In what BuzzFeed News’ Hamed Aleaziz described as “an unprecedented alliance,” immigration attorneys, national unions representing U.S. immigration judges, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement prosecutors have issued a joint letter to the Justice Department calling for the emergency closure of U.S. immigration courts nationwide for at least two weeks during the coronavirus public health crisis.
“Our nation is currently in the throes of a historic global pandemic,” the National Association of Immigration Judges, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the American Federation of Government Employees say. “The Department of Justice’s current response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its spread is insufficient and not premised on transparent scientific information. The DOJ is failing to meet its obligations to ensure a safe and healthy environment within our Immigration Courts.”
While the Executive Office of Immigration Review, which falls under the Justice Department, has for now closed certain larger immigration court hearings as well as the Seattle Immigration Court following hundreds of confirmed cases and at least 42 deaths in Washington state, the three organizations write they’re “firmly convinced that this action is woefully insufficient” in light of the many others who still remain at risk in other immigration court settings.
“We applaud the DOJ’s decision to close down the Seattle Court as it recognizes the need to place the health and safety of the community first,” they say. “However, the DOJ has provided no scientific or reasoned basis to explain why one locale deserves this type of protection, while the Immigration Courts in the rest of the country are being provided with either partial health and safety solutions, or worse, no health and safety precautions at all. The President has now declared a ‘National Emergency.’ Thirty-nine states have declared ‘State Emergencies.’ Some cities have declared ‘City Emergencies.’”
Immigration attorneys and immigrant rights advocates are also criticizing the fact that immigration court hearings for thousands of asylum-seekers forced to wait in Mexico under an inhumane Trump administration policy “appear to be proceeding as usual,” attorney Taylor Levy tweeted. But even halting hearings for Migrant Protection Protocols, or Remain in Mexico, raises another Trump administration-created dilemma, immigration policy expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick tweeted. “People will still be stuck in squalid refugee camps where their health risks will be even higher. The ONLY answer is to end MPP immediately so people can join family in the U.S.”
“We urge the Department of Justice to close the Immigration Courts to ensure the safety of all people involved in the process,” the three groups conclude. “Closing the Immigration Courts for the recommended limited period—two to four weeks—will give the public health officials an opportunity to test and gain valuable information about who can transmit the COVID-19 virus and to reassess how best to ensure a safe environment for Immigration Court hearings. Failing to take this action now will exacerbate a once in a century public health crisis.”
Aleaziz reported that “The virus has been spreading within US communities for weeks, leading to large conferences, concerts, and other events being canceled, widespread school closures, and quarantines of entire communities. California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the closure of bars and breweries across the state on Sunday.” On Monday morning, The Washington Post reporter Robert Barnes broke news that the Supreme Court was postponing oral arguments scheduled for next week. If the highest court of the land can postpone cases for now, so can immigration courts. Shut them down.