The Trump administration announced Wednesday that the new “tent courts” in Texas along the border will not be open to legal observers, the press, and the public. This is unlike standard immigration court proceedings, which are normally open. Immigration lawyers harshly criticized this move as a violation of the rights of asylum seekers, who already face many barriers in immigration court proceedings. The government used the fact that the area has other functions to explain the lack of public access. The other functions are “traveler inspections, anti-terrorism efforts, interdicting narcotics/contraband, and apprehending law violators.” The $25 million “port courts” were made to handle the 42,000 asylum cases at the border, but immigration judges will not be there. Rather, they will be ruling through video link.
– Weekly Immigration Briefing by Olivia Hester, Immigration Law Analyst at Docketwise
Posted in: Immigration
posted on: September 20, 2019