Due Process & the Courts
Circuit Judge Says “Even the Good Hombres Are Not Safe”
A judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an important immigration opinion last month, blasting the administration’s immigration policy and the unfettered discretion it is exercising in deportation decisions. Judge Stephen Reinhardt, in a concurrence, concluded that instead of focusing on the “bad hombres,” the… Read More
Government Regularly Denies Access to Counsel, Groups Seek New Rules
When the White House issued its first Muslim travel ban, reports of noncitizens and citizens being held in airports’ secondary detention swirled. Individuals were being held for hours at a time without access to attorneys, even though scores of lawyers were attempting to reach them. Denial of access… Read More
Federal Court Blocks DOJ’s Attempt to Restrict Access to Legal Assistance
On Wednesday, a federal court in Seattle issued a nationwide temporary restraining order allowing nonprofits to continue to provide limited legal assistance to immigrants without being forced to formally represent them in immigration court. The order was issued in a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrants… Read More
Expedited Removal Hurts the Most Vulnerable In an Already Complicated Immigration System
The government often relies on “fast track” deportation methods to bypass due process protections in an effort to more rapidly process asylum seekers who come to the United States seeking humanitarian protection. One such deportation method, expedited removal, disadvantages the most vulnerable non-citizens currently in the United States: women… Read More
Sessions Reveals Plan to Ramp up Prosecutions of Low Level Immigration Offenses
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a shift in policy for the Department of Justice on Tuesday, directing U.S. attorneys to prioritize criminal immigration enforcement and drastically expand federal court prosecutions of immigration violators across the nation. Operation Streamline and other border enforcement programs—where some border crossers are referred by… Read More
Immigrants Could Get a Second Chance in Court If Their Lawyers Give Them Bad Advice
Immigrants rely heavily on the advice of their lawyers, often times entrusting their entire livelihood on the merits of the counsel. But what happens when a lawyer gives their client bad advice, and that advice becomes the catalyst for their deportation? This is the question the Supreme Court tackled on… Read More
Increased Role of Police in Immigration Enforcement Heightens Need for Suppression of Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
Under the Trump administration’s recent executive order on interior enforcement, state and local police are being pressured to work closely with immigration officers to carry out sweeping immigration enforcement actions. Advocates fear that this approach will have devastating consequences for immigrant communities and undermine public safety and trust between… Read More
New Immigration Court Directive Could Weaken Due Process
The Trump administration released a memorandum this week–effective immediately–which orders the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (which manages the immigration courts) to prioritize deportation hearings for certain groups, including any non-citizens who are detained and unaccompanied children who do not have a sponsor. The memo rescinded preexisting… Read More
Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch on Immigration
President Donald Trump announced his choice Tuesday to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly one year ago. In nominating Tenth Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch, a Harvard Law School graduate who was confirmed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in… Read More
Texas Judge Rules Immigration Family Detention Centers Cannot Get Childcare Licenses
A Texas judge issued a final judgment last Friday prohibiting the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from issuing a childcare license to the nation’s largest family detention center, in Dilley, Texas and invalidating the license currently held by Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes City, Texas. In… Read More
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