As of Wednesday, March 18, all hearings of ‘not arrested’ people have been postponed until further notice.
After feeling the pressure of immigration attorneys, judges and immigration agents, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun to abide by the recommendations for social distancing to prevent the spread and spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in immigration courts.
The DOJ announced Tuesday night that, as of Wednesday, March 18, all non-detainee hearings have been postponed until further notice.
The Peachtree Courts in Atlanta, Charlotte, Gessner in Houston; Louisville, Memphis, Broadway, and Federal Plaza in New York, Newark, Sacramento, and Los Angeles have been closed. The other courts are open on a very limited basis.
Prior to this announcement, the only immigration court that had been closed entirely was Seattle, Washington, after a positive case of the coronavirus COVID-19 was verified over the weekend.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) also announced the suspension of all services that must be done in person at all offices, including all interviews and naturalization ceremonies, from March 18 until at least April 1.
"This includes field offices, asylum offices and application support centers," a USCIS spokesman explained Wednesday. “Employees in these offices will continue essential mission services that do not require in-person contact with the public. We continue to monitor this evolving pandemic and remain prepared to take difficult, but necessary, steps to protect the health and safety of our employees, applicants, and the nation. ”
Following efforts to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Los Angeles Superior Court announced that it will be closed to the public Tuesday, March 17-19. Starting Friday, March 20, it will open on a limited basis to hear or deliver essential or emergency matters, in criminal, civil, testamentary, family law and dependency and / or juvenile cases.
Exposing your concern
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which represents more than 15,000 attorneys and law professors nationally, sent a letter to the USCIS on Monday asking that the necessary steps be taken to avoid person-to-person contact with the elderly possible way.
"It is a very strange situation because it is one of the few times where immigration attorneys, ICE and judges agree that they must close the immigration courts for at least two weeks," said immigration attorney Peter Corrales. "In these last weeks I saw judges who listen to cases with masks on because they are afraid (of contagion)."
Corrales is one of the immigration lawyers who showed frustration and said that immigration courts often have more than 50 people in a small courtroom.
"Many of the calendars have 20 to 30 hearings in a single day and there are not only the people (who go to see the judge) but also their attorneys and sometimes even their family members," said Corrales, an attorney in Orange County. "And they have to show up, even if they feel sick because if they don't they can face deportation."
The lawyer recounted the situation he faced on Friday when he arrived at the Los Angeles immigration court and saw a colleague wearing a mask and gloves because her client was ill.
"The lawyer was complaining because her client had a fever and they had to be in court anyway," Corrales said, adding that the client was unable to test for the coronavirus because it was not available. "Minutes later we learn that the judge decided to reinstate all cases."
AILA immigration attorney and vice president Alma Rosa Nieto agreed with Corrales, asserting that there is a complete contradiction between what experts suggest and the government with the lack of attention from the immigration courts.
"In Los Angeles at least, the hearings are in small rooms with no windows, no ventilation," Nieto said.
Additionally, Nieto said that it is difficult for immigrants to balance two extremely important things; the global pandemic and its immigration cases.
"It is not that one is more important than the other, but I think the numbers speak for themselves," said the lawyer.
By Wednesday afternoon, Los Angeles County confirmed 190 cases of coronavirus, and the number is expected to continue to rise in the coming days.
recommendations
Attorney Nieto explained that the canceled appointments do not mean that, for example, the residence will be lost or that the person has to pay the fees again.
"If they have been waiting their turn for years, they will not miss their turn, it is only an interview and they will postpone it," Nieto said. "When? I don't know because UCSIS hasn't said if the appointments are going to be immediately or not. ”
Nieto added that those who plan to leave their country of origin due to an appointment at the US embassy, do not do so without first consulting their attorney.
“There are several embassies that are already closing or are not going to give appointments, such as Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Spain, Mexico in Ciudad Juárez. Then, get advice before going, "said the lawyer.
Nieto explained that on Monday — before the closure of the immigration courts was announced — he had six telephone interviews, and although people were aware of the pandemic, none wanted to cancel, or take his case as secondary.
"In our immigrant and undocumented community, I believe that obtaining legal status is as important as being healthy," Nieto said.
