Joint Statement From NYIFUP Legal Providers On The Opening Of A New Immigration Court

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

September 9, 2019

JOINT STATEMENT FROM NYIFUP LEGAL PROVIDERS ON THE OPENING OF A NEW IMMIGRATION COURT

(NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) to detained immigrants with pending cases at the Varick Street Immigration Court – released the following joint statement today responding to the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) opening of a new immigration court at 290 Broadway, and the lack of transparency and information sharing before its inauguration:

“The opening of these new immigration courtrooms, which was effected with hardly any public notice or transparency, is emblematic of this Administration’s practice to speed the deportation of as many immigrants as quickly as possible. EOIR’s intentional failure to share any essential details and lack of notice to the immigration bar or public regarding the newly opened courtrooms, including new dockets; whether hearing dates have been moved; or which judges have been relocated; is unacceptable and can lead to people being ordered deported in their absence. As public defenders representing vulnerable individuals, we continue to demand more transparency by EOIR protocol to ensure that our clients’ cases are adjudicated fairly and expeditiously.”

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The New York Family Immigrant Unity Project (NYIFUP) is the nation’s first public defender system for immigrants facing deportation—defined as those in removal proceedings before an immigration judge. Funded by the New York City Council since July 2014, the program provides a free attorney to almost all detained indigent immigrants facing deportation at Varick Street Immigration Court who are unrepresented at their first court appearances.