Four former judges also retired at the end of the year, some under pressure, attorneys told KQED at the time. The court currently has a backlog of more than 117,000 cases.
The majority of those cases will be transferred to the Contra Costa County site, which opened in 2024 to help handle overflow from San Francisco. Concord’s bench has also lost several judges since last year, Atkinson said.
Some cases will continue in San Francisco at a second federally owned immigration building on Sansome Street, under two judges. Both previously worked primarily at Montgomery Street, but relocated in January.
Both Atkinson and Levine said that reshuffling and significantly fewer judges hearing cases across the Bay Area could increase the case backlog. But, Levine said, there’s also an increasing number of cases being dismissed pre-trial — either through an increase of “in absentia” hearings, preterminations and deportations.
“Those all will reduce the backlog,” she said. “But will they reduce the backlog in a way that complies with our laws and with our constitutional requirements? I would say no.”
The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement building at 630 Sansome St. in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 5, 2020. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
In recent months, there’ve been many cases where people didn’t realize their hearing was rescheduled or moved, usually because their original judge was fired or let go, she said. Still, if a person does not appear at their appointment, they can automatically lose their case and be ordered removed “in absentia.”
In March, the San Francisco court issued 800 removal notices in just one week, after chaos from the firings and retirements led to the rescheduling of many appointments.
“They will order you removed, and you’re at very, very high risk of being detained and removed from the United States,” Atkinson told KQED.
Atkinson said in the short term, the Immigrant Legal Defense Program’s goal will be to ensure people know where their next hearing is and when.
While some cases have been moved up, others are also being rescheduled years into the future, in 2028 or 2029. Atkinson said those delays are stressful and difficult for people preparing to give testimony in their cases.
The move to Concord also means a vast network of legal service and resource providers that’s been built up over decades will have to shift from San Francisco to the East Bay.
The site of a new immigration court at 1855 Concord Gateway in Concord on Feb. 6, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
“They just don’t have as many organizations, as many lawyers, as many resources dedicated to people going to court in Concord,” Atkinson said.
The end result, both Atkinson and Levine warned, means it will be harder for asylum seekers to receive due process.
“The bigger strain is on the ability to have cases heard by judges who are not under pressure to make decisions a certain way or dismiss cases because they have too many cases pending,” Atkinson said. “Not giving people the opportunity for their asylum case to be adjudicated in a way that’s fair.”
