Due Process and the Courts

The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration.

Recent Features

  • FOIA

Investigating the Immigration Court System

We're demanding information to uncover the hiring process for Assistant Chief Immigration Judge and their influence over the immigration courts.

  • 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.

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All Due Process and the Courts Content

  • Blog

Ninth Circuit Finds Court Has No Authority to Hear Lawsuit Seeking Access to Counsel for Children

September 29, 2016

In 2014, a legal challenge was mounted against the federal government for its failure to provide legal representation to indigent children in deportation proceedings. The case, F.L.B.. v. Lynch...

  • Blog

Immigrants’ Access to Legal Representation Is Unequal and the Consequences Are Serious

September 28, 2016

Nationally, only 37 percent of all immigrants had legal representation, and only 14 percent of immigrants in detention had a lawyer. In a paper issued today, Access to Counsel in Immigration Court...

  • Blog

Legal Challenges to Arizona’s SB 1070 End–For Now

September 27, 2016

After six years of challenges, including a trip to the Supreme Court, the legal battle over Arizona’s SB 1070 has come to an end—for now. The law faced a wave of opposition soon after going into...

  • Blog

Government Admits Providing False Information to Supreme Court

August 31, 2016

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to the Supreme Court alerting the Justices that it had provided the Court with incorrect information regarding how long certain noncitizens...

  • Blog

New Lawsuit Challenges Preliminary Injunction in United States v. Texas

August 29, 2016

In February 2015, a court in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in the case challenging the expansion of President’s Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative...

  • Blog

Government Sued For Withholding Records on Immigration Raids

August 11, 2016

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is continuing to defend the controversial “Operation Border Guardian” program that took more than 100 Central American women and children from their homes...

  • Blog

Court Rejects Government Attempt to Redact Names of Immigration Judges

August 9, 2016

This summer, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in its lawsuit seeking the disclosure of unredacted versions of...

  • Blog

Court Rules that Individuals Seeking Protection Must Have Bond Hearing

August 8, 2016

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York issued an important decision in July recognizing certain noncitizens’ right to a bond hearing before an immigration judge. It was a victory not only...

  • Blog

FOIA Documents Reveal Government Always Knew Flores Settlement Applies to All Children

August 3, 2016

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the 1997 settlement in Flores v. Reno—which governs the detention, treatment and release of immigrant children—covers both unaccompanied and...

  • Blog

Despite Immigration Judge Hiring, Court Backlogs Continue to Grow

July 27, 2016

The latest figures show that the number of cases pending in immigration court continue to grow. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), there were 496,704 cases in the...

  • Blog

Judge Orders A Full Restart of DACA, but Its Future Remains Uncertain

August 6, 2018

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restart the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative by August 23. This ruling in the D.C. District Court comes just...

  • Blog

Federal Audit Outlines Lasting Impacts of Trump’s Executive Orders on Immigration

July 16, 2018

President Trump wasted no time after assuming office in signing three executive orders which fundamentally changed the nature of immigration enforcement in the United States: Border Security and...

  • Blog

USCIS Is Slowly Being Morphed Into an Immigration Enforcement Agency

July 9, 2018

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidance to initiate deportation proceedings for thousands of applicants denied for any immigration benefit. This policy change will...

  • Blog

Immigration Courts Are Rolling out an Electronic Filing Pilot Program in July

July 6, 2018

The immigration court system will begin to roll out an electronic filing pilot program in six immigration courts on July 16 this year, representing an important advancement for these courts that...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Decision May Make Some Eligible for Relief From Deportation

June 29, 2018

In an 8-1 decision on June 21, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an individual previously prevented from applying for a type of relief from deportation known as cancellation of removal. In...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Upholds President Trump’s Muslim Ban

June 26, 2018

The Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Trump v. Hawaii on Tuesday, upholding the third iteration of the president’s Muslim Ban. The decision by the closely divided court, which...

  • Blog

Sessions Ends Administrative Closure at the Expense of Due Process in Immigration Court

May 18, 2018

Altering decades of practice in immigration court and placing immense pressure on an overburdened immigration court system, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision in an immigration case...

  • Blog

Here’s What Happened Inside the Supreme Court During the Travel Ban Arguments

April 26, 2018

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in Trump v. Hawaii, one of several cases challenging President Trump’s third travel ban. After two earlier travel bans were partially or fully struck...

  • Blog

Justice Department Will Not Halt Legal Orientation Program for Detained Immigrants, Reversing Course for Now

April 25, 2018

Just two weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a suspension of the Legal Orientation Program (LOP), Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified today that DOJ will reverse course and...

  • Blog

Department of Justice Ignores Its Own Evaluators’ Recommendations on Immigration Courts

April 23, 2018

A newly-released document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is making radical changes to the immigration court system that...

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