How The El Paso Immigration Court Fails To Uphold Due Process
Everyone deserves a fair and transparent court process. But that is simply not the case in an El Paso Immigration Court in Texas. At this court, thousands of detained immigrants face obstacles to a fair day in court each year.
Alarmingly, judges in this court granted about 3 percent of all asylum applications in FY 2016 and 2017. This is the lowest rate in the country.
After weeks of investigation, we filed a complaint with the Department of Justice demanding immediate oversight and action.
This complaint highlights systemic due process violations that are undermining justice for detained immigrants called before judges at the El Paso Service Processing Center (SPC) Immigration Court. The complaint draws from court observations of hundreds of immigration hearings, several sworn statements from legal practitioners appearing before the El Paso SPC Immigration Court, standing orders used by the Immigration Judges, and more. Read the evidence here.
The complaint details egregious immigration judge conduct and court rules, such as:
- Judges making hostile comments including, “due process is an opportunity, not a privilege” and “you know your client is going bye-bye, right?”
- Migrants being deprived of accurate interpretation at hearings.
- Judges limiting the amount of evidence asylum seekers are allowed to present to defend themselves from deportation to dangerous conditions.
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association filed a complaint with the Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review, Office of the Inspector General, and the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility.
These serious due process concerns must be investigated so that all immigrants detained in El Paso can have a fair day in court.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario