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.

READ MORE

All Due Process and the Courts Content

  • Blog

Border Patrol Criminally Prosecuting Asylum Seekers, Government Report Finds

June 11, 2015

For years, the Border Patrol program “Operation Streamline” has criminally prosecuted asylum seekers in a terribly misguided effort to discourage them from reentering illegally again. A recent U.S...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Finds Conviction for Possession of a Sock Was Not a Deportable Offense

June 4, 2015

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court determined that the mere possession of a sock did not constitute a deportable offense in Mellouli v. Lynch. This unsurprising pronouncement serves as a first...

  • Blog

Court Rejects Restrictionists’ Attempts to Derail Work Authorization for H-4 Spouses

May 27, 2015

Despite immigration restrictionists’ efforts to derail implementation, a new rule went into effect this week allowing certain H-4 spouses (i.e., spouses of H-1B workers) to apply for work...

  • Blog

Bi-Partisan House Bill Recommends Largest Increase Ever in Immigration Judges

May 21, 2015

This week, the House Appropriations Committee recommended the largest increase in immigration judges in history—$74 million for 55 new immigration judges, and other court improvements. The...

  • Blog

Immigration Appeals Court Reverses Position on Deportation Waivers

May 20, 2015

In a decision issued last week, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed course and decided that a subset of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have been convicted of certain crimes may...

  • Blog

Court Reportedly Set to Order End to Detention of Children in Unlicensed Family Facilities

May 14, 2015

In February, advocates went to court to argue that the government’s family detention centers violate the long-standing Flores v. Reno settlement agreement, which set minimum standards for the...

  • Blog

Why More Immigration Judges Are Needed

May 11, 2015

If there is any aspect of immigration reform over which there should be no partisan disagreement, it is the dire need to increase the number of immigration judges. As most Republicans and...

  • Blog

Arpaio Faces Skeptical Judges In Lawsuit Challenging Obama’s Immigration Action

May 5, 2015

It is unsurprising that the press is paying close attention to Texas v. United States, the case filed by Texas and a number of other states challenging President Obama’s executive actions on...

  • Blog

Supreme Court to Decide Whether It’s Okay to Deprive a Person of His Day In Immigration Court

April 30, 2015

Every day in immigration courts around the country, people facing deportation try to explain why they should be allowed to remain in the United States under our notoriously complex immigration...

  • Blog

No Justice For Family of Mexican Child Killed By U.S. Border Patrol Agent

April 29, 2015

On June 7, 2010, Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, a fifteen-year-old Mexican national, was playing with a group of friends on the Mexican side of the border near the Paso del Norte Bridge in El...

  • Press Release

Trump Administration’s Dangerous Policy Forces Asylum Seekers to Remain in Mexico

January 25, 2019
The policy will require many individuals seeking protection in the United States to stay in Mexico for prolonged periods of time as they await an immigration court hearing. With U.S. immigration courts overwhelmingly backlogged, asylum seekers risk spending months or even years in very risky conditions.
  • 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...

  • Blog

The Trump Administration Loses Fight to Add Citizenship Question to the 2020 Census

January 16, 2019

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s plan to add a question on U.S. citizenship to the 2020 Census on Tuesday, ruling that the controversial move “violated the public trust” and...

  • Blog

As Shutdown Moves Into Fourth Week, Most Immigration Courts Remain Shuttered

January 14, 2019

With the government shutdown dragging into its fourth week—marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history—most of the nation’s immigration courts remain closed. The Trump administration decries...

  • Blog

The Judicial Black Sites the Government Created to Speed Up Deportations

January 7, 2019

As the Trump administration continues to strip away due process in immigration courts, the recent creation of two “Immigration Adjudication Centers” is cause for concern. The two new facilities...

  • Practice Advisories

Strategies and Considerations in the Wake of Pereira v. Sessions

Publication Date: 
December 21, 2018
The rationale underlying the Court’s decision, however, more broadly affects both ongoing and closed cases initiated by defective Notices to Appear. This practice advisory provides an overview of the Pereira v. Sessions decision and its impact on eligibility for cancellation of removal and post conclusion voluntary departure.
  • Blog

As 2018 Draws to a Close, Immigration Court Backlogs Reach Record Levels

December 19, 2018

  In the first two years of the Trump administration, immigration hardliners made repeated attempts to reduce immigration court backlogs, from hiring nearly100 new immigration judges to limiting...

  • Blog

Lawsuit Challenging Delays in Asylum Screening Interviews and Bond Hearings Continues

December 14, 2018

A federal court in Seattle on Tuesday permitted a case challenging unlawful delays in asylum screening interviews and bond hearings for asylum seekers to move forward over the government’s...

  • Press Release

Federal Court Orders that Asylum Seekers Can Move Forward Challenging Delays

December 13, 2018
A federal district court in Seattle, Washington issued an order rejecting the government’s arguments that recent asylum seekers who enter the United States without immigration status are not entitled to constitutional protections.
  • Blog

Federal Court to Consider Again Whether Children Can Be Deported Without Attorneys

December 10, 2018

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in C.J.L.G. v. Whitaker, a case that addresses whether children facing deportation have the right to a court-appointed attorney....

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending