Deportation and Due Process
The ACLU works in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.
The Latest
-
Civil and Immigrants’ Rights Organizations Urge Federal Clemency for Military Veterans Vulnerable to Deportation
-
White Supremacy is Fueling Extreme Anti-Immigrant Policy in Texas
-
Asylum Seeker's Wrongful 6-Year Detention is Emblematic of a Broken System
-
This Deceptive ICE Tactic Violates the Fourth Amendment
Explore More
What's at Stake
The immigration system contains an unnecessary and unconstitutional lack of rights that is unheard of in the criminal justice system. No one should be in immigration detention without a constitutionally adequate bond hearing in which the government bears the burden of showing that detention is necessary—to protect against danger to the community or flight risk—and that no alternative release conditions would suffice.
The United States also has mandatory and disproportionate deportation laws that needlessly separate families. Reform should restore discretion to consider the equities in every individual’s case. Reform should also ensure access to counsel in immigration proceedings, as effective judicial review is an integral component of due process. More than half of individuals in immigration court proceedings are currently unrepresented, including 84 percent of those in detention.
The immigration system contains an unnecessary and unconstitutional lack of rights that is unheard of in the criminal justice system. No one should be in immigration detention without a constitutionally adequate bond hearing in which the government bears the burden of showing that detention is necessary—to protect against danger to the community or flight risk—and that no alternative release conditions would suffice.
The United States also has mandatory and disproportionate deportation laws that needlessly separate families. Reform should restore discretion to consider the equities in every individual’s case. Reform should also ensure access to counsel in immigration proceedings, as effective judicial review is an integral component of due process. More than half of individuals in immigration court proceedings are currently unrepresented, including 84 percent of those in detention.