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Yeah I know, everyone is sick of COVID but riddle me this: trial scheduled in November and #immigration court won’t continue cases due to COVID, I show up to trial and @DOJ_EOIR #Boston tells me my trial isn’t going forward because 3 judges are out sick (at least 1 confirmed
As COVID then and the others were more than likely but awaiting results (later confirmed), I leave that building that day infected (unbeknownst to me but confirmed 3 days later) and quickly become very ill. So ill that my one detained client has to show up to court alone and tell
The judge I’m in bad shape and he needs more time to sort things out. He gives him less than 2 weeks. He comes back the less than 2 weeks later and tells judge he has been unable to find a replacement but is working on it and that I seem to be on the mend (no longer critical)
Judge gives him 2 days additional. I feel badly for the client and show up the 2 days later with my voice still struggling to talk and gasping for air. I think that anyone hearing me would rather not deal with me—I wouldn’t. I ask for more time and judge gives me TWO HOURS. I’m a
Big boy but the tears immediately well my eyes. I get it together and prepare for 2 hours later. Come back prepared for the pretrial event. Scheduling trial the judge schedules it for less than 4 weeks later—3 weeks to submit all evidence and testimony.
That’s an impossible deadline under the most ideal of circumstances. In my situation, it’s just inhumane. Where am I off to today? To hop on a got dang plane to the detention center so I can start preparing for trial. FOR MY CLIENT and despite my health.
Client has been here his entire life. Giving that person a few extra weeks to fight deportation in light of all the attendant circumstances would not have killed anyone. But this way of doing things may. Not saying I am still positive, thankfully, but
It’s haphazard, careless, cruel, and inhumane. This is not appropriate and this is precisely why we need independent immigration courts. If this is how they act in the worst of circumstances where you’d have to be living under a literal rock to not get what is happening
Imagine when things are “normal” how much compassion they show. /rant cc: @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris @SenJackReed @davidcicilline @suchite_roger @JimLangevin @SenWhitehouse @ewarren @EdMarkey @BernieSanders (share wide and tag all 535 of them). Willing to share with whomever.
