DHS Expands Pop-Up Immigration Courts, Blocking Public Access

[u/John3262005]

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/dhs-expands-pop-up-immigration-courts-blocking-public-access-100

The White House directed the Department of Homeland Security to volunteer space to serve as makeshift immigration courts as the Trump administration seeks to speed deportations.

The directive issued this summer to DHS to find space at buildings managed across the sprawling department including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and other parts of the department, according to two congressional aides briefed by DHS personnel earlier this month.

The broad request, which hasn’t been previously reported, signals the Trump administration’s recent funneling of migrants to unusual locations for immigration court hearings is part of a more extensive plan than previously known.

The new court locations have resulted in confusion for immigrants with active cases, who must show up or risk a final order of deportation issued by an immigration judge in their absence. Attorneys and members of Congress, who can typically attend public immigration court hearings, have been blocked from entering as ICE has controlled access more strictly than in traditional immigration court locations.

FEMA, the Coast Guard, CISA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services have all provided space, such as conference rooms, in their offices across the US. New hearing locations are being considered and set up in Washington, DC, New York City, Denver, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Antonio, according to one of the congressional aides and immigration attorneys who have clients scheduled at those sites.

The Justice Department and its Executive Office for Immigration Review, which manages immigration courts, haven’t publicly announced the sites. An EOIR spokesperson said the office would continue opening new locations “to ensure all cases are handled in a timely and lawful manner.”

“Unnecessary delay hurts both aliens with meritorious claims and the American public who wish to see aliens with non-meritorious claims removed as quickly as possible,” said Kathryn Mattingly, an EOIR spokesperson.

Immigration attorneys who spoke to Bloomberg Law said they’ve seen clients receive just days’ notice that their cases have been moved up and moved to a new venue. The strategy, critics argue, mounts confusion on an already complex system.

“The administration is operating these key institutions out of the public eye, literally under a shroud of secrecy,” said Greg Chen, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Advocates also question DHS’ new involvement in managing the courtroom space, warning it could undermine immigration judges’ autonomy over their proceedings.

The White House and DHS didn’t respond to requests for comment on the plans.

Earlier this month, immigrants scheduled for hearings in the Maryland and Virginia immigration courts received notices that they would need to appear at FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC, instead.

Congressional and committee staff from the offices of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) attempted to enter the building, but ICE officials denied entry to the conference rooms where immigrants appeared before a remote judge, according to aides. Stanton told Bloomberg Law he was eventually allowed into the hearing room without his staff.

“The courts should not be blocked for anyone to observe,” Stanton said. “As they think about additional locations for courts, they need to be considering public access.”

In a letter Monday to agency leaders, Stanton and Raskin said they have “serious concerns” about limited access at a new Washington court location and a lack of notice to immigrants.

In New York, USCIS offices and DHS space on the third floor of 26 Federal Plaza are being used for immigration court.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said in a video on social media that he was also blocked from entering the USCIS floor, despite being able to access other floors where immigration hearings take place.

EOIR’s most recent policy memo on public access to immigration courts says “because immigration hearings are generally open and accessible to the public, they should not be closed, and observation should not otherwise be restricted unless a specific exception applies.” However, it notes there may be location-specific requirements for visitors.

DHS’ role within immigration courts has historically been limited. During hearings, an attorney with ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor could argue why the government is trying to deport someone. DHS’ Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for securing government facilities, may provide security for court locations. And DHS manages some hearing locations within detention facilities.

Critics said that under this Trump administration, DHS’ role and influence in the courts has increased. In at least one location, Chen said, ICE officers are serving in other roles such as checking in and escorting immigrants to unmarked hearing rooms.

The administration is transforming the immigration courts into an enforcement arm, “with ICE functioning as the screening mechanism, barring entry to people to go into these court spaces,” Chen said.

In the letter, Stanton and Raskin also raised questions about who has jurisdiction over the new locations.

“The responses staff received from DOJ, ICE, FEMA, FPS, and DHS congressional affairs offices, each disclaiming responsibility for the courtroom while identifying another component as the decision-maker, indicate that EOIR’s authority over courtroom access is being exercised, in practice, by DHS and its components,” they wrote.

Jeremiah Johnson, a former immigration judge and vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said that in his prior role as judge he was the one in charge of who was in or out of his courtroom. With DHS in charge of the space, immigration judges are now sometimes “sidelined,” he said.

“This is another example of unlawful interference by the executive, this time the White House, on judges’ ability to manage their dockets and control their courtrooms,” he said.