In America’s Immigration Courts, Chaos is Intentional

My visit to immigration court in Hartford last week was a real eye-opener. Actually, it’s not really a court, more like an assembly line deportation machine. I should not have been surprised, because legally, it’s an arm of the Department of Justice, not part of the Judicial Branch established separately by the Constitution. But I was still shocked by the chaos and injustice that I saw, confirming the research that I have done.

There was no judge in the courtroom, just an ethereal screen with an administrative official presiding from out of state. They’re called judges, but they’re appointed by DOJ without any Senate review or confirmation. In fact, the Trump Administration fired most immigration court judges, only to appoint new ones with a strong bias to simply deport people without thorough case examinations. Present in the courtroom was only a translator and a Department of Homeland Security lawyer.

One by one, immigrants went from the hard wooden benches in the back of the courtroom to sit before the judge, who asked the questions—in effect acting as both prosecutor and judge. Few of the individuals had a lawyer to advise or represent them. Many admitted or stated facts that a lawyer would’ve suggested they should avoid. None seem to have any criminal record.

In quite a few of their records, there were factual inaccuracies, such as incorrect addresses, background, misinformation, and the like. The vast majority spoke no English, but the burden of correcting their records, and advocating their cause, will be on them.

And behind each of those records, recited so impersonally in court, is a flesh and blood human story—a saga that often involves persecution abroad, separation from family, and hard work with low pay here, and many other sacrifices and suffering. The Ecuadorian young man, broad shouldered and earnest, admitting he crossed the border without documentation two years ago. A young woman from Honduras unsure about dates and places of her arrival, perhaps because she has been through so much since. Both appeared alone.

Watching that so-called immigration court in actual operation shows why the vast majority of immigrants appearing there are swallowed and spun out for deportation.

See more about my visit to Hartford’s immigration court here.

In one sense, the people I saw in court that day are luckier than most, because they at least had notice and an opportunity to appear. I read the bulletin board outside the courtroom and noticed that many people scheduled for that day would not be present. Either because they feared immediate detention, or they had no notice, or they lacked transportation, or any number of other reasons, they were absent. In about 94% of those cases, immigrants are deported “in absentia.”

In addition, the Hartford immigration court is said to be scheduling “megamaster” calendar hearings, rushing to process anywhere from 70 to 100 cases a day—an egregious increase from the previous 15 to 30 typical of a calendar hearing.

The stark, stunning picture of today’s immigration court is a system in chaos, suffering from draconian cuts in staff and resources, including the so-called judges.

Chaos is intentional. Clearly, confusion and inconsistency are means to an end—mass deportation. Deport as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, even if they have legal status here. Indeed, many are asylum-seekers or visa holders with strong legal cases for staying here, but no legal representation to make that case.

My heart went out to them—as it does to so many in this grinder of injustice. They will be separated from spouses and children—many of them American citizens. They will be forced out of jobs, where employers need them. They will leave communities that value them.

Often we focus on the brutal, inhumane tactics of ICE—as we should. But the inhumanity and brutality of immigration court injustice also deserves attention and action. Elevating it, and forcing reform, will be a continuing mission for me.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I have led an investigation into DHS’s abuses—including four public forums in Washington, D.C. and one in Danbury, CT this past month. See more about these forums here, here, here, here, and here.

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