Immigration Court in El Centro to Close
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced it will close its El Centro Immigration Court on Sept. 30, 2014. EOIR is closing the immigration court as a result of the Department of Homeland Security‘s decision to close down that location as a primary place of detention for respondents in immigration proceedings.
El Centro is a couple of hours drive from San Diego and is not the easiest place for attorneys to get to. It was once a place where large numbers of Central Americans were detained by the U.S. government in the 1980s and was a subject of considerable litigation about access to counsel and other matters concerning the treatment of detained asylum seekers. The closure of the El Centro immigration court may make it easier for attorneys in San Diego, depending on where the cases will be assigned and where the respondents will be detained.
KJ