Detention Decisions and Access to Habeas Corpus for Immigrants Facing Deportation

Abstract

In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decisions on the legal rights of “enemy combatants,” this Article highlights the continuing problems of immigration detainees and their lack of access to adequate judicial process. Based on the author’s extensive research into habeas corpus actions filed by inmates in the Oakdale Federal Detention Facility, this Article explores the consequences of limiting habeas actions to courts in the territorial site of the prison. Because the Federal District Court for the Western District of Louisiana refuses to issue stays of removal, detainees are deported before their habeas actions can be judged on the merits, and consequently are denied an adequate remedy for illegal government action.