Due Process

Following is a list of links to resources about due process in our immigration system.

2010

Reforming the Immigration System: Proposals for Reform in the Adjudication of Removal Cases

February 02, 2010 - Arnold & Porter LLP, for the American Bar Association

The 500-page report examines each stage of the immigration removal adjudication system and makes some 60 recommendations for incremental and systemic reform. Designed as a tool for policymakers considering legislative and administrative changes to the immigration system, the study identifies concerns ranging from internal Department of Homeland Security practices to systemic weaknesses within the court’s current structure. The link is to the 78-page executive summary.

2009

Reforming our Immigration Detention System and Promoting Access to Counsel

December 02, 2009

An effective immigration enforcement strategy requires a commitment to the rule of law and respect for constitutional rights. This report finds that legal representation is essential to ensuring that basic due process rights are upheld.

Immigration Courts: Still A Troubled Institution

July 01, 2009 - Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse

In August of 2006 Attorney General Alberto Gonzales ordered the Justice Department to launch an effort "to improve the performance and the quality" of the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Gonzales' directive listed 22 specific measures. This TRAC special report assesses what has and has not been accomplished to implement the 22 reform measures. TRAC's overall conclusion is that in the hiring, training, and quality assurance measures, much remains to be done.

Case Backlogs in Immigration Courts Expand, Resulting Wait Times Grow

June 18, 2009 - Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse

This study of the recent performance of the Immigration Courts finds that the failure of the Justice Department to fill judge vacancies, combined with growth in the number of matters the judges are handling each year, has resulted in an increasing backlog of cases, a growing length of time an immigrant must wait for his or her case to be resolved, and a declining amount of time judges spend on each immigration matter.

Assembly Line Injustice: Blueprint to Reform America’s Immigration Courts

June 10, 2009 - Appleseed and Chicago Appleseed

Identifies problems encountered everyday in our immigration courts, including too few judges and clerks; over-reliance on videoconferencing; inadequate access to court records; lack of effective, unbiased translation; and the difficulty of securing representation for immigrants. The report offers comprehensive solutions.

Jailed Without Justice: Immigration Detention in the USA

March 25, 2009 - Amnesty International

The conditions under which immigrants are held violate both US and international standards on the treatment of detainees. Problems include comingling of immigration detainees with individuals convicted of criminal offenses; inappropriate and excessive use of restraints; inadequate access to healthcare; and limited or no access to family and to legal or other assistance.

2008

Restore Fairness and Due Process to Our Immigration System

May 22, 2008 - American Immigration Lawyers Association

This paper argues that current laws against immigrants go too far and deny basic due process to millions of people who live in the U.S.

2006

The Importance Of Independence And Accountability In Our Immigration Courts

July 20, 2006 - American Immigration Lawyers Association

The Administration is dismantling the immigration appeals system. Through a series of regulations issued by the Attorney General, the Board of Immigration Appeals has been systematically stripped of its ability to serve as the watchdog for the lower courts.

2005

Securing Our Borders: Post 9/11 Scapegoating of Immigrants (Executive Summary and Recommendations)

May 06, 2005 - Florida Immigrant Advocacy Coalition

This report provides a comprehensive examination of policies and practices that affect refugees and immigrants across the country, documents how their lives have changed and offers recommendations for changes to ensure that our safety and basic civil rights remain intact.

Revisiting the Need for Appointed Counsel

April 30, 2005 - Migration Policy Institute

Most immigrants face removal proceedings without counsel, and they fare far more poorly than do those with counsel. An appointed counsel system would serve the interests of the government and of non-citizens facing removal.

2004

American Justice Through Immigrants’ Eyes

August 04, 2004 - American Bar Association

The report details how seven years of changes in our nation’s immigration laws have led to a two-tiered justice system for American immigrants, and recommends ways to restore immigrants’ due process rights.

Targets of Suspicion: The Impact of Post-9/11 Policies on Muslims, Arabs and South Asians in the Uni

May 31, 2004 - Immigration Policy Center

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a series of law enforcement actions targeted Muslims, Arabs and South Asians. Bearing the brunt of these policies and being the targets of suspicion has exerted enormous pressure on these communities and the organizations that serve them.

Guidance On ICE Policy And Practice Changes Recommended By The Dept Of Justice Inspector General

March 30, 2004 - Asa Hutchinson, Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security, Department of Homeland Security

This Memorandum provides guidance on the implementation of changes in procedures regarding persons held in immigration detention, in response to recommendations made by the Department of Justice Inspector General report, "The September 11 Detainees: A Review Of The Treatment Of Aliens Held On Immigration Charges In Connection With The Investigation Of The September 11 Attacks."

Above the Law: Executive Power after September 11 in the United States

January 31, 2004 - Human Rights Watch

The Bush administration has seemed intent on shielding executive actions deemed to promote national security from any serious judicial scrutiny, demanding deference from the courts on even the most cherished of rights, the right to liberty.

Analysis of the Second Response to the Report on the Treatment of September 11 Detainees

January 05, 2004 - Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice

The Inspector General concludes that the DOJ has taken significant and responsible steps to implement the OIG’s recommendations from the Detainee Report. With regard to the recommendations that are related to DHS responsibilities, the DHS OIG now is responsible for monitoring the DHS’s implementation of those recommendations.

2003

Special Registration: Discrimination and Xenophobia as Government Policy

November 30, 2003 - Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

This report describes how Special Registration has been used to ively track and deport Muslim men in the United States.

Seeking Meaningful Review

October 31, 2003 - American Bar Association

Findings and Recommendations in Response to Dorsey & Whitney Study of Board of Immigration Appeals Procedural Reforms. An analysis of Board of Immigration Appeals decisions since the implementation of new rules that “streamlined” the decision-making process so that a single judge reviews most cases and issues no written decision with his reasons for denying or granting the immigrant’s appeal. Far fewer appeals are granted under the new procedures.

Assessing the New Normal: Liberty and Security for the Post-September 11 United States

September 30, 2003 - Human Rights First

Two years after the terror attacks of 9/11, the relationship between the U.S. government and the people it serves has dramatically changed. This “new normal” of U.S. governance is defined by “the loss of particular freedoms for some, and worse, a detachment from the rule of law as a whole.”

The September 11 Detainees: A Review of the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges

April 30, 2003 - Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice

A report on the treatment of 762 aliens held on various immigration charges in connection with the terrorism investigation after September 11, 2001. The report described a pattern of abuse, from indefinite detention by the FBI to verbal and physical abuse in detention facilities.

How Changes to U.S. Law & Policy Since 9/11 Erode Human Rights and Civil Liberties

March 11, 2003 - The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights

Discusses the national and international implications of human and civil rights violations in the 18 months following September 11th.

2002

Presumption of Guilt: Human Rights Abuses of Post-September 11 Detainees

August 31, 2002 - Human Rights Watch

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the country has witnessed a persistent, deliberate, and unwarranted erosion of basic rights against abusive governmental power that are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law.

Immigration Laws Deny Access to Justice

January 08, 2002 - National Immigration Forum

Issue brief discussing the harsh consequences of anti-immigrant laws passed in 1996.