Welcome to the Habeas Project of New England
Who we are
In May 2025, the Habeas Project of New England was created in direct response to the massive shift in the federal government’s policies to effectuate mass deportations by arresting and detaining members of our immigrant community and denying them the opportunity to seek a bond from an immigration judge. Frequently, and often within hours of being detained, immigrants are swept off to unknown locations, where they are made to fight their cases away from their family, community, and legal support systems. Our rapid response infrastructure allows people to first challenge the basis of their detention in front of a judge and remain in the jurisdiction while their cases are being litigated.
Our Mission
The Habeas Project of New England is grounded in a simple but fundamental principle: due process applies to everyone. Habeas corpus has long served as a critical safeguard against unlawful detention, and this Project exists to ensure that those protections remain real and accessible by connecting volunteer federal litigators with immigration attorneys whose clients are currently detained in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont.
Our Partners
The Project is a partnership among leading advocacy and legal organizations, including the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Pathway for Immigrant Workers, AILA New England, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the ACLU of Maine, the ACLU of New Hampshire, the ACLU of Vermont, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island. Together, these partners support a growing network of volunteer attorneys committed to protecting the rights of detained immigrants. The Project operates through a coordinated structure that pairs our pool of over 200 experienced federal litigators with immigration counsel and provides ongoing mentorship, training, and shared legal resources.
