More than 50 asylum-seekers who have been forced to wait out their cases in Mexico were supposed to be at the so-called immigration “tent court” in Laredo, Texas, for their hearing on Monday, but only 26 were able to appear. The rest, Gus Bova of Texas Observer reported, had probably been unable to cross back into the U.S., or had been forced to give up after weeks or months of waiting.
Several of the asylum-seekers who were able to show up described the inhumanity of the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols, or “Remain in Mexico” policy, which has forced tens of thousands of vulnerable families to wait out in regions where violence and kidnappings are common. Seven asylum-seekers on Monday said they’d “been assaulted or kidnapped or otherwise feared returning to Mexico,” Bova wrote.
Multiple asylum-seekers have already described being kidnapped or almost being kidnapped. David described a group of men already waiting when he, his young son, and others were being returned to Mexico to wait for their court dates. “David said the kidnappers took his few belongings, including the paperwork U.S. Customs and Border Protection had given him. Without it, he and his child can’t enter the U.S. to attend their hearing in December.”
They asylum-seekers in the so-called “tent court” on Monday didn’t even get the dignity of pleading for their lives in person: The judge hearing their cases was appearing via video conference, 150 miles away. Bova was also watching via video conference, 150 miles away, because officials have banned reporters from entering this so-called “tent court,” even though immigration courts are supposed to be generally open to the public.
“Only four of the migrants arrived Monday with attorneys, confirming lawyers’ claims that migrants in MPP are being denied reasonable access to counsel, which is key for navigating complicated immigration proceedings,” Bova continued. “Even if a migrant can afford to pay,” the New York Times reported last month, “finding a lawyer willing to take the case of a client living in Mexico is a challenge.”
Small non-profits and individual lawyers who have been able to provide legal help to families under the policy have described the consuming—and dangerous—work of “literally having to go across the border to be able to provide intakes, consultations with people and see what we can do,” said one attorney. “We never had to experience that before." Firms with more resources “aren't touching [MPP] cases," said attorney Imelda Maynard of Catholic Charities. "Quite honestly, they would have to charge a fee that's just not able to justify their time out of office."
All of this adds up to why advocates for these families are calling these so-called “tent courts” ridiculous and “a faux process” that is “set up to turn people away”—if they’re even able to show up. Katia said the U.S. officers who were supposed to escort her and others into the U.S. left them stranded at one point, causing some to miss their court dates. In Laredo, Bova continued, “most of the migrants who did not show up Monday were ‘ordered removed’ to their home countries—meaning they’ll be subject to deportation if they return to the United States.”
