A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has declared that newly detained immigrants must be brought before a judge within 10 days. Judge Alison Nathan granted habeas corpus relief on a class action complaint brought by Uriel Vazquez Perez against Thomas Decker, New York Field Office Director for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The court declared that the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause “requires that initial master calendar hearings for any class member be held within 10 days of an individual’s arrest by ICE.”

Vazquez Perez alleged that ICE violates the Constitution by failing to provide detained immigrants with prompt initial appearances before a judge. He further sought a class certification for all persons detained by ICE under Section 1226 of Title 8 of the US Code who have not received initial hearings before an immigration judge. Some of the detained were held for weeks or months before seeing a judge. When the lawsuit was brought in 2018, wait time averaged about two months. After the suit highlighted the problem, it decreased to two to three weeks. Despite government assurances that no one would wait longer than 17 days, a government report revealed that 100 persons endured longer wait times.

The class established by Nathan covers everyone detained by the New York ICE office and includes hundreds, out of which around 40 percent were released on bond. Some were US citizens or lawful permanent residents and not deportable. On average, the class members have been living in the US for 16 years. Almost half have children living in the US, most of whom have legal status, primarily US citizenship. The government did not contest the class.

The Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at the Cardozo School of Law, the Bronx Defenders and New York Civil Liberties Union represented Vazquez Perez and the class.