TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jul 7, 2020

The federal government is targeting late July for reopening the Memphis Immigration Court, the Commercial Appeal reports. Hearings are now scheduled to begin after July 24. Memphis attorney Lily Axelrod, who represents an association of immigration lawyers, says she has contacted the local chief immigration judge several times to discuss safety precautions but has not heard back. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees the immigration courts, also has been largely silent on the issue of how courts can safely open. It has posted some guidelines, including that everyone in the court must wear a face mask and no one with a COVID-19 diagnosis or symptoms may enter the space. In related news, the National Law Journal reports that the National Association of Immigration Judges has filed a lawsuit arguing that the government is stifling judges’ rights to speak publicly on key issues, including the threat of COVID-19.