(Desert Sun) The federal government is spending $300,000 a year on an immigration court that hasn’t had a sitting judge since January 2015.
Imperial Immigration Court is the only immigration court in the country without a sitting judge. It’s been nearly two years since a hearing has taken place in any of the courthouse’s three courtrooms, and until a new judge is appointed, they will sit empty.
As a temporary solution, detained immigrants in Calexico can video conference with immigration judges in San Diego. Non-detained immigrants don’t have that option: whether facing deportation or trying to adjust their legal status, they try to move their cases to another court or wait for a judge to return to the Imperial courthouse. Their cases have been pushed years into the future, immigration lawyers say.
