Due Process and the Courts

Our legal system rests upon the principle that everyone is entitled to due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. But for far too long, the immigration system has failed to provide noncitizens with a system of justice that lives up to this standard. Learn about ways in which the immigration system could ensure that all noncitizens have a fair day in court.  

Recent Features

  • FOIA

Investigating the Immigration Court System

We're demanding information to uncover the hiring process for Assistant Chief Immigration Judge and their influence over the immigration courts.

  • Blog

‘Your Client Is Going Bye-Bye.’ Investigation Details Immigration Judges’ Cruel Behavior in El Paso Court

The complaint outlines systemic due process concerns around unprofessional behavior by immigration judges and troubling court practices in El Paso.

Two Systems of Justice: How the Immigration System Falls Short of American Ideals of Justice

This special report lays out the the incongruency between America's criminal justice system and its immigration justice system, and provides recommendations for how these problems could be fixed.

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All Due Process and the Courts Content

  • Blog

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Expansive Immigration Detention

March 21, 2019

Immigrants with even minor, dated criminal convictions will now be placed in mandatory detention without the possibility of a bond hearing—even if they have already served their time and been...

  • Blog

Appeals Court Says Asylum Seekers May Now Challenge Their Deportation in Federal Court

March 11, 2019

Many asylum seekers who travel to the United States seeking protection often receive something much less—they are arrested by immigration officials and provided no meaningful way to challenge...

  • Blog

The Government Is Hiding Information About How It Deports People – This Lawsuit Seeks to Expose That

February 28, 2019

The Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement tactics have made immigrants with final removal orders more vulnerable. That’s why it is more important than ever to have basic due process...

  • Blog

Congress Members and Others Argue Against Turning Back Asylum Seekers

February 26, 2019

The Trump administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers has been devastating, as vulnerable people are repeatedly denied access to the asylum process at ports of entry (POEs) along the U....

  • Blog

Immigration Courts’ Growing Reliance on Videoconference Hearings Is Being Challenged

February 25, 2019

In some parts of the country, it has long been the practice for detained immigrants to appear for their immigration court hearings via video teleconference (“VTC”), rather than in-person. This is...

  • Blog

Blueprint for Overhauling Immigration Courts Released Through FOIA

February 21, 2019

A FOIA request has forced the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to produce its comprehensive plan for reducing the immigration court backlog. Though partially redacted, the aim of the...

  • Blog

TPS Holders from Honduras and Nepal Sue the Trump Administration Over Terminations

February 14, 2019

With the fate of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in jeopardy, immigrants from Honduras and Nepal brought a class action lawsuit against the federal government this week to stop the Trump...

  • Blog

Setting the Record Straight: Asylum Seekers Show Up for Court

January 30, 2019

Immigration restrictionists have often repeated a bold and erroneous claim: that there is a serious problem of asylum seekers who come to the U.S. border and disappear once released from detention...

  • Blog

US Government to Force Migrants to Remain in Mexico and Await Their Immigration Court Hearings

January 25, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to immediately launch a new policy to force asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico for their immigration court hearing. Officially...

  • Blog

Trump Administration’s Immigration Proposal Is Dead on Arrival

January 22, 2019

President Trump went in front of the public on Saturday and claimed he was going to propose a “compromise” to end the ongoing government shutdown. Instead of offering a bipartisan bill that would...

  • Press Release

Immigration Council Urges Broad Interpretation of § 212(h) Hardship Waiver

May 22, 2014

On May 19, 2014, the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to

  • Press Release

Federal Judge Enjoins Key Provisions of South Carolina’s Immigration Law

December 22, 2013

Washington, D.C.—The American Immigration Council welcomes today’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard M.

  • Press Release

Immigration Advocacy Groups Urge Supreme Court to Interpret Child Status Protection Act Broadly

November 6, 2013

Washington, D.C.—This week, the American Immigration Council filed an amicus curiae

  • Press Release

First Circuit Holds That Immigrants Can Pursue Cases From Outside the United States

October 1, 2013

Washington, D.C. - Last week, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that individuals who have been depor

  • Press Release

ICE Agrees to Release Thousands of Previously-Withheld Records

August 2, 2013

Washington, DC – Yesterday, a U.S.

  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks to Learn How Government Responds to Complaints of Misconduct by Immigration Judges

June 6, 2013

Washington, DC - The public has a right to know whether the government adequately investigates and resolves complaints alleging misconduct by immigration judges, the American Immig

  • Press Release

Bringing Fairness to the Immigration Justice System

May 15, 2013

Washington D.C. - Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues mark-up of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

  • Press Release

Moncrieffe v. Holder: Implications for Drug Charges and Other Categorical Approach Issues

May 3, 2013

Washington, D.C.—Last week, the Supreme Court issued a decision in

  • Press Release

Eleventh Circuit Holds that Filing Limitations on Motions to Reopen Are Subject to Equitable Tolling

April 23, 2013

For Immediate Release

  • Press Release

Court Says ICE Failed to Satisfy FOIA Requirements in Council’s Suit to Compel Disclosure of Records on Access to Counsel

April 12, 2013

Court Says ICE Failed to Satisfy FOIA Requirements in Council’s Suit to Compel
Disclosure of Records on Access to Counsel

  • Letters

Coalition Letter on Continued Issues in Immigration Courts During COVID-19 Pandemic

Publication Date: 
February 1, 2021
The American Immigration Council urged the Biden administration to address the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigration courts that continue to place everyone's health at risk during...
  • Letters

Coalition Letter to President Biden on Justice Department Reform of Immigration Courts and Enforcement Priorities

Publication Date: 
February 1, 2021
The American Immigration Council joined AILA and other organizations in calling for vital reforms to ensure fairness and integrity in the immigration courts and the enforcement system.
  • Letters

Coalition Letter on COVID-19 to Domestic Policy Council and Executive Office of Immigration Review

Publication Date: 
February 1, 2021
The American Immigration Council, sent a letter to the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) letter raising major concerns about the ICE and EOIR...
  • Blog

Immigrants Appear for Their Court Hearings, New Data Shows

January 28, 2021

Do most immigrants show up for their immigration court hearings? A new report released by the American Immigration Council reveals that the answer to this question is a clear “Yes.” As the Biden...

  • Special Report

Measuring In Absentia Removal in Immigration Court

Publication Date: 
January 28, 2021
This analysis of data provided by the federal government reveals that 83% of all nondetained immigrants with completed or pending removal cases attended all their hearings from 2008 to 2018.
  • Press Release

11 Years of Government Data Reveal That Immigrants Do Show Up for Court

January 28, 2021
A new report released today by the American Immigration Council examines 11 years of government data on the rate at which immigrants appear for hearings in U.S. immigration court. The report, “Measuring In Absentia Removal in Immigration Court,” concludes that an overwhelming 83% of immigrants attend their immigration court hearings, and those who fail to appear in court often did not receive notice or faced hardship in getting to court.
  • Blog

Why Biden’s Immigration Bill Is the Boldest in Decades

January 21, 2021

During his campaign, President Biden promised that immigration reform would be one of his top priorities upon taking office. After unveiling the summary of a sweeping immigration reform bill on...

  • Blog

Trump’s Drastic Immigration Court Fee Hikes Are Blocked in Court

January 19, 2021

The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to stop low-income immigrants from accessing protections and exercising their rights in the United States. Its last attempt—increasing immigration...

  • Press Release

Federal Court Blocks Dramatic Immigration Courts Fee Increases

January 19, 2021
A federal court blocked nearly all of a Trump administration rule that would have drastically increased fees in immigration proceedings in which the government seeks to deport immigrants, many of whom are long-term residents of this country.
  • Policy Briefs

The Biden Administration and Congress Must Guarantee Legal Representation for People Facing Removal

Publication Date: 
January 15, 2021
The Biden administration should take steps immediately upon entering office to expand federally funded legal representation programs for people facing removal. Here's why.

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