Hawaii AG Seeks Protections for Residents in Immigration Procedures

Hawaiʻi Attorney General Clare Connors joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in urging the US Supreme Court to acknowledge what they call “a lack of vital protections for residents in immigration procedures.”

The coalition claims there are severe shortcomings in federal procedures used to remove individuals from the country.

Expedited removal was historically applied only to individuals who had been present in the United States for less than 14 days and were found within 100 air miles of an international US land border. However, in July 2019 the federal government issued a new rule that removed the border proximity requirement and extended the presence requirement to two years.

AG Connors says expedited review “dangerously exposes residents to the possibility of deportation without legal safeguards.”

The amicus brief was led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and supports the respondent in Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, who was subject to these procedures after being apprehended in the United States.

In the brief, the attorneys general argue that the process of expedited removal can result in an order of removal from the United States being issued on the spot and offers “no meaningful review for individuals who receive such orders and wish to claim incorrect legal principles or a misuse of the process.”

“Likewise under the expedited removal process, people who announce an intention to seek asylum receive a critical interview to assess their credible fear of returning home that is stacked against them from the start,” the coalition claims.

A copy of the amicus brief can be found here.

Clare Connors