Migrant Due Process Protection Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Migrant Due Process Protection Act makes a targeted procedural change to removal hearings. For an alien who is not in DHS custody and who asks to participate in the proceeding by video conference or telephone, the immigration judge must grant that request. The judge also must ensure that the remote format does not prejudice the alien during the proceeding. The bill does not create a general right to remote appearance for detained immigrants, but it gives non-detained people in removal proceedings a mandatory remote-appearance option when they request it.
Who Benefits and How
Non-detained immigrants in removal proceedings benefit because they can avoid travel, childcare, work-schedule, disability, or safety barriers that make in-person court appearances difficult. Immigration attorneys and legal-aid providers benefit when clients can participate remotely without risking default because of transportation or scheduling obstacles.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Immigration judges and EOIR court staff must accommodate requested video or telephone hearings and monitor whether the format causes prejudice. DHS trial attorneys may need to litigate more hearings remotely. Court technology staff bear implementation work if remote appearances expand.
Key Provisions
- Adds a mandatory remote-appearance option for non-detained aliens in removal proceedings.
- Requires immigration judges to grant video or telephone participation when the eligible alien requests it.
- Requires immigration judges to ensure the remote format does not prejudice the alien.
- Limits the new right to aliens who are not in custody of the Secretary.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires immigration judges to grant a non-detained alien request to appear by video or telephone in removal proceedings and to ensure the remote format does not prejudice the alien.
Key Policy Areas
Immigration, Courts, Due Process
Primary Purpose
Requires immigration judges to grant a non-detained alien request to appear by video or telephone in removal proceedings and to ensure the remote format does not prejudice the alien.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Non-detained immigrants in removal proceedings
- Immigration legal-aid providers
- Immigration defense attorneys
Identified Costs
- Immigration judges
- EOIR court staff
- DHS trial attorneys
- Immigration court technology staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Bonamici (for herself, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Titus, …
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
DHS trial attorneys, EOIR court staff, Immigration judges
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology