Resource: Diouf v. Napolitano

Diouf v. Napolitano set important precedent on the due process rights of detained immigrants. The government detained Mr. Diouf -- a Senegalese native who came the United States on a student visa, obtained a college degree and married a United States citizen – for over 19 months without ever providing him a hearing before an immigration judge where he could seek release on bond. The Ninth Circuit ultimately held that the government violated Mr. Diouf’s rights, and established that the government cannot detain noncitizens like Mr. Diouf for more than six months without providing a bond hearing where it must justify such lengthy detention.