Courts & Litigation Executive Branch

Lawfare Daily: Why Immigrants are Challenging the Conditions of their Detention

Natalie K. Orpett, Elora Mukherjee, Jen Patja
Thursday, June 11, 2026, 7:00 AM

Breaking down the landscape of immigration detention litigation.

The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies have resulted in an unprecedented number of people being held in detention facilities. Now, lawsuits across the country are alleging horrific conditions in those facilities, including excessive force, unsanitary conditions, and denial of medical care. On today's podcast, Executive Editor Natalie Orpett speaks with Elora Mukherjee, Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, about the legal landscape of immigration detention. They discuss what rights detained immigrants have, why it's so hard to enforce them, and why it's even harder to get a remedy when rights are violated. 

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Natalie Orpett is the executive editor of Lawfare and deputy general counsel of the Lawfare Institute. She was previously an attorney at the law firm Jenner & Block, where she focused on investigations and government controversies, and also maintained an active pro bono practice. She served as civilian counsel to a defendant in the Guantanamo Military Commissions for more than eight years.
Elora Mukherjee is the Director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School.
Jen Patja is the editor of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security, and serves as Lawfare’s Director of Audience Engagement. Previously, she was Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics and Deputy Director of the Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier, where she worked to deepen public understanding of constitutional democracy and inspire meaningful civic participation.
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