Aaron Reichlin-Melnick

I spent two hours in immigration court today in El Paso, watching a "Remain in Mexico"/MPP hearing. It was sobering, and a reminder of the way the appearance of law can be weaponized to deprive people of due process. Let me explain how today went.

First, just getting in to observe a "Remain in Mexico"/MPP hearing is difficult. Although the immigration courts are public, in El Paso many people are turned away for capacity reasons. That partially happened to me today. I was only allowed to watch half of the hearings.

Here's how the process works for the people who made it to court today. 46 people appeared today, out of 101 cases scheduled. Many were sent back months ago; one person crossed on July 11, and this was her first time in court. She'd been waiting in Ciudad Juarez since July.

Those scheduled to appear today were supposed to show up at the El Paso port of entry hours earlier. Many people, faced with months of dangerous conditions in Juarez, may have given up and gone home. Some may not have appeared because a cartel kidnapped them. We don't know.

After people arrive at the port of entry, they are processed by CBP. If people appear sick, or show signs of lice, CBP has sometimes turned them away and denied them the trip to court. This could mean months more waiting. After CBP, ICE contractors drive them to court.

On my end of things, getting in to court was difficult. The El Paso Immigration Court is a small court, yet 13,000 people will have their cases scheduled there. Today I'm there to see IJ Gonzalez's docket. Her courtroom fits 20-30 people. They scheduled 101. 46 showed up.

I've been told some days the courts will schedule 120 or more people for one judge. If 70-80 show up, court might last until 9PM. Today, they broke up the 46 people into two groups. I wasn't allowed to watch the first, for space reasons. I only got to watch the second group.

Those in court that I saw today included a 4-5 month pregnant woman, a mom with a 3-year-old and a baby, a mom whose husband had abandoned her in Ciudad Juarez with their two kids, and many Cubans who were seeking asylum. This was their first hearing.

Out of 101 people, I could only confirm that four had lawyers. That is an abysmal representation rate. For many, not having a lawyer will decide their case. El Paso has a small immigration bar; less than 300 lawyers in the whole city. There are 13,000+ in MPP who need lawyers.

At today's hearing, people had already been forced to wait in Mexico since at least early July. But because court was so crowded today, all the judge did was advise people of their rights, talk about the process, then tell them to come back Nov. 6th—that's another 2 months.

When people heard they had to return in November to continue their cases, some seemed immediately crestfallen. During a break, one man exasperatedly remarked he might have to wait through to 2020, not knowing that he absolutely will. There's no stability in the meanwhile.

The judge explained peoples' rights and went over the various papers people had. Halfway through, a 3-year-old boy started to whimper and cry in the back. I don't know if it was exhaustion, or if he was overwhelmed, or what. His mom tried to shush him. The judge kept going.

After telling people their rights, the judge asked people to stand up if they were afraid to return to Mexico. Just two people did; the mom of the 3-year-old boy, and the 4-5 month pregnant woman. Then it was question time. 5 people asked questions. I'll go over each one.

The first person to stand up was the pregnant woman. She asked a question that cut right to the heart of this sham. "Do I have to return to Mexico? Is that mandatory?" The judge wearily replied that it was up to the Department of Homeland Security's discretion, and not her.

The second person to stand was a Cuban man. He asked another good question. "All of the documents that were given to us are in English. ... Are there any copies in Spanish that we can get, so we can understand them?" The judge said no. Regulations require them to be in English.

The third person to stand up was the mom of the 3-year-old and a baby. She wanted the judge to know one thing. "I do not have the resources to get an attorney." The judge told her to call the list of free legal services they had all gotten. But those organizations are swamped.

The fourth person to stand up was a woman following up on the last. "I contacted [the groups on the list], and they said they can't help me with my case because I'm in Mexico. What should I do? Who else should I contact? Can I get another list?" The judge said no. Keep trying.

The fifth person to stand showed just how people are set up to fail. "My husband abandoned me and left me with my kids in Mexico. I have no job or a fixed place to stay in Mexico. What should I do?" The judge told her to tell DHS she's afraid to return to Mexico. It won't help.

With that, the hearing was over. There were so many people who missed court today that the DHS attorney was not actually ready to proceed with asking the court to have all the people who missed court ordered deported as a consequence. Those 50+ cases all got rescheduled for 9/16.

What I saw today was an overwhelmed court that creates the appearance of a process that doesn't really exist. Those in court today will have to wait at least 4-6 months or more to have their cases heard. Virtually none will have lawyers, and will lose their cases as a result.

The so-called "Migrant Protection Protocols" are a sham; a assault on the rule of law disguised in the language of protection. Tens of thousands will be denied asylum without a fair chance. Under MPP, thousands of adults and kids are homeless, traumatized, and vulnerable.