MSBA and A2JC Join Governor to Call on Attorneys to Defend Due Process in Immigration Cases
In a joint op-ed for The Daily Record, Governor Wes Moore, Maryland Access to Justice Commission Chair Erek L. Barron, and Maryland State Bar Association President Natasha M. Dartigue urge Maryland attorneys to protect due process by serving as habeas corpus counsel in immigration matters:
Our democracy rests on a foundational promise: that no person is above the reach of the rule of law. Yet, across our state and country, that promise is being tested.
We are witnessing an expanding ICE agency – now larger by funding than some countries’ entire military budgets – using tactics that violate the rights of U.S. citizens and immigrants alike. There are countless examples of homes entered without warrants, people denied their right to speak to their lawyers, and U.S. citizens wrongfully detained and deported by mistake.
In Maryland, we are responding. Our administration has increased the state’s investment in immigration legal services, launched a new initiative to expand legal access in the Eastern Shore, and forged partnerships with pro bono firms and bar associations to help ensure that every individual – no matter their background – has access to due process and legal support as they navigate our nation’s immigration system.
Maryland is meeting the challenge of this moment by ensuring that, when someone is facing the threat of separation from their family or unlawful detention, they are not alone. And that when someone’s Constitutional rights are violated or they are injured as the result of federal action, they have the help they need to get justice. At its core, due process requires a meaningful opportunity to be heard by an impartial court. For many immigrants, confronting the court–too often in mass group hearings–without the help of an attorney to defend their rights renders that opportunity meaningless. The importance of legal representation is clear: detained noncitizens who are represented by counsel are 10.5 times more likely to obtain a successful immigration outcome than those forced to navigate our nation’s immigration system alone.
But no state government can do this work alone. The legal profession is the guardian of our rights, and this moment demands a heightened level of engagement. Unlawful detentions, prolonged detentions without bond hearings, and dangerous detention conditions, including systematic medical neglect and an unprecedented number of immigrant deaths in detention, are forcing attorneys to resort to habeas corpus petitions in federal court to challenge unlawful detentions. There’s a reason why the founders enshrined habeas in our Constitution: because a democracy requires safeguards against secret incarcerations and prolonged, arbitrary detentions devoid of lawful justification.
We are proud of the partnership between the State, the Maryland State Bar Association, and the Maryland Access to Justice Commission to expand the pool of volunteer legal professionals who can bring these and other types of cases on behalf of unlawfully detained Marylanders. And we know these cases are important to bring – a recent study of more than 12,000 habeas cases challenging unlawful ICE detentions found nearly 90% were successful, with judges ruling against the administration and ordering release or a bond hearing for the detained persons.
We have already seen the impact of this mobilization. We have seen Maryland attorneys answer the call, stepping in as habeas counsel, providing emergency relief to those in desperate need. From legal services attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives to pro bono attorneys at large firms and solo practitioners, legal professionals are standing up to defend the Constitution in the places where it is most threatened.
Maryland attorney Adam Crandell recently helped a Maryland woman who fled a childhood marred by severe sexual abuse, trauma, and violence in her native El Salvador. Despite the fact that she had humanitarian protection, ICE agents detained her. It took a federal court order granting her habeas corpus petition for her to be released, after more than three months in ICE detention. The woman is now home in Maryland with her husband and three children.
Her story – just one of many – illustrates why Maryland needs the legal community to continue to be our partners in the work. The Maryland State Bar Association is developing resources and hosting trainings, and partner organizations are providing volunteers with mentorship and support.
This is – and will continue to be – a defining moment for our nation, our state, and our legal community. Maryland will stand up against the erosion of due process and uphold the rule of law. Let’s continue to move in partnership to keep families together, to defend our Constitution, and to ensure that justice remains available to all.