It’s not hard to understand why access to counsel is a problem for MPP cases. Not only are attorneys forced to go to some of the most dangerous parts of Mexico along the border to meet with clients; it is also difficult to represent them at the court.
My client is scheduled for a 12PM hearing today. She won’t arrive until 11:30AM at the earliest by transport. By the time people are here, have lunch, and get organized into courtrooms, it will be after 1PM before hearings begin.
Sometimes court starts HOURS after the scheduled time. Sometimes clients don’t make it onto transport to court. Today I tried to file an entry of appearance so I could submit asylum applications and motions for a client in MPP. The court doesn’t even have a file for him yet.
The court is entering notices to appear (NTA) week by week, so if you have a client not showing up in the immigration court system, it could be because an NTA isn’t filed, or it could be that it was filed but is sitting in a pile.
I’m sitting in the lobby of the court for at least two hours waiting for my hearing to begin. In the immigration law world, where everything is on fire, many lawyers cannot put aside an entire day to represent someone in an MPP case. It’s not the client’s fault - it’s the system.
Oh BTW - for the afternoon docket with the the IJ I have, there is only one other attorney listed as representing a family.
Got here to speak with my client before court. I was advised that I cannot speak with her privately and that a guard will need to be present and it would have to happen in the courtroom with all of the others waiting for court. How about hell no? I’ll address it on the record.
Let me repeat this for emphasis. My client is detained by the US govt in Mexico. The ONLY time she is in the US is when she is in court. And I was just told I CANNOT speak with her alone before her hearing.
I ended up arguing with 3 men wearing bulletproof vests to protect themselves from asylum seekers. They told me a guard would have to be in my meeting. I said no. They said my client was in MPP and in custody. I told them she still has a right to counsel and confidentiality.
They said they couldn’t let her out of their sight. There was no pro bono room, so we had to meet in the lobby anyway. I told them to stand on the other side of the empty lobby then bc they couldn’t be close enough to hear us. I “won” and met with my client.
There were TWO other attorneys on the docket today, as someone entered an appearance this morning. After our hearing I observed the people going forward without an attorney.
The IJ we were with was patient, which is not always the case in these dockets. He made the government explain the process they would take to refer people who were afraid to return to Mexico. He gave everyone time to find an attorney. He asked if anyone was afraid to go to MX.
He told people they could keep looking for an attorney and maybe someone could help for free. He kept referencing that there was “one attorney here today who took a case for free, and there are attorneys who want to help you.” That was kind but unrealistic.
It’s unfair to put the entire burden on attorneys to do free work. Many of us do a ton of pro bono - whatever we can afford. But for the court to expect that bc of terrible government programs is unfair. If people were not detained in Mexico, they could find counsel.
Every single person I saw in court today wanted an attorney. Each of them explained they had tried to call pro bono organizations and attorneys and couldn’t afford one. That’s by design. This docket is DESIGNED to deny access to counsel. That’s why it exists.
At the end of the docket, the government attorney gave hearing notices to private contractors to hand out to the asylum applicants. The government is supposed to serve those, but no one cares about the rules. This entire program operates outside of the law.
My client and I will now struggle to prepare her case - with her in Mexico and me in the United States. The government knows this isn’t possible. They make no secret of the fact that they expect us to travel to Mexico. It’s right there in the MPP advisals they give out. 
You can’t prepare an asylum case remotely. The point is to deny counsel. More people win with counsel and the purpose of this program is to deny asylum, not to seek the truth and give protection to those the US deems deserving. It’s a farce. #dueprocess4all #asylum #mpp
I’m going to write a blog post about MPP. It’s an easier format than tweeting.
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