FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@vera.org 

WASHINGTON, DC –  The Trump administration is pursuing new tactics to deny due process in immigration proceedings by further gutting the opportunity for a fair hearing and targeting the lawyers representing people seeking asylum in court. Claiming to crack down on “asylum fraud,” the Department of Homeland Security released a directive this week that will allow the federal government to pursue civil penalties against people seeking asylum and their legal representatives based on accusations of immigration-related document fraud. This comes as people seeking asylum and other immigrants are now being scheduled for “mega master” calendar hearings in some jurisdictions, in which 100 or more people are forced to appear at once before an immigration judge to defend their cases to remain in the United States—further eviscerating the possibility that someone will be able to understand and defend their rights in a notoriously complex process. 

Reports from lawyers, community organizers, and case managers indicate that those targeted for these en masse hearings are people without legal representation. More than half—54 percent—of people facing deportation are without a lawyer and at increasing risk of being subjected to “mega masters.” Without a public defender system in immigration court, and as policy shifts further violate people’s rights to a fair hearing, policymakers must invest in due process and ensure that every person has access to legal representation to fully understand their rights and defend their freedom.

Nicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans: “Going after immigration lawyers for doing their jobs is not only an attack on immigrants, but also an attack on democracy itself. In immigration court, a person defending their ability to remain in the country is not provided a lawyer if they cannot afford one—while the federal government is represented by a lawyer every time. This was unfair to begin with, but since Day One of President Trump’s second term, his administration has been doing everything in its power to fill the deportation pipeline through long-established legal processes that should be safe, fair, and impartial. Amid these attacks, allowing the federal government to ‘crack down’ on ‘asylum fraud’ will not ensure more integrity in the system; it will embolden Trump’s government to further abuse its power to deny people their fair day in court. Our elected leaders must hold the administration accountable for upholding due process in all federal courts.”

Shayna Kessler, director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice: “Mega master hearings take advantage of immigrants without legal representation. They are designed to deny due process and accelerate deportations—including of people with legitimate legal claims to remain in the United States. These mass hearings are not intended to provide anyone with their fair day in court—nor are they for efficiency—as the administration may claim. They create chaos that will only result in funneling more people into the administration's cruel detention and deportation pipeline. Let’s be clear: Every person in immigration court has a right to due process, and ensuring that starts with universal legal representation.”  

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Fairness to Freedom: The Campaign for Universal Representation was launched by the National Partnership for New Americans and the Vera Institute of Justice in April 2022 with a coalition of more than 200 organizations and legal service providers. The campaign’s goal is to support the passage of the Fairness to Freedom Act to establish a federal right to representation for all immigrants facing deportation.