Attorneys have noticed unusual activity this week at the Immigration Court in San Francisco.
“This week we saw a hearing that had more than 70 people, and only 3 people showed up,” said Millie Atkinson, director of the Immigration Program at the San Francisco Bar Association.
A high number of people missed court, so they were ordered deported in absentia.
“More than 70 people were ordered in their absence and this is very rare, in total for the days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday there were more than 500 people who received a deportation order because they did not attend their hearing,” Atkinson explained.
Atkinson stated that reviewing the cases they had in common, that they are people without a lawyer.
“Many people appear that the court did not have correct information about their address or telephone number,” Atkinson emphasized.
Stay up to date with local news and weather. Subscribe to our free newsletters here.
SUBSCRIBE Telemundo 48 contacted immigration to understand what is happening, but so far we have not received a response.
But could this have something to do with the transfer of most cases from San Francisco to the Concord court next year?
“More than 100,000 cases are going to be sent to Concord, so we think that perhaps they are reviewing the cases to try to finish many instead of sending them to the other court,” Atkinson said.
The lawyer explained that that is why some people’s courts could be moving forward.
“I think it was the court’s attempt to schedule these new hearings for people who, for whatever reason, think they are not going to receive notification or show up,” Artkinson said.
Therefore, they recommend being aware of when your next court is, and remember that it is your responsibility to update them if you change your address.
How you can check your next court date
You can call 1-800-898-7180, then press option 2 in Spanish and have the A or A number on hand to identify your case.
You can also open an account with the court to receive notifications via email by clicking here.
Additionally, it is important that if you move you make the change of address by completing a form by clicking here.
If you were indeed ordered deported in absentia, all is not lost, but you will need a lawyer
“If there is a way to reopen the case, if you did not receive the notification in time, or if you had a very serious circumstance where it was impossible to attend your hearing, but there are deadlines to make this response,” Artkinson asserted.
