Noncitiznes Better Watch out Before Appearing at Immigration Court!

Where might we find noncitizens to arrest to boot removal numbers?  Immigration courts.  The Los Angeles Times reports that “across the country as government lawyers dismiss immigrants’ deportation cases only to have them immediately arrested by agents as they leave the courtroom to be removed on a fast track that does not involve a judicial review.

The courthouse arrests escalate the administration’s efforts to speed up deportations. Migrants who can’t prove they have been in the U.S. for more than two years are eligible to be deported without a hearing before a judge. Historically, these expedited removals were done only at the border, but the Trump administration has sought to expand their use. . . .

Lawyers, who were at courthouses in Santa Ana and Los Angeles this week, say it appears that the effort was highly coordinated between Homeland Security lawyers and federal agents. Families and lawyers have described similar accounts in Miami, Seattle, New York, San Diego, Chicago and elsewhere.“

KJ