Due Process and the Courts

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

  • 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.

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

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

New Book Documents 10 Years of Operation Streamline

July 20, 2016

For more than 10 years, the federal government has operated a program in federal courts along the Southwest border targeting unauthorized border crossers for criminal prosecution. The program,...

  • Blog

The Trump Administration Loses Fight to Add Citizenship Question to the 2020 Census

January 16, 2019

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s plan to add a question on U.S. citizenship to the 2020 Census on Tuesday, ruling that the controversial move “violated the public trust” and...

  • Blog

As Shutdown Moves Into Fourth Week, Most Immigration Courts Remain Shuttered

January 14, 2019

With the government shutdown dragging into its fourth week—marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history—most of the nation’s immigration courts remain closed. The Trump administration decries...

  • 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

As 2018 Draws to a Close, Immigration Court Backlogs Reach Record Levels

December 19, 2018

  In the first two years of the Trump administration, immigration hardliners made repeated attempts to reduce immigration court backlogs, from hiring nearly100 new immigration judges to limiting...

  • Blog

Lawsuit Challenging Delays in Asylum Screening Interviews and Bond Hearings Continues

December 14, 2018

A federal court in Seattle on Tuesday permitted a case challenging unlawful delays in asylum screening interviews and bond hearings for asylum seekers to move forward over the government’s...

  • 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

What Matthew Whitaker’s Designation as Acting Attorney General Means for Immigration

December 3, 2018

Following Jeff Sessions’ resignation as Attorney General, President Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace him—a move that has already inspired multiple lawsuits that contend the designation was...

  • Blog

Judge Blocks President Trump’s New Asylum Ban

November 20, 2018

Ruling in a lawsuit late Monday night, a federal judge in San Francisco put the Trump administration’s asylum ban—an unprecedented move that barred asylum to any individual crossing the Southern...

  • Blog

DACA Is Still in Effect as It Heads to the Supreme Court

November 13, 2018

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stinging rebuke to President Trump’s ongoing efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative last week, unanimously...

  • Blog

The Government Outlines Its Plan to Extend TPS Benefits Under Court Order

October 26, 2018

In early October, a federal court ruled that the Trump administration had violated the law when it terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua,...

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