Court of Appeals Rejects Prolonged Detention for Immigrants Attempting to Reopen Deportation Cases

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that an immigrant appealing the denial of an attempt to reopen a deportation order has the right to a court hearing to determine whether he should be detained while his case is pending.

The court found that Amadou Diouf, a Senegalese immigrant who was detained for four years while he appealed a denial of his attempt to reopen his immigration case following a deportation order, should have had an opportunity to have an immigration judge determine if he was a flight risk or danger to the community and whether his continued detention was necessary. Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) filed a “friend of the court” brief with the Ninth Circuit in support of Mr. Diouf’s right to review of his prolonged detention. In its ruling, the court cited NIJC’s argument that an immigration court procedure known as “reopening” is crucial to protect the constitutional rights of noncitizens.

“The fact that a person like Mr. Diouf was detained for four years based on a government bureaucrat’s fear that he might flee is repulsive to American values,” said Charles Roth, NIJC’s director of litigation. “The federal judiciary plays a crucial role in protecting individual rights against government encroachment for all people, including noncitizens.”

Judge Raymond Fisher, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, found that after six months of immigration detention, a noncitizen has the right to have an immigration judge determine whether the detention is necessary. “Diouf’s own case illustrates why a hearing before an immigration judge is a basic safeguard for aliens facing prolonged detention,” wrote Judge Fisher. If Mr. Diouf had not won his release in 2007 as the result of a successful a habeas corpus petition, the government would have detained Mr. Diouf for more than six years -- at a cost to the taxpayer of over $250,000 -- while his appeals were pending.

Mr. Diouf was represented by a team of attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Stanford Law School Immigrant Rights Center. NIJC applauds Mr. Diouf and his legal team on this victory, which will immediately affect noncitizens throughout the nine states located within the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit.

Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center is a Chicago-based nongovernmental organization dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers through a unique combination of direct services, policy reform, impact litigation and public education. For more information visit www.immigrantjustice.org.