Durbin, Kelly, Padilla, Senate Democrats Press Trump Administration on Weaponizing Immigration Court Hearings to Trap, Arrest, Deport Immigrants
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons, the Senators condemned these actions as an affront to due process.
The Senators began by expressing concern over recent reporting of the Trump Administration’s inhumane initiatives, writing: “We are extremely concerned by reports of a recent initiative to arrest and detain noncitizens at their immigration court hearings, and in many cases, dismiss their immigration cases without advance notice and while hiding the government’s intent to arrest them … These actions prevent noncitizens from having their fair day in court and raise serious legal and due process concerns. They also make clear that this Administration is not targeting the worst criminals and threats to public safety, instead redirecting staff and resources away from drug trafficking and human trafficking and towards these operations targeting noncriminal immigrants who are following the law and showing up for their day in court.”
The Senators then admonished the misuse of expedited removal (ER) as part of the Trump Administration’s efforts, writing: “ER historically has applied only to a noncitizen who ‘is arriving in the United States’ and certain other noncitizens apprehended close to the border less than 14 days after arrival in the United States … ICE is now expanding the application of ER to noncitizens in the interior of the United States who have developed significant ties to the United States, including by lawfully working and attending school. Arresting law-abiding individuals and placing them in ER deprives them of the opportunity to have their fair day in court with the due process protections in immigration court proceedings.”
The Senators then underscored the insincerity and misleading nature of ICE’s intentions outside these hearings, writing: “Nevertheless, we understand that ICE attorneys have been instructed to look for immigration court cases that can be dismissed and then orally request, without prior notice, that removal proceedings be dismissed or the Notice to Appear be withdrawn. ICE often did not inform immigration judges or the noncitizens that the purpose of their request was not relief from removal, but instead that ICE intended to arrest and place the individual in fast-track removal without a hearing … Because noncitizens did not understand the purpose of their dismissal, they did not, through counsel or otherwise, have an opportunity to take steps to oppose the ICE attorneys’ motions to terminate or withdraw.”
The Senators then raised serious due process concerns, citing recent Supreme Court arguments, writing: “The U.S. Supreme Court recently stated, ‘[w]e have long held that no person shall be removed from the United States without opportunity, at some time, to be heard. Due process requires notice that is reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties and that affords[s] a reasonable time …to make an appearance.’ Here, it appears that the ICE attorneys are being told to dismiss immigration cases and place noncitizens in expedited removal. At the same time, immigration judges are being told that they may dismiss such cases without any briefing or opportunity to respond. In addition, often noncitizens have not been notified of the purpose of their dismissal, in order to respond or contest the dismissal of their immigration cases, or the placement of their case into expedited removal. Taken together, these actions raise serious due process concerns.”
The Senators concluded by articulating the horrible situation this puts immigrants in with no benefit to our country, before making a series of information requests, writing: “These actions also place noncitizens in an impossible position. If noncitizens who fear arrest do not attend their immigration court hearing, they may receive an in absentia removal order that will newly subject them to swift detention and removal. If they do attend, they risk arrest, detention, and a swift deportation, possibly to South Sudan, Libya, or El Salvador—countries they may have no connection to. This manipulation of existing laws to enact this Administration’s mass deportation agenda is creating chaos in our immigration system while doing nothing to make our communities safer.”
For a PDF version of the letter, click here.
-30-