SF Immigration Court's Looming Closure Raises Concerns About Path to Asylum | KQED

"The San Francisco court, which is the largest of three that hear cases from the Central Valley to the Oregon border, has a backlog of 120,000 cases. Another in Concord, which opened in 2024 and was expected to grow to a similar size, has just seven judges. Sacramento's smaller court shrunk from six to three judges last year. The two locations are responsible for around 90,000 more cases."

"On Wednesday morning, the line of people waiting for check-in appointments outside the ICE field office on Sansome Street, about half a mile from the court, extended down the block and around the corner. Martens said some of the people standing outside the federal building, holding folders of legal paperwork and bundled against the early morning cold, had also been lined up Monday or Tuesday but hadn't made it through the long, slow-moving queue."

"Last spring, ICE officers began arresting immigrants outside courtrooms where they had mandatory hearings, a tactic that was previously unprecedented. DOJ attorneys would move to have asylum seekers' cases dismissed, while officers waited in courtroom hallways to take them into detention if they were. The DOJ used similar tactics to detain immigrants who reported to ICE check-in appointments like those held at 630 Sansome St."

The San Francisco immigration court, the largest of three serving from the Central Valley to the Oregon border, has a backlog of 120,000 cases. Concord’s court, opened in 2024, has seven judges and Sacramento’s court dropped from six to three judges, together handling about 90,000 additional cases. Long lines form outside the ICE field office on Sansome Street, with people carrying legal paperwork and waiting multiple days because of slow-moving queues. ICE officers began arresting immigrants outside courtrooms with mandatory hearings, and DOJ attorneys have moved to dismiss asylum cases. Prosecutors increasingly deny cases before hearings and offer asylum cooperation agreements; failing to appear can result in cases being dropped.

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