Asylum seekers attend border court amid outbreak
Associated PressEL PASO, Texas — U.S. immigration courts sharply scaled back operations Monday but have stopped well short of a total shutdown demanded by employees, including judges and government attorneys. “Most of the children are asleep in their parent’s arms.” The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review late Sunday postponed preliminary hearings for people who aren’t in custody through April 10. While significant, the order doesn’t extend to courts in immigration detention centers or to the government’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in the U.S. “The is failing to meet its obligations to ensure a safe and healthy environment within our Immigration Courts,” read a joint statement by the National Association of Immigration Judges, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Federation of Government Employees Local 511, which represents Homeland Security Department attorneys.