Due Process and the Courts

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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

Judge Allows Certain Family Separations at the Border to Continue

January 21, 2020

The Trump administration received an unfortunate victory in the case against their family separation policy. On January 13, 2020, Federal Judge Dana Sabraw sided with the government in a lawsuit...

  • Blog

Tent Immigration Courts Are Still Not Fully Open to the Public

January 17, 2020

Asylum seekers subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols—or the “Remain in Mexico” program—in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas attend their court hearings in tents known as “port courts.” The...

  • Blog

‘Zero Tolerance’ Overwhelmed Courts and Diverted Resources From Criminal Investigations

December 5, 2019

Attorney General Sessions’ orders to prioritize prosecuting people for immigration-related offenses in 2017 and 2018 put a significant strain on law enforcement across the border, diverting...

  • 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

Immigration Agencies’ Intrusive Searches of Cell Phones, Laptops Are Ruled Unconstitutional

November 15, 2019

A federal court ruled this week that sweeping policies permitting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to search personal cell phones,...

  • Blog

What’s Happened to the People Returned to Mexico Under the Migrant Protection Protocols?

November 6, 2019

It’s been nearly a year since the Trump administration announced the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or the “Remain in Mexico” program. This program forces vulnerable asylum seekers to return...

  • Blog

A Federal Agency Is Deleting Court Records That Implicate Trump’s Immigration Policies  

November 5, 2019

Understanding how the immigration agencies operate has never been more important. Equally important is being able to rely on the information that those agencies release to the public. For this...

  • Blog

The Perils of the Migrant Protection Protocols

October 23, 2019

Rape, violence, kidnapping, and lack of basic health care is, unfortunately, a reality for hundreds of asylum seekers subjected to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or “Remain in Mexico”...

  • Blog

In Historic Ruling, Thousands of Immigrants Waiting for Their Immigration Records Can Now Challenge Agency Delay

October 17, 2019

A federal court in San Francisco certified two nationwide classes of immigrants and attorneys challenging extreme agency delays in producing immigration case files. Plaintiffs allege that U.S....

  • Press Release

Supreme Court Limits Arizona’s Overreach on Immigration, Leaves Door Open to Future Challenges

June 25, 2012

Washington D.C. - In a blow to the state anti-immigration movement, the Supreme Court ruled today that the authority to enforce immigration laws rests squarely with the federal gov

  • Press Release

Legal Action Center Files Suit Against DHS for Failure to Disclose Records on "Voluntary" Returns

June 8, 2012

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Council Reveals Government’s Interference with Noncitizens’ Access to Legal Counsel

May 31, 2012

Washington D.C. - Today, the American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center released a report and filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on the pressing issue of non

  • Press Release

AIC Challenges BIA Decision Denying Miranda-like Warnings to Immigrants Under Arrest

April 23, 2012

Washington, D.C.—On Friday, the American Immigration Council challenged a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruling that immigrants who are arrested without a warra

  • Press Release

The Council Applauds Supreme Court Decision Rejecting Retroactive Application of Immigration Law Provision

March 29, 2012

Washington, D.C.—Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court issued an important decision, Vartelas v.

  • Press Release

En Banc Court Reverses Adverse Holding, Says Immigrants Can Pursue Cases from Outside U.S.

January 30, 2012

Washington, D.C.- Today, an en banc panel of the U.S.

  • Press Release

USCIS Takes Steps to Improve Noncitizens’ Access to Legal Counsel

January 19, 2012

Washington D.C. – During its nine-year history, issues have arisen with respect to restrictions on counsel by the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration age

  • Press Release

LAC Urges Fifth Circuit to Permit Removal Cases to Continue from Outside the United States

December 15, 2011

Washington, D.C.—The Legal Action Center, along with the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG), filed an amicus brief yesterday urging the Fifth Cir

  • Press Release

Lawsuits Filed Against Department of Homeland Security Seek Greater Transparency

November 9, 2011

Washington, D.C.—The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center (LAC) this week filed two lawsuits

  • Press Release

Board of Immigration Appeals Guts Legal Protections for Immigrants Under Arrest

August 15, 2011

Washington, D.C.—The American Immigration Council strongly condemns last week’s ruling from the Board of Immigra

  • FOIA

Seeking Information About Board of Immigration Appeals' Treatment of Motions to Reconsider

This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed to learn more about trends in the Board of Immigration Appeal’s treatment of motions to reconsider orders of removal.
  • Blog

Court Allows ICE to Use Enforcement Priorities Set by the Biden Administration

September 16, 2021

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday stayed a significant part of an earlier decision by the Northern District of Texas that would have blocked the implementation of the Biden...

  • Blog

New Illinois Law Allows Public Defenders to Represent Immigrants Facing Deportation

September 2, 2021

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law in August that would allow the Cook County Public Defender to represent immigrants in the Chicago immigration court. The law is part of a movement to...

  • Blog

Felony Reentry Immigration Law Is Unconstitutional Due to Racist Origins, Judge Rules

August 27, 2021

The post Felony Reentry Immigration Law Is Unconstitutional Due to Racist Origins, Judge Rules...

  • Fact Sheet

Prosecuting People for Coming to the United States

Publication Date: 
August 23, 2021
Over the last two decades, the federal government increasingly has utilized the criminal courts to punish people for immigration violations. This overview provides basic information about entry-...
  • Press Release

Federal Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement Guidelines and Attempts to Upend Prosecutorial Discretion

August 19, 2021
A Texas judge blocked the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. The decision was issued in a case challenging ICE’s enforcement activities outside the scope laid out in the Feb. 18 enforcement memo.
  • Amicus Briefs

Council and Partners Submit Amicus Brief to Stop the Reinstatement of the Migrant Protection Protocols

Publication Date: 
August 18, 2021
This brief highlights the court's many factual errors about MPP in its decision to reinstate the program.
  • Press Release

130+ Groups Release Top Five Immigration Priorities for Biden Administration’s Next Budget

August 17, 2021
As the Biden administration begins crafting next year's budget, 131 organizations published a statement for the Biden administration outlining the top immigration priorities that must be included in the country’s budget for Fiscal Year 2023.
  • Advocacy

Coalition Outlines Immigration Priorities for a Just Budget in Fiscal Year 2023

Publication Date: 
August 17, 2021
The Council and more than 130 organizations urged the Biden administration to redirect government funding for fiscal year 2023 away from draconian enforcement measures and invest in legal services...
  • Letters

Council Calls on Biden Administration to Block the Return of MPP

Publication Date: 
August 16, 2021
The Council led more than 100 other organizations in a letter urging the Biden administration to do everything in its power to prevent the return of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which was...

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