Right to Counsel

Our legal system rests upon the principle that everyone is entitled to due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. But for far too long, the immigration system has failed to provide noncitizens with a system of justice that lives up to this standard. Learn about ways in which the immigration system could ensure that all noncitizens have a fair day in court.  

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.

  • Special Report

Access to Counsel in Immigration Court

Immigrants in immigration court do not have a right to government-appointed counsel. The lack of legal representation has a profound impact on immigrants’ outcomes in removal proceedings.

All Right to Counsel Content

  • Fact Sheet

The Institutional Hearing Program: An Overview

July 17, 2019
The Institutional Hearing Program permits immigration judges to conduct removal proceedings for noncitizens serving criminal sentences in certain correctional facilities.
  • Fact Sheet

Legal Orientation Program Overview

September 6, 2018
The Legal Orientation Program (LOP) offers legal education, as well as referrals for free and low-cost legal counsel, to noncitizens in immigration detention.
  • Special Report

Access to Counsel in Immigration Court

September 28, 2016
Immigrants in immigration court do not have a right to government-appointed counsel. The lack of legal representation has a profound impact on immigrants’ outcomes in removal proceedings.
  • Special Report

A Guide to Children Arriving at the Border: Laws, Policies and Responses

June 26, 2015
This Guide provides information about the tens of thousands of children—some travelling with their parents and others alone—who have fled their homes in Central America and arrived at our southern...
  • Fact Sheet

Providing Noncitizens With Their Day in Court

May 15, 2013
Our legal system rests upon the principle that everyone is entitled to due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. But for far too long, immigration courts have failed to provide...
  • Special Report

Falling through the Cracks

May 14, 2012
How Gaps in ICE's Prosecutorial Discretion Policy Affect Immigrants Without Legal Representation While the Obama administration’s has expanded use of prosecutorial discretion in immigration cases,...
  • Special Report

Behind Closed Doors: An Overview of DHS Restrictions on Access to Counsel

May 1, 2012
The report describes restrictions on access to legal counsel before DHS, provides a legal landscape, and offers recommendations designed to combat DHS’s harmful practices. It also addresses changes...
  • Fact Sheet

Crossing Borders Alone: The Treatment of Unaccompanied Children in the United States

December 1, 2003
Children who travel unaccompanied to the United States experience not only the trauma of family separation and the frequently predatory behavior of the traffickers who bring them, but also harsh...
  • Advocacy

Comment on Executive Office for Immigration Review Proposed Rule Regarding Appeal Procedures and Administrative Closure

September 25, 2020

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, through their joint initiative, the Immigration Justice Campaign, submitted this comment in opposition to...

  • Litigation

Stopping Government Interference to Attorney Phone Access in Immigration Detention Centers

This lawsuit was filed to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement from denying detainees the ability to contact their lawyers and the outside world by phone.
  • 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.
  • Amicus Briefs

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf

January 31, 2020

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted an amicus brief in Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf, a case filed by the American...

  • Advocacy

Statement for the House Judiciary Committee on "Courts in Crisis: The State of Judicial Independence and Due Process in U.S. Immigration Courts"

January 29, 2020

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship for a January 29, 2020, hearing on "Courts in Crisis:...

  • FOIA Litigation

FOIA Lawsuit Demands Release of Information on the Institutional Hearing Program

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  • Litigation

Challenging ICE Interference with Legal Representation at Dilley

This case stems from Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) decision to bar Caroline Perris, a full-time legal assistant with the Dilley Pro Bono Project (DPBP), from entering the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
  • Advocacy

Petition for Rulemaking Requests New Regulations Governing Access to Counsel

May 25, 2017
This petition, jointly filed by the Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, seeks to provide access to legal counsel for the following individuals.
  • Advocacy

Comments on Streamlining and Improving the U.S. Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Systems

January 29, 2015
The Council submitted comments in response to a request by DHS and the Department of State (DOS) for input on streamlining and improving the U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant visa systems. In the comments, the Council recommended that DHS amend 8 C.F.R. § 292.5(b) to ensure that individuals in secondary inspection are provided with a regulatory right to counsel during their examinations, and that DOS promulgate regulations in 22 C.F.R. Part 40 to provide for meaningful access to counsel during interviews at consular posts.
  • Advocacy

American Immigration Council Synopsis: CBP Restrictions on Access to Counsel

October 1, 2014
The synopsis provides a summary of CBP policies related to access to counsel, based on documents obtained through the Council’s FOIA request and litigation. The summary addresses access to counsel in inspections and CBP detention, and policies on advisals of rights and the treatment of children.
  • Blog

ICE Makes It Almost Impossible for People to Make Phone Calls from Detention Centers, Even in a Pandemic

August 27, 2020

Communication with the outside world is crucial for people in jail. This includes individuals facing deportation while detained in immigration detention centers, who do not have the right to court...

  • Blog

ICE Faces Lawsuit Over Blocking Phone Access to Detainees

May 4, 2020

A free phone call can mean the difference between a fair day in court and being deported to harm—or worse—for individuals held in immigration detention centers. Immigrants may not be able to meet...

  • Blog

Conditions in Border Facilities Deny Asylum Seekers Meaningful Screening Interviews

February 4, 2020

In U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody, asylum seekers are detained in horribly cold and overcrowded facilities, unable to sleep, without access to food, water, or adequate medical...

  • Blog

Immigration Courts Further Limit Legal Help Available to People Facing Deportation

December 3, 2019

Every year, thousands of people are forced to face the complex deportation system without an attorney representing them. Now, the immigration courts are seeking to limit the assistance that these...

  • Blog

‘I Was Denied Access to the Tent Courts Where Asylum Seekers Are Rushed Through a Sham Process.’

November 18, 2019

Nearly 60,000 people seeking asylum in the United States have been returned to Mexico to wait for their U.S. court hearings under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain...

  • Blog

Pennsylvania Should Widen Access to Justice for People in Immigration Detention

October 11, 2019

People in immigration detention who are represented by an attorney are more likely to receive a positive outcome in immigration court than those that face judges alone. Unfortunately, people who...

  • Blog

Trump Administration’s Plan to Subject Hundreds of Thousands to Fast-Track Deportations Faces New Lawsuit

August 6, 2019

The Trump administration recently announced it would start applying a fast-tracked deportation process known as “expedited removal” to hundreds of thousands more people than ever before. People...

  • Blog

The Judicial Black Sites the Government Created to Speed Up Deportations

January 7, 2019

As the Trump administration continues to strip away due process in immigration courts, the recent creation of two “Immigration Adjudication Centers” is cause for concern. The two new facilities...

  • Blog

Federal Court to Consider Again Whether Children Can Be Deported Without Attorneys

December 10, 2018

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in C.J.L.G. v. Whitaker, a case that addresses whether children facing deportation have the right to a court-appointed attorney....

  • Blog

New Government Study Attempts to Undermine Legal Orientation Program for Detained Immigrants

September 7, 2018

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released “Phase I” of its review of the federally-funded Legal Orientation Program (LOP) this week. The review came after Attorney General Jeff Sessions attempted...

  • Press Release

Time for Us All to Stand Up for Our Democracy

September 11, 2020
It is not news that our nation is in an unprecedented moment where many of our democratic traditions and norms are being challenged. We have grown deeply concerned by the ongoing attacks on democracy that are unfolding before us.
  • Press Release

Detained Immigrants Ask Court to Stop ICE Interference to Phone Access in Immigration Detention Centers

August 26, 2020
Individuals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Otero County Processing Center filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop ICE from denying detained individuals the ability to contact their lawyers and the outside world by phone.
  • Press Release

The American Immigration Council Announces Kate Melloy Goettel As Legal Director of Litigation

June 5, 2020
The American Immigration Council has named experienced attorney and litigator Kate Melloy Goettel to be its legal director of litigation.
  • Press Release

Plaintiffs Will Continue Fight to Halt Dangerous and Unconstitutional Practices by EOIR and ICE

April 28, 2020
Today’s Court decision denying the emergency temporary restraining order in NIPNLG, et al., v. EOIR, et al., is deeply disappointing. This lawsuit was brought against the Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to protect the health of immigration attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Press Release

Temporary Restraining Order Requested to Stop Dangerous EOIR and ICE Policies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 8, 2020
Immigration groups moved for an emergency temporary restraining order against the Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to protect the health of immigration attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks Halt to Dangerous and Unconstitutional Policies Endangering Immigration Attorneys, Clients, and the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic

March 30, 2020
This lawsuit demands the government take immediate actions to prioritize the health and safety of attorneys and clients at risk in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Press Release

Citing Coronavirus Risks and a New Irresponsible Policy for the Immigration Courts, Groups Urge Protecting the Health and Safety of Government Employees, Lawyers, and Immigrants

March 23, 2020
In a letter calling for prioritizing the health and safety of government employees, detained individuals, and their legal representatives amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, together with the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and more than 100 other organizations, urged the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to immediately authorize the robust and automatic use of remote options for immigration court appearances and attorney-client meetings.
  • Press Release

New Pilot Program in El Paso Rushes Asylum Seekers Through A Deeply Flawed Process

October 24, 2019
Media reports today indicate that the government has initiated a new pilot program in El Paso, Texas to rush the review of sensitive asylum cases. The reported program, called “Prompt Asylum Case Review,” forces families to navigate the asylum process while detained in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
  • Press Release

Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Fast-Track Deportations

August 6, 2019
The American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s new rule that massively expands fast-track deportations without a fair legal process such as a court hearing or access to an attorney.
  • Press Release

Expansion of Fast-Track Deportations Jeopardizes Countless Vulnerable Individuals and Fair Day in Court

July 22, 2019
Expanding expedited removal in this manner will create a 'show me your papers' regime of immigration enforcement where individuals—including any U.S. citizens they encounter—will be forced to prove they should not be deported. The American Immigration Council will not stand by idly as the Trump administration continues its unlawful attacks on our communities. We will see the Trump administration in court
  • Advocacy

Comment on Executive Office for Immigration Review Proposed Rule Regarding Appeal Procedures and Administrative Closure

September 25, 2020

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, through their joint initiative, the Immigration Justice Campaign, submitted this comment in opposition to...

  • Press Release

Time for Us All to Stand Up for Our Democracy

September 11, 2020
It is not news that our nation is in an unprecedented moment where many of our democratic traditions and norms are being challenged. We have grown deeply concerned by the ongoing attacks on democracy that are unfolding before us.
  • Blog

ICE Makes It Almost Impossible for People to Make Phone Calls from Detention Centers, Even in a Pandemic

August 27, 2020

Communication with the outside world is crucial for people in jail. This includes individuals facing deportation while detained in immigration detention centers, who do not have the right to court...

  • Press Release

Detained Immigrants Ask Court to Stop ICE Interference to Phone Access in Immigration Detention Centers

August 26, 2020
Individuals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Otero County Processing Center filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop ICE from denying detained individuals the ability to contact their lawyers and the outside world by phone.
  • Litigation

Stopping Government Interference to Attorney Phone Access in Immigration Detention Centers

This lawsuit was filed to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement from denying detainees the ability to contact their lawyers and the outside world by phone.
  • Press Release

The American Immigration Council Announces Kate Melloy Goettel As Legal Director of Litigation

June 5, 2020
The American Immigration Council has named experienced attorney and litigator Kate Melloy Goettel to be its legal director of litigation.
  • Blog

ICE Faces Lawsuit Over Blocking Phone Access to Detainees

May 4, 2020

A free phone call can mean the difference between a fair day in court and being deported to harm—or worse—for individuals held in immigration detention centers. Immigrants may not be able to meet...

  • Press Release

Plaintiffs Will Continue Fight to Halt Dangerous and Unconstitutional Practices by EOIR and ICE

April 28, 2020
Today’s Court decision denying the emergency temporary restraining order in NIPNLG, et al., v. EOIR, et al., is deeply disappointing. This lawsuit was brought against the Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to protect the health of immigration attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Press Release

Temporary Restraining Order Requested to Stop Dangerous EOIR and ICE Policies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 8, 2020
Immigration groups moved for an emergency temporary restraining order against the Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to protect the health of immigration attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 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.

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