‘Secret’ immigration courts popping up in federal buildings, observers say

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — The Trump administration is holding secret, pop-up immigration court hearings in federal buildings that the public can’t access, and lawyers are having trouble finding detained migrants through an online system, lawyers and an Arizona lawmaker said Tuesday. Supreme Court allows quick third-country deportations as it weighs Trump policy U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, says he was initially denied entry into a FEMA building last week in Washington, D.C., where “pop-up” immigration courts are now being held. He says a day later, once he finally was admitted, the court was empty and he said not one person on the docket showed up for their hearing. During a virtual call with reporters on Tuesday, Stanton said the use of the FEMA facility — during hurricane season — is not appropriate for immigration court proceedings. He said that all immigration court proceedings should be open to the public, and easy to locate. “Access to a court of law, and it shouldn’t have to be a member of Congress – any American citizen should have access to the American judicial system. But I was told that the impromptu court that was set up inside the FEMA building was not allowing people to enter. That’s wrong. That’s illegal,” Stanton said. Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship lifts off in first orbit of Earth Stanton is ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. That’s why he said he learned of the use of Federal Emergency Management Agency facilities for immigration courts. “There is no signage, no indication at all that a bank of offices and a conference room that’s set aside, no indication at all of what’s happening behind that door. No indication that that is now a courtroom set up for immigration hearings,” Stanton said. Play VideoPhiladelphia nun helps migrants on South Texas border Philadelphia nun gives immigrants hope when they’re due in court He said another pop-up court is being operated on the third floor of a building used by the Department of Homeland Security in New York City. Stanton says that he and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, the ranking member for the House Judiciary Committee, have sent a letter to the Department of Justice against operating these pop-up courts. Stanton says he also supports legislation that would remove the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees immigration proceedings, from under the control of the Justice Department. Ancient geoglyph damaged by border wall contractors, archaeologists say Kel White, of the Acacia Center for Justice, a nonprofit that provides free legal aid to migrants, says “people are not showing up because they can’t find the courts.” She says she was also denied access to one of these courtrooms to represent a client. “A court system needs to facilitate attendance not confusion,” White said. Greg Chen, of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, says the new immigration courts are “happening in secret.” In a policy brief released Monday, AILA says: “People are receiving late or no notice of the changes in locations to these new facilities. Some are not even marked as courts, making it difficult for people to find their hearing locations.” Chen also said that an Online Detainee Locator System operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is “no longer disclosing information and whereabouts” regarding detained migrants, making it hard for immigration lawyers to find their clients. “Dramatic policy changes are creating chaos, threatening due process and are making significant impacts on peoples’ lives and are happening in secret,” Chen said. Chen said the new pop-up courts started in September and “are not listed as courts and are run by DHS rather than the court system and largely blocked off from transparency and observation.” Chen also said that an Online Detainee Locator System, operated by CBP is secretly “disappearing” migrants and they can’t find them in the system. “ICE is no longer disclosing informatin and whereabouts on people it has detained,” Chen said. “This is causing fear among families trying to locate their loved ones who are detained, and it’s also interfering with these peoples’ right to have their attorneys represent them and be in touch with them.” An EOIR spokeswoman told The City Reporter, a non-profit local news organization based in New York City, that the agency is “making scheduling adjustments, to include opening new hearing locations as needed, to ensure all cases are handled in a timely and lawful manner.” The spokeswoman also said agency is allowed to close off immigration courtrooms “at any time.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.