an overview of removal proceedings that explains how noncitizens end up in removal proceedings, how removal proceedings commence, and the process, players, and procedures in immigration court. The faculty will also discuss the rights of noncitizens in removal proceedings, the sources of authority for competent practice in immigration court, and what “discovery” entails in this executive branch tribunal. Finally, the faculty will guide participants on the administrative requirements for representing a noncitizen in immigration court.

 

2.  Pleading to the Notice to Appear

Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: The faculty will review Notices to Appear (NTA) and discuss in detail pleadings to the NTA in removal proceedings. Specifically, the faculty will discuss inadmissibility and deportability grounds, case flow processing, the burden of proof in different removal proceeding contexts, and considerations for contesting the charges in the NTA.

  

3.  Detention and Bond

Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: How can practitioners determine whether detained clients are eligible for release on bond? The speakers will explain the statutory authority under which the government detains noncitizens and discuss bond and parole as options for noncitizens to obtain release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The faculty will also discuss strategies for working with detained clients.

  

4.    Immigration Relief in Removal Proceedings: Cancellation of Removal

Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: Cancellation of removal is an immigration court remedy that leads to a grant of lawful permanent resident (LPR) status or retention of LPR status. The faculty will review eligibility for non-LPR cancellation of removal and LPR cancellation of removal and discuss evidentiary issues and strategic decisions.

 

5.  Immigration Relief in Removal Proceedings: Defensive Asylum/Withholding of Removal/Convention Against Torture (CAT) Protection

Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: The faculty will discuss asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) including the legal standards for each, recent changes in policy and practice, and bars to asylum and withholding of removal. The faculty will also discuss how asylum seekers are placed in removal proceedings.

  

6.  Navigating Removal Proceedings While Pursuing Relief with USCIS

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: How does one pursue relief before USCIS while in removal proceedings? The faculty will discuss strategies for avoiding an order of removal while a case is pending before USCIS. The faculty will describe motions practice seeking administrative closure, termination, or continuances from the IJ. The faculty will also cover the current prosecutorial discretion landscape and how to make prosecutorial discretion requests to ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA).

  

7.  Immigration Relief in Removal Proceedings: Adjustment and Waivers

Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: The faculty will cover adjustment of status (AOS) before the IJ including the legal elements, evidentiary issues, and court procedure. The faculty will delve into common grounds of inadmissibility and provide an overview of available waivers of inadmissibility. The faculty will end with a discussion on the pros and the cons of seeking adjustment before the IJ versus USCIS.

 

8.  Review of Webinars 1-7

Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: During this interactive webinar the faculty will review the lessons from webinar 1 through webinar 7 through the use of hypotheticals and a Q&A session.

 

9.   Post-Filing and Pre-Merits Hearing Considerations

Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: The faculty will discuss filing procedures and considerations for the brief, documentary evidence, and relevant motions. The faculty will then explain post-filing considerations including seeking the ICE OPLA attorney’s position on the case, paying the application fee, if any, obtaining a biometrics appointment, and seeking an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Finally, the faculty will provide tips on preparing for a known hostile IJ and client preparation.

 

10.  The Individual Hearing

Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: The faculty will cover what to expect during the various aspects of the individual hearing and highlight best practices. The faculty will also discuss tips on how to prepare for an in-person hearing versus a WebEx hearing. 

 

11.  Overview of Post-Immigration Judge Decision Options

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Hours

 

Description: The faculty will discuss how IJs issue decisions and the post-decision options. Specifically, the faculty will cover appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA),  including the legal standards that apply to BIA appeals and how to approach briefing. The faculty will also give an overview of motions to remand back to the IJ, petitions for review (PFRs) to the U.S. court of appeals, motions to reopen and reconsider, and stays of removal.

  

12.  What Would You Do If This Happened to You in Immigration Court?

Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM PT / 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

CLE Hours: 1.5 Ethics Credit

 

Description: In this interactive skits session, the faculty and Dana Leigh Marks, retired Immigration Judge will play the roles relevant to an individual hearing and showcase problems that can arise during the individual hearing. We will start from the beginning of an individual hearing and move through the hearing stopping the skit to allow for group discussion on how to solve the problem. This training will also consider ethical issues that may arise during the course of a hearing.

  

Student Discounts

For student discounts, please email us at events@nipnlg.org.

 

CLE Credits

We will be applying for 18.0 CLE credit hours, including 1.5 Ethics credits, with The Washington State Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas. 

The 18.0 credits count for all 12 sessions of the course. We will offer a Uniform Certificate of Attendance, which allows participants to seek CLE credit with the state where they are licensed to practice law. Please note, you will only receive CLE credit for the sessions you attend live. All sessions will be recorded so that participants can watch and rewatch the recordings at their leisure. However, CLE credit will be provided only for live webinar attendance. If you have questions, please reach out to the events team at events@nipnlg.org.