Due Process & the Courts
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
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
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
