Due Process & the Courts
Court Rules Detained Iraqis Are Entitled to Bond Hearings
In another victory for over 300 Iraqis whose deportation was halted last July, a Michigan district court ruled that they must be permitted to seek bond while their immigration cases are pending. Many of the Iraqis were swept up in a massive enforcement action in June 2017 and have… Read More
Mexican Nationals and Detained Individuals Are Uniquely Disadvantaged in Immigration Court, Data Finds
Immigrants facing deportation fare far better if they have a competent attorney representing them. For example, studies show that for asylum seekers, representation generally doubles the likelihood of being granted asylum. For many, the ability to secure competent representation in immigration court is truly a matter of life… Read More
DOJ Threatens to Turn Immigration Judges Into ‘Assembly-Line Workers’
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly intending to implement numerical quotas on Immigration Judges as a way of evaluating their performance. This move would undermine judicial independence, threaten the integrity of the immigration court system, and cause massive due process violations. As it currently stands, Immigration Judges are… Read More
Immigration Arrests at Courthouses Are Under Fire From State Officials
Heightened immigration enforcement has in turn heightened fear, anxiety, and confusion throughout the country. Arrests and stops by federal immigration officials at state and local courthouses is one of the more disconcerting aspects of this new era of enforcement—and a growing number of state officials and supreme court Justices have… Read More
Travel Ban 3.0: What You Need To Know
Just as the Trump administration’s 90-day ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries was set to expire, it announced the third version of its travel ban Sunday evening. This latest version expands the list of targeted countries to eight and imposes indefinite and potentially permanent bans on entry… Read More
The Fight for Appointed Counsel for Immigrant Children Continues
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument on Tuesday in C.J.L.G. v. Sessions – a case that raises grave due process concerns for indigent immigrant children. At issue is whether an immigrant child in deportation proceedings has a right to an appointed attorney when he cannot afford… Read More
Government Moves to Curb Non-Citizens’ Ability to Get More Time to Prepare for Hearings
In a move to reduce the number of times immigration judges reschedule immigration hearings, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) recently issued guidance suggesting judges should change practices regarding “continuances.” A continuance, which only may be granted for “good cause,” is a critically important option for individuals who… Read More
“Immigration, Even for the President, Is Not a One-Person Show”: The Ninth Circuit Rejects Trump’s Travel Ban
Barely three weeks after the Fourth Circuit ruled that President Trump’s travel ban “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination” and thus violated the First Amendment by discriminating against Muslims, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the travel ban also violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In upholding… Read More
Fast-Track Deportation Expansion Could Impact Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants
The U.S. Government has deported hundreds of thousands of individuals each year over the past twenty years. Since 2009, the numbers have grown dramatically and hovered right at or above 400,000 deportations per year. However, while the total number rose during the Obama administration, the underlying numbers of individuals… Read More
Why Are the Immigration Courts So Backlogged? Government Findings May Surprise You
Anyone familiar with the immigration system knows that the immigration courts have an enormous backlog which has persisted—and grown—for more than a decade. As of April 2017, the immigration court backlog topped 585,930 cases, more than double the pending cases in fiscal year (FY) 2006 (212,000). The immigration… Read More
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