"In September, while reporting on the Trump Administration's attacks on the immigration system, I visited the courtroom of Judge Jeremiah Johnson, in downtown San Francisco. He was presiding over a large batch of preliminary hearings, mostly concerning applications for asylum. The courthouse was emptier than usual. Many applicants were afraid to show up, since ICE had recently made arrests in the hallways."
"Despite this upheaval, Johnson, who's reedy and outgoing, projected calm. He greeted the immigrants who came before him with a big smile and the word "namaste." Some of the immigrants were kids. Through Spanish, Mam, and Hindi interpreters, he advised everyone of their rights and obligations. "The purpose of these proceedings is to determine whether you can stay in the United States," he told a woman named Guadalupe."
Immigration courts experienced profound disruption after Trump reassumed the Presidency, with widespread impacts across federal employment. About a hundred of roughly seven hundred immigration judges resigned, retired, or were fired, shrinking the judicial workforce. Courtrooms saw reduced attendance as applicants feared ICE arrests in courthouse hallways. Judge Jeremiah Johnson presided over preliminary asylum hearings calmly, greeting immigrants and advising them through Spanish, Mam, and Hindi interpreters about rights and obligations. During the October-November federal shutdown, immigration judges continued essential, unpaid work. Other federal departments also underwent numerous firings and staffing upheavals during the same period.
Read at The New Yorker
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