Clogged Immigration Courts Slow Hearings

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the influx of unaccompanied children seeking protection in the United States from violence in Central America has further slowed the nation’s chronically backlogged immigration system.

Many people already wait years for a hearing. In Houston, one of the country’s busiest immigration courts, judges were only hearing juvenile or detention cases last week, pushing back all other cases.

Samantha Del Bosque, a lawyer with Tahirih Houston told The Wall Street Journal many of her clients’ hearings in August have been delayed, sometimes for years.

Ana Campoy of The Wall Street Journal reports:

One 43-year-old Honduran woman was set to appear in court earlier this summer to request asylum due to domestic violence. Ms. Del Bosque prepared her to testify, and lined up a couple of expert witnesses to bolster her case.

But a few weeks before the hearing, Ms. Del Bosque got a notice saying it was postponed until May of 2015. A trial wouldn’t be scheduled until later.

Ms. Del Bosque is concerned that her client’s case may go stale, or that she may lose the pro bono lawyer currently working in the case.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” she said. “A lot of people might not be able to keep representation for this long while their case is being rescheduled.”

Read the full article.