Federal government keeps immigration courts open despite coronavirus risks

PHOENIX – Immigration judges, attorneys and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers are calling on the Department of Justice to close all immigration courts because it’s dangerous to hold people in public spaces as COVID-19 continues to spread.

The department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review operates four courts in Arizona. The courts’ websites and automated telephone systems indicated the courts – in Phoenix, Eloy, Florence and Tucson – remained open Friday.

Cronkite News reporter Frankie McLister tells us why this coalition of judges and lawyers says it’s imperative that all these federal courtrooms shut down immediately.

Borderlands Reporter, Phoenix

Frankie McLister is an undergraduate student at the Cronkite School with a certificate in International Business that he received while studying in Seville, Spain. His interests include reporting bilingually on global stories, along with anything that has to do with travel, tech and the Native American communities.