100+ immigrants waited in line in 10 cities for court dates that didn't exist
100+ immigrants waited in line in 10 cities for court dates that didn't exist
By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Updated 11:28 PM ET, Wed October 31, 2018
(CNN)Lines snaked around the block outside immigration courts across the United States on Wednesday. But many people standing in them later learned they had no reason to be there.
More than 100 immigrants showed up to court carrying paperwork ordering them to appear before a judge, only to find out that their court dates hadn't actually been scheduled, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). And as a result, uncharacteristically long lines were reported outside at least 10 immigration courts, the association said.
Lawyers told CNN it's part of a troubling trend that shows how dysfunctional the system has become and how chaotic the Trump administration's approach to immigration enforcement can be.
Attorneys say the practice began after the US Supreme Court ruled in June that notices to appear -- the charging documents that immigration authorities issue to send someone to immigration court who's accused of being in the United States illegally -- must specify the time and place of proceedings in order to be valid.
Since then, immigration lawyers across the country have reported that officials are increasingly issuing such notices with so-called "fake dates," ordering immigrants to appear at hearings that, it later turns out, were never scheduled in immigration courts.
In recent months, lawyers have reported examples of notices issued for nonexistent dates, such as September 31st, and for times of day when courts aren't open, such as midnight.
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/31/us/immigration-court-fake-dates/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1IjtdG4Ey0XH3gAkxHzbkrjTirCh74mtTKEsOUail1cGTE5gAKcGN3flU
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