Immigration Court Protest
(Photo : Twitter: @TPRBrian)

The Department of Justice has been urged to shut down the courts by attorneys, immigration judges as well as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who pointed out all the other risks posed by individuals being detained in public places.

Yet even with local jurisdictions closing certain courts and the Supreme Court rescheduling oral arguments and closing to the public, several Immigration Courts stayed open for trials in the midst of the crisis.

A large alliance of immigrant activists and advocacy groups are pushing the Trump administration to shut down all immigration courts and free vulnerable migrants from jail because of the emerging coronavirus pandemic in compliance with procedures.

On Tuesday, Ashley Tabaddor, an immigration magistrate in Los Angeles and the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges union, had said on a media conference: "The scientific, evidence-based opinion of public health experts can only lead to one conclusion for us all who are connected with the immigration court system, and that is to immediately and temporarily close all of the immigration courts nationwide,"

The Executive Office for Immigration of the Department of Justice Tabaddor also criticized communication difficulties and has said that alerts have been usually announced late in the evening and on Twitter.

Tabaddor has said that everybody in the legal system would have to go to work, even with the mass transit in the lengthy security queues, walking in crowded lifts as well as sitting in small waiting rooms with crowds overflowing in the edge of the courtrooms.

The organizations had said that a prosecutor from Denver had indications of coronavirus as well as the lawyer from Atlanta has self-reported positive test results for the virus. Whenever an immigrant with such a persistent case may not appear in court, it can be ordered by a judge in absentia to deport them.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Justice Department announced late Tuesday night that, as of Wednesday, all proceedings would therefore be delayed for those not in custody, and therefore some courts would close. Such courts, as per the office, include those in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, New York, New Jersey and California, although some remain open.

The union of the immigration judge had said that even though temporary closures have been a great step forward, the office had been criticized for having almost no justification and implementing the order in a surprise midnight shift.

The association has also appealed for trials to be suspended indefinitely for arrested migrants and many others in the "Remain in Mexico" initiative. "Remain in Mexico" is the initiative of the United States under which refugees stay in Mexico as they wait for their US court proceedings. 

In addition to this, the department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The government stated late Sunday that all preliminary deportation proceedings for unarrested immigrants set for Monday to April 10 will all be delayed. All the other proceedings would go on, they stated, however by April 10 the Seattle Immigration Court would stay closed.

A surge of immigration rights activists has already been asking the government to free immigrants who might be more susceptible to coronavirus as the demands to shut the courts intensify.

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