Trump administration sends judges to
immigration detention centers: sources
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[March 10, 2017]
By Julia Edwards Ainsley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Department of
Justice is deploying 50 judges to immigration detention facilities
across the United States, according to two sources and a letter seen by
Reuters and sent to judges on Thursday.
The department is also considering asking judges to sit from 6 a.m. to
10 p.m., split between two rotating shifts, to adjudicate more cases,
the sources said. A notice about shift times was not included in the
letter.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
On Jan. 25 President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at
speeding up deportations and holding migrants in detention until their
cases can be heard. Trump campaigned on a pledge to get tougher on the
estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, playing on fears of violent
crime while promising to build a wall on the border with Mexico and to
stop potential terrorists from entering the country.
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The order called for the end of a policy known as "catch and release,"
by which immigrants were released from detention and given a date to
appear in court. Immigration courts have a backlog of over 550,000
cases, according to the Justice Department's data, so many court dates
are set years into the future.
Judges are employed by the Justice Department to oversee cases that
determine if immigrants are given protections, such as asylum, or
ordered deported. A handful of judges work from detention centers but
most work from courts around the country.
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![](../images/031017pics/news_a3.jpg)
The Metropolitan Detention Center is seen after ICE immigration
raids in Los Angeles, California February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy
Nicholson
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Two sources familiar with the Justice Department's plan said the
department would ask more judges to volunteer for one or two month
deployments at detention centers. If the department cannot find
enough volunteers, the department would assign judges to detention
centers, the sources said.
Judges who volunteer for the first 50 deployments would be sent to
detention centers in Adelanto, California; San Diego, Chicago and
elsewhere, according to the letter.
Republican Trump's policy on immigrants has been criticized by
Democratic lawmakers and advocates for immigrants, who said he was
jeopardizing the rights and freedoms of millions while treating
Mexico as an enemy, not an ally, and damaging the country's
reputation as a welcoming place for immigrants.
(Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley; editing by Grant McCool)
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