19 International Standards of Due Process for Migrant Workers, Asylum Seekersm and Refugees

Abstract

Based on the general research and observations derived from on site visits of the Special Rapporteurship on Migrant Workers and their Families of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, this chapter discusses the components of due process guarantees for individuals who are subjected to immigration proceedings. While this analysis centers on situation of migrant workers in the Western Hemisphere, its general considerations can be applied to refugees and asylum seekers beyond that region. The examination is for the most part informed by decisions of the Inter-American Commission system organs, although it also relies on case law of the European human rights system. The chapter provides an overview of migration as a political and social phenomenon and reviews international human rights norms and state practice pertaining to migrants in the Americas. It then presents suggestions concerning a quantum of due process in cases on status, exclusion, and expulsion of foreign nationals. Keywords: asylum seekers; European human rights system; foreign nationals; immigration proceedings; inter-American commission on human rights; migrant workers; refugees