Although removal proceedings are administrative-civil in nature, over the course of time they have taken on many of the trappings of a criminal proceeding — at least, those removal proceedings that are conducted by immigration judges have — albeit with differing standards for introduction of evidence and adjudication of removability (among other differences, the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard doesn’t apply). Such trappings include, among other things:
issuance of warrants of arrest,
provision of an advice of rights to aliens taken into custody,
setting of a bond or other form of pre-hearing conditional release, and
the right to counsel (at no expense to the government).
As mentioned, many removal proceedings take place in front of an immigration judge, who is responsible for conducting an impartial hearing, listening to testimony, accepting evidence, reviewing and ruling on legal motions and briefs from both sides, and arriving ultimately at a decision as to whether the alien should be removed from the United States. Just as with other “judicial” proceedings,6 such hearings can take a substantial amount of time (and money), may involve a number of continuances and adjournments, and, if the alien flees, result in an unenforceable order of removal until such time as he can be found and taken back into custody.
Deportation Basics | Center for Immigration Studies