Thread by @ReichlinMelnick

Yesterday, @DOJ_EOIR continued down the path of turning the immigration courts into a due-process-free deportation machine.

This time, they're ending initial hearing dates (the equivalent of arraignments) for immigrants with lawyers, setting strict new deadlines, and more.

https://twitter.com/MatthewHoppock/status/1333640306600849408

The new policy memo from @DOJ_EOIR declares that, because in "most cases" immigrants with counsel waive the required reading of rights that occurs at the initial hearing, it's okay to end initial hearings for ALL immigrants with counsel—a wildly arbitrary decision.

Furthermore, @DOJ_EOIR's new policy memo contains a wildly inaccurate claim; that asylum seekers are highly likely to have counsel. They rely on a warped statistic—the percent of asylum APPLICANTS who have counsel.

But that ignores people who, without a lawyer, can't apply!

Under @DOJ_EOIR's new "Case Flow Processing Model," if an immigrant retains an attorney who enters an appearance more than 15 days prior to the initial hearing, the hearing will be canceled and the attorney will be given a date to submit all pleadings, applications, and motions.

The new memo collapses together a lot of disparate things, sometimes with absurd results.

For example, it seems to require submission of applications for relief before removability is established.

But the government has to meet its burden BEFORE an application is necessary!

This last portion of the @DOJ_EOIR memo gives away the game—the goal here is to speed up hearings to get people deported more quickly.

Also, many people in removal proceedings are legally present! Some have green cards!