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

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

Department of Justice Seeks Rehearing in United States v. Texas

July 18, 2016

Today, the Department of Justice filed a petition for rehearing with the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas.  In June, the Court issued a 4-4 one sentence nondecision affirming the Fifth...

  • Blog

Supreme Court to Consider Whether DHS Can Subject Noncitizens to Prolonged, Mandatory Detention

July 11, 2016

Last month, the Supreme Court announced that, in fall 2016, it will hear arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, a challenge to the prolonged detention of noncitizens in removal proceedings. At issue...

  • Blog

As Immigration Court Quotas Go Into Effect, Many Call For Reform

October 1, 2018

On October 1, immigration judges around the country will arrive at work and face a daunting new task; complete 700 removal cases in the next year or risk official sanction. The new court quotas...

  • Blog

Which Immigration Cases Will the Supreme Court Hear This Term?

September 28, 2018

On October 1, the Supreme Court will begin hearing cases for the start of its 2018-2019 term. Although only one immigration case is currently scheduled to be heard, challenges to President Trump’s...

  • Blog

Sessions Limits Immigration Judges’ Ability to Dismiss Deportation Cases

September 26, 2018

In his latest attempt to micromanage immigration judges and ensure a maximum number of deportations, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision last week restricting a judge’s ability to...

  • Blog

In a Speech to New Immigration Judges, Attorney General Sessions Attacks Immigration Lawyers and Judicial Independence

September 11, 2018

Rather than encourage the new class of 44 immigration judges to be fair and impartial adjudicators in his Monday morning speech, Attorney General Jeff Sessions advocated for a deeply flawed...

  • 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...

  • Blog

Brett Kavanaugh’s Record on Immigration Raises Questions

September 5, 2018

President Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court—D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh—appears in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week to answer...

  • Blog

Federal Judge Allows DACA Renewals to Continue for Now

September 4, 2018

This week will mark the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s announcement ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. Yet, defenders and recipients of DACA are...

  • Blog

Sessions’ Decision Places New Burdens on Individuals in Removal Proceedings and Immigration Judges

August 21, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision on continuances in immigration court that both recognized their importance and decried their alleged overuse.  This decision will have widespread...

  • Blog

Immigration Judges’ Union Fights for Judicial Independence

August 17, 2018

The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), the union that represents the nation’s immigration judges, is challenging the government’s decision to remove an immigration judge from a...

  • Special Report

Detaining Families

Publication Date: 
August 16, 2018
This report presents findings from the first empirical analysis of asylum adjudication in family detention. Drawing on government data from over 18,000 immigration court proceedings initiated between...

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