Jayapal Hosts Immigration Shadow Hearing on Trump’s Efforts to Erode Due Process
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, today hosted a Shadow Hearing titled Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Weaponization of Immigration Courts. This hearing examined the disturbing trend of broad efforts to erode access to legal services and due process in immigration proceedings, especially as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been targeting immigrants showing up for legal proceedings – following the requirements set for them by courts.
“Republicans like to talk about how they support immigrants who quote ‘do things the right way,’” said Jayapal. “Now that they control Congress and the White House, they should be putting their money where their mouth is and ensuring that the legal immigration process remains open to those who pursue it—but that’s not what’s happening. They have arrested people at their citizenship interviews, their check-in appointments with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and increasingly, at immigration court. These actions are a direct attack on the legal immigration system and the people who are trying to follow all the legal steps. These actions only serve to make the immigration system even more chaotic and unjust than it already is. Just when you think this administration cannot sink any lower, they get out a shovel and keep digging.”
The witnesses at this hearing included The Honorable A. Ashley Tabaddor, a retired Immigration Judge, Azadeh Erfani the Director of Policy at the National Immigrant Justice Center, Bettina Rodriguez Schlegel, Chief of Staff at the Acacia Center for Justice, and Gillian Rowland-Kain, Interim Director of Programs at Immigrant ARC.
The Honorable A. Ashley Tabaddor, Immigration Judge (ret.) said, “Due process in a courtroom means that every part of the system functions fairly and in concert. That requires an independent judge, a level playing field, and a safe, accessible forum for all participants. Yet noncitizens have no right to appointed counsel—even in life-or-death matters. Now, the Trump administration claims that immigration judges are effectively at-will employees, directly undermining their independence. At the same time, immigration courts are being transformed into enforcement zones, deterring participation and eroding public trust. As a former judge, I can tell you: when even one part of the machine breaks—when judges are undermined, when legal support disappears, or fear keeps people from appearing—the entire system collapses. And when that happens, it doesn’t just fail immigrants. It fails all of us.”
Azadeh Erfani, Director of Policy, National Immigrant Justice Center, said, “Nothing is off the table for ICE to meet Trump’s arrest quotas and build the largest mass detention system in recorded history. First, they took away all legal services so no one could represent themselves. Next, they raided the courts and took away access to judges. And lately, they have set traps at ICE check-in appointments, where individuals with pending cases trying to comply with their proceedings are shackled and disappeared into remote jails. As ICE tramples all semblance of due process and the rule of law, they are terrorizing our communities.”
Bettina Rodriguez Schlegel, Chief of Staff, Acacia Center for Justice, said, “The Trump administration’s attacks on due process have upended the lives and futures of our families, neighbors, and friends. In addition to the profound impact on our communities, ending legal access programs has further exacerbated the limited capacity of the immigrant legal services field. Alongside our inspiring network of legal service provider partners, we will continue to fight for these lifesaving programs to be restored so that families, children, and adults aren’t forced to navigate our country’s increasingly dehumanizing immigration system alone.”
Gillian Rowland-Kain, Interim Director of Programs, Immigrant ARC, said, “This is more than a policy shift. It’s a coordinated effort to sideline due process and deport people without giving them the opportunity to present their case. What should have been a space for due process is instead a site of fear. Masked and armed federal agents are arresting and intimidating people who attend court. Volunteers and attorneys are being surveilled. Every day, our members are in those courtrooms—often the only ones there to stand beside immigrants facing an unjust system. We will continue to do our work and to push back.”
The hearing was attended by Representatives Judy Chu (CA-28), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Mark Takano (CA-39), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12).
Issues: Immigration