Miami Immigration Courts Are Canceling 1,000 Cases a Week Due to Government Shutdown

EOIR immigration court in Miami. Photo: Google

 

Over 4,000 immigration cases have been canceled in Florida, the overwhelming majority in Miami, in light of the 26-day partial federal government shutdown. If the Dec. 22 shutdown continues through January, an estimated 10,000 cases would be canceled in Florida alone.

The data comes from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), which uses government data and public case records to generate reports. The figures don't include detention centers such as Miami's Krome Detention Center, which are open despite the shutdown.

Miami courts handle 70 percent of Florida's 70,000 pending immigration cases, according to TRAC, with courts in Orlando handling the majority of the remaining cases. An estimated 13.3 percent of the nation's immigration cases are handled in Florida, according to TRAC.

Miami's downtown Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) immigration court is now shut down, with the majority of its judges, attorneys and employees furloughed. Court filings are not being accepted, and court proceedings are being canceled.

As a result, people who had waited years for a court hearing may have to wait years until they get another.

Gina Polo, an immigration attorney and shareholder at Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney's Miami office, said that it's common for her clients to wait several months or years to see a courtroom. One of her clients, a permanent legal resident, received a notice of removal for a minor arrest in 2014 and didn't appear in court until November 2017.

"Most people have to wait a year or more for a trial," she said. "In the case of somebody who had their green card revoked, your life is in limbo. Depending on the case, you may not have a document that shows you have legal residence."

Miami's federal immigration courthouse is already notorious for its yearlong queues, overworked judges and case logs backed up by the thousands. People in Miami's court system have already spent an average of 574 days waiting for their case to be resolved.

"I've been in court when the judge told me they didn't have time to review the documents I submitted ahead of time," said Polo. "It's not unusual to sit in silence for 10 to 15 minutes because judges are going over filings."

Retired immigration judge and Shane, Shane & Brauwerman attorney Jeffrey Brauwerman said that judges will simply have to find a variety of ways to fit in the thousands of canceled cases.

"You take one here and another there," said Brauwerman. "You cancel another case that's less important. Maybe you cut down on the one or two hours of administrative time meant to review cases or write opinions."

Brauwerman has six cases that will have to be rescheduled, five in Miami and one in Orlando. In some cases, his clients are elated. But for those who think they have a good case and are looking for resolution, the possible months or years tacked onto their pending case are a disappointment.

"We're just going to have to wait and see when the clerk schedules us," he said.