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January 29, 2020

ABA president will testify to House subcommittee today about immigration courts

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2020 — Judy Perry Martinez, president of the American Bar Association, is scheduled to testify today before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship of the House Judiciary Committee about “Courts in Crisis: The State of Judicial Independence and Due Process in U.S. Immigration Courts.” The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Martinez’s comments will focus on the need for major restructuring of the courts, recent challenges created by the Remain in Mexico program (formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols) and the importance of improving access to counsel and due process. The ABA supports the creation of an independent immigration court to replace the current immigration adjudication system within the Justice Department.

“There are serious challenges to due process in our current immigration court system, judicial independence is at significant risk and fundamental change is necessary,” Martinez will say.

Martinez’s written testimony will be available here once the hearing begins.

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