The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) urged Governor Phil Murphy and the state's United States senators to make the immigration court safe for all during the pandemic by allowing videoconference hearings.
The Association sent the following statement to Murphy and Senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez:
The New Jersey State Bar Association supports the American Immigration Lawyers Association, New Jersey Chapter (AILA-NJ), in efforts to ensure in-person non-detained hearings are halted in the Newark Immigration Court until they can be conducted in a manner that protects the health and safety of all participants. The NJSBA calls on the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) to instead allow proceedings to be conducted virtually, via videoconference, to allow the preservation of the rights of all involved.
Despite the ongoing pandemic and the potential risks faced by individuals participating in in-person hearings with many individuals present in the courthouse at one time, the EOIR recently reopened the Newark court to hear non-detained cases, only to have to shut down again on an emergent basis. Attorneys who have appeared in person in Court have reported that safety protocols such as wearing a mask at all times, monitoring of the elevator usage to ensure social distancing, and cleaning of desks and other items in between hearings are not being followed, placing all courthouse users at risk.
Litigants who elect to proceed with a telephonic hearing are being required to waive a number of rights, including one’s due process right to a full and fair hearing. This is untenable. While it is important for hearings to proceed in a timely manner, the health and safety of everyone involved in the court proceedings—as well as the residents of New Jersey as a whole—is of paramount importance. Attorneys and litigants should not be forced to choose between their health and protection of due process rights.
Accordingly, NJSBA supports AILA-NJ’s efforts and calls on EOIR to allow non-detained hearings to be conducted by videoconference until such time as the health and safety of all participants can be adequately protected.