S.F.'s last immigration court will be reduced to a satellite by end of summer

"By Sept. 4, San Francisco will no longer have any immigration courts under its own jurisdiction. The federal government confirmed on May 1st that the city's two remaining courtrooms at 630 Sansome St. will fall under the administration of the Concord immigration court across the bay. This ends a decades-long history of what was once one of the largest immigration court systems in the nation. The city's other longtime immigration court at 100 Montgomery St. closed at the beginning of May."

"The Executive Office of Immigration Review, which runs the federal government's immigration courts, said that the Sansome court will stay open as a "hearing location" under the administrative control of Concord. Most cases from San Francisco will be re-assigned to Concord, since 630 Sansome will be operating at a limited capacity. The change may sow more confusion for asylum-seekers and other immigrants in a rapidly changing system, where legal statuses are being revoked, judges are being fired, and now, courts are closing."

""I think it's very unfair to the public because think about how much farther the public must go, and how much more difficult it is for public transportation," said Dana Marks, a retired immigration judge. The Concord court is around an hour and a half from San Francisco by BART, or 45 minutes by car. Marks said the change "shows the federal government's callousness and lack of sensitivity to the needs of the immigrant community.""

"For an asylum seeker who has an initial case in San Francisco, their subsequent hearing may be transferred to Concord without a motion to "change venue," which was previously required and would require more paperwork and acknowledgment from the asylum seeker. The change of venue can now occur simply by updating the online hearing schedule which can be easily missed, especially for immigrants without attorneys who do not have a lawyer tracking their changes. And an accidental no show can mean dep"

San Francisco will have no immigration courts under its own jurisdiction by Sept. 4. The federal government confirmed that the two remaining courtrooms at 630 Sansome St. will be administered by the Concord immigration court across the bay. The court at 100 Montgomery St. closed at the beginning of May. The Sansome location will remain open only as a hearing location under Concord’s administrative control, and many San Francisco cases will be reassigned because the Sansome court will operate at limited capacity. The change may increase confusion for asylum-seekers and other immigrants as legal statuses are revoked, judges are fired, and courts close. Transfers may occur without a motion to change venue, and venue changes can be made by updating an online hearing schedule that may be missed, leading to missed hearings.

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