New immigration court opens in Concord amid increasing case numbers
CONCORD (KPIX) — A new immigration court opened in Concord, but there are concerns about whether there will be enough legal support for immigrants to navigate the system.
Edwin Enriquez has lived in Concord since he was 17 and has been an active community member. Recently, he was part of a group that rallied outside the courthouse on the opening day of the new immigration court.
Enriquez volunteers for Stand Together Contra Costa, a nonprofit providing free legal services to immigrants. He applied for asylum five years ago after moving from Guatemala.
"I arrived here with my brother, but he was deported. He didn't even have a lawyer to represent him," he shared.
Despite his brother's deportation, Enriquez persevered through the legal process alone. Fortunately, his efforts led to a positive outcome.
"Thank God, I was able to find a lawyer, and I appeared in court. And now my process is completely different since my asylum case was approved," he stated.
His case is just one of many that will be processed at the new immigration court in Concord, where at least 21 new immigration judges began working on cases this Monday.
Kathleen Bush-Joseph, Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, highlighted the challenges faced by the immigration court system due to the overwhelming number of cases.
"The government is currently trying to expand the immigration court system and hire many more judges and attorneys to deal with all of the cases that are coming in, but the reality is that judges have dockets of cases," Bush-Joseph explained.
Last fiscal year, the courts completed half a million immigration court cases, while receiving more than 1 million new cases, Bush-Joseph noted. In response to the influx of migrants, the Department of Justice is opening new offices in areas where migrants are settling, such as Concord.
However, some advocates are skeptical of the new court system, fearing it may lead to faster deportations without due process.
"We want to make sure that we also get an equal expansion of resources for these immigrants to be able to get legal representation in immigration court," emphasized Heliodoro Moreno, an immigration attorney at the Contra Costa Public Defender's Office.
Edwin joined the advocates in this effort, stating, "I am here to help because we need to continue supporting all those moving here."