Due Process & the Courts
Brief Argues Attorney General Lacks Impartiality Necessary to Decide Immigration Cases
In a rare move, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently referred an immigration case to himself, utilizing a regulation that gives attorney generals the power to reconsider cases previously decided by the Board of Immigration Appeals. But Sessions’ hostile anti-immigrant public statements, made over the course of his entire career, make him unfit to rule in an immigration case. Read More
In a Decision Strongly Rebuking ICE, Court Orders the Release of Ravi Ragbir
Following the contentious arrest of immigrant activist Ravi Ragbir, a federal district court ordered his immediate release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention on Monday. The executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City was unexpectedly detained at an ICE check-in on January 11, sparking… Read More
Lawsuit Filed Against DOJ and Judges in North Carolina Who Refuse to Hold Bond Hearings
In a sharp departure from the practice of immigration courts around the country, immigration judges in North Carolina are refusing to conduct bond hearings for detained immigrants who come before the Charlotte Immigration Court. This unlawful, alarming, and unconscionable practice deprives noncitizens of their basic due process rights. Read More
Already Facing a Backlog, Sessions Aims to Add 350,000 Cases to Immigration Courts
In a rare move, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently referred an immigration case to himself, invoking a federal statute that allows attorneys general to reconsider cases decided by the Board of Immigration Appeals, which hears appeals from immigration courts nationwide. Sessions referred the case to himself after an immigration… Read More
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
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
