The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, deploying forces to large cities and deporting individuals without due process, has created a “terrifying and vindictive America,” Professor Lauren Aronson writes in a letter to the editor published by the Chicago Sun-Times. “My heart has been broken over and over again by my clients’ suffering, and the only solace that saved me for the work is the knowledge that the services my clinic provides give these individuals a second chance to live meaningful, productive, and most importantly, safe lives in the United States. I no longer feel like I can offer that,” she continues.

“The weight of society’s expectations of working moms on a normal day is crushing,” Professor Lauren Aronson writes in a new editorial published by Ms. Magazine. “With the added obligation that moms ensure our families experience a quintessential holiday season, this weight feels insurmountable.” From her role as an immigration lawyer as well as a mother of two, Aronson examines the obligations and expectations of mothers during the holiday season and concludes that every mom truly deserves a day off.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) allows abused, abandoned, or neglected children a pathway for lawful permanent residence, and eventually US citizenship, once a state court judge determines they have suffered maltreatment and it was not in their best interest to return home. The Trump administration stopped considering SJIS applicants for deferred action, stating “a juvenile court determination relating to the best interest” of children is not a “sufficiently compelling” reason to protect them from deportation and allow them to legally sustain themselves while here. Writing at Common Dreams, Professor Lauren Aronson shares her view of this shift in policy.

Professors Lauren Aronson and Yulanda Curtis have been selected for the University of Illinois System OpEd Project/Public Voices Fellowship. The program is part of a national initiative to help faculty amplify their expertise in ways that can contribute to public conversations about pressing issues.

The Trump administrations stated plans to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students” would have an immense impact on the University of Illinois, as the school hosted more than 6,000 individuals from China last year. In a wide-ranging examination of faculty opinions on how damaging this policy may be, the News-Gazette spoke to law professors Lauren Aronson and Jason Mazzone. “I take all threats from this administration seriously,” Aronson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic, said.

The decision to revoke student visas to scores of students across the country has increased anxiety around those in education and immigration. Speaking on The 21st Show, Professor Lauren Aronson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic, discussed how universities in Illinois are responding to this crackdown and how international students are feeling in this current political climate.

In the second term of President Donald Trump, several Big Law firms that previously had been eager to support pro bono immigration work are no longer touting their work in that area and may be discontinuing the work. Professor Lauren Aronson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic, spoke to Law.com about this shift, explaining “people are showing…how much pressure they can withstand.”

Speaking to the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Professor Lauren Aronson, who serves as director of the Immigration Law Clinic, shared her thoughts on recent directives from the Trump administration regarding undocumented immigrants and explains how they may impact Illinois law. “I have deep concerns over the current immigration climate. While immigrants are the primary target, they warned that the federal government’s overreach could eventually extend to other groups, not just immigrants,” she explained.

Congratulations to Professor Lauren Aronson on being selected by the Sixth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee for the 2024 Community Legal Service Award. She was honored at an event on October 24 for her volunteer work in Champaign-Urbana, including work with the Immigration Law Clinic, the New American Welcome Center, and as the only Spanish-speaking guardian ad litem providing services to community members in Champaign County. On behalf of the entire College of Law, we express our sincere pride to call Professor Aronson one of our own.

After the Biden administration announced a new executive order aimed at protecting the undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens from deportation, the Illinois News Bureau spoke to Professor Lauren Aronson to clarify some of the legal details. “It’s not ‘mass amnesty’ because it benefits so few individuals, but it is sort of an amnesty in that it forgives people who entered the country without permission,” she explained.