Due Process and the Courts

Recent Features

  • Litigation

Stopping Policies Endangering Immigration Attorneys, Clients, and the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Council filed a lawsuit to close the immigration courts and ensure due process.

  • 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.

  • Special Report

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.

All Due Process and the Courts Content

  • Blog

Appellate Court Hears Oral Argument in Texas v. United States

July 13, 2015

Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral argument in the most closely watched immigration case in years, Texas v. United States. This is a case brought by Texas and...

  • Blog

U.S. Settles With 4-Year-Old U.S. Citizen They Wrongfully Deported

July 2, 2015

Some say the wheels of justice turn slowly; however, when justice is finally delivered it is sweet. After more than two years of litigation, the U.S. government has agreed to settle a lawsuit...

  • Blog

U.S. Settles With 4-Year-Old U.S. Citizen They Wrongfully Deported

July 2, 2015

Some say the wheels of justice turn slowly; however, when justice is finally delivered it is sweet. After more than two years of litigation, the U.S. government has agreed to settle a lawsuit...

  • 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...

  • Press Release

AG Jeff Sessions is unfit to decide immigration case, say immigration groups

February 21, 2018
The American Immigration Council, joined by several other immigration groups, submitted an amicus brief that argues that due process requires an impartial adjudicator and that Sessions’ anti-immigrant statements and actions prevent him from acting as one. The brief lays out Sessions’ decades-long public record of anti-immigrant statements, including specific statements evidencing prejudgment of issues in the case, and urges Sessions to either vacate the referral order or recuse himself from the case.
  • Amicus Briefs

Matter of Castro-Tum

February 19, 2018
In the case, Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to himself questions related to administrative closure. This move by Sessions could signal an attempt to end administrative closure altogether—which could force over 350,000 immigrants back into immigration court, exacerbating the challenges of an already overburdened immigration court system.
  • Blog

Trump’s Budget Proposal Would Increase Harsh Immigration Enforcement

February 13, 2018

President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, which doubles down on his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. The proposed budget seeks to fund the...

  • Practice Advisories

The Basics of Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders

February 7, 2018

This practice advisory provides a basic overview of motions to reopen removal orders that are filed with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which consists of immigration courts...

  • Blog

In a Decision Strongly Rebuking ICE, Court Orders the Release of Ravi Ragbir

January 30, 2018

  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...

  • Blog

Government Shuts Down While Negotiations Continue on Dream Act, but Most Immigration Functions Continue

January 20, 2018

With the national conversation focused squarely on Dreamers, Congress was unable to find common ground on a budget deal and has shut down the U.S. Government. Congressional leadership decided not...

  • Blog

Lawsuit Filed Against DOJ and Judges in North Carolina Who Refuse to Hold Bond Hearings

January 18, 2018

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...

  • Press Release

Lawsuit Challenges Illegal Bond Hearing Practices in Charlotte Immigration Court

January 18, 2018
The lawsuit challenges the practice of three of the four sitting immigration judges in the Charlotte Immigration Court who refuse to conduct bond hearings—even though they are required to do so—and are consequently prolonging the detention of bond-eligible individuals for several weeks.
  • Litigation

Challenging Immigration Judges' Refusal to Conduct Bond Hearings

This lawsuit challenges the actions of immigration judges in Charlotte, North Carolina who have refused to conduct bond hearings for people who properly file bond motions with the Charlotte Immigration Court.
  • Blog

Already Facing a Backlog, Sessions Aims to Add 350,000 Cases to Immigration Courts

January 16, 2018

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...

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