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

The Court Decision on Deferred Action Everyone Should Be Talking About

April 8, 2015

Yesterday, in Crane v. Johnson, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the same court deciding whether or not to keep in place the preliminary injunction blocking the President’s executive actions)...

  • Blog

Leaders From Across U.S. Urge Court to End Injunction in Immigration Action Case

April 6, 2015

Multiple legal briefs are being filed today in support of ending the injunction against the Obama Administration’s expansion of deferred action. On February 16, 2015, a Texas federal judge issued...

  • Blog

Immigration Courts Are Ordering Unrepresented Children Deported

March 10, 2015

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that since 2013, more than 7,000 immigrant children have been ordered deported after missing a hearing in immigration court, according to government data....

  • Blog

Unrepresented Children Still Being Fast-Tracked Through Immigration Hearings

February 6, 2015

Since the government began “prioritizing” the deportation of unaccompanied children and mothers with children last summer, legal service providers and other court observers across the country have...

  • Blog

How Can a Three Year Old Represent Himself in Court?

October 22, 2014

Each week, in immigration courts across the United States, hundreds of children, some as young as just a few months old, come before immigration judges and are called upon to defend themselves...

  • Blog

Municipalities Help Advance Access to Counsel for Immigrants

August 13, 2014

Historically, “immigrants facing deportation are not provided an attorney if they cannot afford one.” But across the country, municipalities are taking steps to improve access to counsel for those...

  • Blog

Children in Jail: What It’s Like for Immigrants Held at Artesia Center

August 6, 2014

By Megan Jordi, legal director at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. The rule of law is only a mirage in the remote, dusty town of Artesia, New Mexico, where the Department of Homeland Security...

  • Blog

Taking Attendance: New Data Finds Majority of Children Appear in Immigration Court

July 18, 2014

As the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the United States border has increased, some lawmakers have argued that children frequently disappear into the woodwork, and propose mandatory...

  • Blog

Why We Are Suing the Government on Behalf of All Children Facing Deportation

July 9, 2014

The thousands of children fleeing violence and persecution and seeking refuge in the United States have brought to the forefront the issue of how our immigration system deals with children. The...

  • Blog

Study: Providing Representation for Indigent Immigrants Could Pay for Itself

May 30, 2014

U.S. immigration laws provide only minimal due process protections for even the most vulnerable immigrants facing deportation, and in 59 percent of cases, immigrants are forced to navigate the...

  • Blog

What Matthew Whitaker’s Designation as Acting Attorney General Means for Immigration

December 3, 2018

Following Jeff Sessions’ resignation as Attorney General, President Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace him—a move that has already inspired multiple lawsuits that contend the designation was...

  • Press Release

Acting AG Matthew G. Whitaker Lacks Authority to Decide Immigration Case, Say Immigration Groups

December 3, 2018
The American Immigration Council and other immigrant rights organizations filed a legal brief on Friday that explains why President Donald Trump’s designation of Matthew G. Whitaker as acting attorney general is unlawful. As a result, the brief asserts, Whitaker lacks the authority to decide a critical immigration case.
  • Amicus Briefs

Matter of Negusie

Publication Date: 
December 3, 2018
In Matter of Negusie, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to himself the question of whether coercion and duress are relevant to the application of the immigration statute’s persecutor bar for individuals seeking asylum or withholding of removal
  • Press Release

No One Should Face the Immigration System Alone: The American Immigration Council Highlights the Critical Need for Access to an Attorney for #GivingTuesday Campaign

November 21, 2018
The American Immigration Council announced today that it will focus on the critical need for access to an attorney when navigating the immigration system during its #GivingTuesday and year-end fundraising campaign starting November 27.
  • Blog

Judge Blocks President Trump’s New Asylum Ban

November 20, 2018

Ruling in a lawsuit late Monday night, a federal judge in San Francisco put the Trump administration’s asylum ban—an unprecedented move that barred asylum to any individual crossing the Southern...

  • Blog

DACA Is Still in Effect as It Heads to the Supreme Court

November 13, 2018

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stinging rebuke to President Trump’s ongoing efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative last week, unanimously...

  • Blog

The Government Outlines Its Plan to Extend TPS Benefits Under Court Order

October 26, 2018

In early October, a federal court ruled that the Trump administration had violated the law when it terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua,...

  • Blog

Disarray in Baltimore Immigration Court Is Emblematic of Systemic Issues

October 12, 2018

Overwhelmed immigration courts and massive court backlogs have long been a nation-wide problem. Hearings are regularly scheduled years in advance—in some jurisdictions, judges are scheduling...

  • Blog

As Immigration Court Quotas Go Into Effect, Many Call For Reform

October 1, 2018

On October 1, immigration judges around the country will arrive at work and face a daunting new task; complete 700 removal cases in the next year or risk official sanction. The new court quotas...

  • Blog

Which Immigration Cases Will the Supreme Court Hear This Term?

September 28, 2018

On October 1, the Supreme Court will begin hearing cases for the start of its 2018-2019 term. Although only one immigration case is currently scheduled to be heard, challenges to President Trump’s...

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