California Attorneys, Advocates and Legal Organizations Call on EOIR to Expedite Release for Immigrant Detainees, Close Physical Courtrooms, and Give Detainees Option for Telephonic Hearings
April 6, 2020, San Francisco—The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of the Bar Association of San Francisco joined 43 legal service providers in a letter to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Department of Justice agency tasked with conducting removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicating appeals arising from the proceedings.
In the letter, the organizations demand that EOIR immediately physically close all immigration courts to protect their staff, clients, court staff and the public from COVID-19.
Read the letter in full. The letter was signed by the following organizations:
ACLU of California
African Advocacy Network
Alameda County Immigration Education Partnership
Alameda County Public Defender
California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice
Central American Resource Center - CARECEN - of California
Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) of Northern California
Centro Legal de la Raza
Community Justice Alliance
CRLA Foundation
Dolores Street Community Services
East Bay Community Law Center
Human Rights First
Immigrant Defenders Law Center
Immigrant Defense Advocates
Immigrant Legal Defense
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
Justice and Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco
La Raza Centro Legal - San Francisco
Latin Advocacy Network (Latinan)
Law Office of Helen Lawrence
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
Legal Services for Children
Long Beach Community Defense Network
McGeorge Community Legal Services
Orange County Rapid Response Network
Pangea Legal Services
Public Law Center
Resilience Orange County
Sacramento ACT
Sacramento Rapid Response Network
San Bernardino Community Service Center, Inc.
San Francisco Public Defender's Office
San Francisco Rapid Response Network
SIREN (Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network)
Southern California Immigration Project
Stand Together Contra Costa
The LGBTQ Center of Orange County
UCLA Law Students for Immigrant Justice
University of San Francisco Immigration & Deportation Defense Clinic
USC Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic
USF Immigration and Deportation Clinic
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The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) advances fairness and equality by providing pro bono legal services to low-income people and educational programs that foster diversity in the legal profession. JDC is the largest legal services providers in San Francisco. JDC’s programs serve approximately 9,500 disadvantaged San Franciscans a year, with the overarching goal of assisting the community’s most vulnerable members with accessing the judicial system and strengthening their personal, professional, and economic security.
The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) is a nonprofit voluntary membership organization of attorneys, law students, and legal professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1872, BASF enjoys the support of more than 7,500 individuals, law firms, corporate legal departments, and law schools. BASF provides a collective voice for public advocacy, advances professional growth and education, and attempts to elevate the standards of integrity, honor, and respect in the practice of law.