Venezuelans Can Get Due Process Abroad

WASHINGTON - Feb. 12, 2026 - PRLog -- Among many other similar articles, the New York Times has reported that
Judge Says U.S. Must Help Return Venezuelans Detained in El Salvador (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/us/politics/venezuela-immigrants-el-salvador-return-ruling.html)
in order for the plaintiffs to receive the due process to which federal Judge James. E. Boasberg ruled they were entitled by law.

But largely overlooked in the reporting is that the Venezuelans can receive the required due process via "remote hearings" ("Internet-Based Hearing"; i.e., video conferencing over the Internet) without the need for them to be returned to the United States, notes public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

Banzhaf had suggested back in April that the federal government could likewise have used well established remote hearing procedures to avoid having to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S.; a possibility apparently just approved by Boasberg who noted that "individuals in third countries — i.e., not Venezuela or the United States — could proceed with potential remote hearings if necessary." [emphasis added]

Indeed, notes Banzhaf, using video conferencing over the Internet is widely accepted and is frequently used in a variety of different immigration and deportation proceedings, and it does afford due process.  SEE NUMEROUS CITATIONS BELOW

Below is what the law professor published in April after the Fourth Circuit likewise approved his suggestion of holding a required hearing to provide Garcia with due process remotely rather than in person after returning him to the U.S.  He suggests that the same procedure - holding remote hearings via video conferencing - could likewise be used here, as counsel for the plaintiffs had suggested. . .

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf