Due Process for Undocumented Immigrants, Explained

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Undocumented immigrants arriving Sunday in McAllen, Tex., after being processed by Customs and Border Protection and released.Credit...Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

By Katie Benner and Charlie Savage

June 25, 2018

WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Twitter this weekend that undocumented immigrants were invaders who “must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases,” be sent home. Mr. Trump’s comments prompted criticism that he wanted the United States to strip immigrants and asylum seekers of due-process rights. He also appeared to ignore the fact that some people who enter the country illegally are already removed from the United States without court hearings.

Here is what you need to know about how due process is applied in cases of illegal immigration:

What is due process?

Generally speaking, the Supreme Court says that due process allows people to exercise the legal rights and court processes afforded to them by American law, and it allows them to contest an action proposed by the government in front of a neutral decision maker, like a judge.

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See more on: U.S. Politics, Homeland Security Department, Donald Trump

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