In the past year, immigration detention has grown dramatically in Missouri. More people are being picked up, more are being held, and they're being held longer. For most people that call the STL Rapid Response Hotline, there will be no opportunity to get out of jail and very few (if any) options to stop a deportation.
So families and advocates are asking a new question: Can we take this to federal court?
This has led to an explosion of chatter about habeas corpus petitions, which many believe an are opportunity for federal courts to exert some semblance of rule of law, due process and justice on the unchecked powers of immigration courts and ICE detention.
This month on Ashrei Insights, Sara Ruiz, Executive Director of the Ashrei Foundation, talks with Ken Schmitt, founder and principal immigration attorney at US Legal Solutions, about why habeas petitions have suddenly become so prevalent in conversations about immigration detention in Missouri, and what they can and can't do. Together they'll cover:
How we got here: the policy and legal changes behind the detention surge, and the differences between federal court and immigration court in immigrant detention
What a habeas petition is, and what it asks a federal judge to decide
What it doesn't do: where habeas stops, and why it isn't a path to legal status or an end to deportation proceedings
When and why these petitions succeed or fail, based on what practicing attorneys see in Missouri right now
What advocates, volunteers, and families should know, including how to talk about habeas honestly, when to connect someone with an attorney, and how to support a case without overpromising
This conversation is for non-lawyers: rapid responders, faith leaders, organizers, and neighbors who show up when someone is detained and want to understand what's changed and which tools are left.
Understanding the law is part of how we protect each other. Clear information - even when the answers don’t offer the outcomes we desire - beats false hope. Dignity, justice, and freedom for all immigrants depend on all of us knowing what's possible - and then collaborating creatively to create new realities.
Join us for this edition of the Ashrei Insights webinar series, where every other month, we'll dig into the latest numbers on arrests, detentions, traffic stops, and hotline trends drawn from our monthly dashboard and talk through what they reveal about transparency, access, and dignity in the current immigration enforcement climate in our region.
The dashboard reflects incidents reported through the Rapid Response Hotline specifically, not every enforcement encounter in Missouri, a partial but still valuable window.
When you register, you'll have the chance to submit questions you'd like us to address during the webinar.
Whether you're an advocate, service provider, policymaker, or community member, you'll leave with a deeper understanding of the data shaping today's immigration landscape.
Visit the latest Dashboard: ashreifoundation.org/immigrationdashboard