Advocates are sounding the alarm over procedural problems plaguing New York State’s immigration courts that leave clients vulnerable to serious consequences like deportation, as reported by City Limits.

Immigration courts have resumed individual hearings postponed by COVID-19, some in person and some virtual, but attorneys are concerned that schedules are being changed and set without clear communication. Technical problems, including audio issues with remote hearings, have also caused many hearings to be rescheduled.

“These communication problems are extremely frustrating,” reads a letter from attorneys representing immigrants. “The constant last-minute changes in schedule impair our ability to fully represent our clients and to prepare properly for hearings.”

Claudine-Annick Murphy, a staff attorney at The Legal Aid Society, has a young client who was facing a deportation hearing scheduled for August of 2021. The hearing was rescheduled for January, but Murphy only received notice of the new date two days in advance.

“It was very scary to get notice two days before his final deportation hearing, that he was going to have this hearing, and we had nothing, no case to present the court,” Murphy said.

The client has Special Immigrant Juvenile Status which offers protections for immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected. It allows him to stay in this country legally and grants a pathway to permanent residence and ultimately citizenship. Despite this status and their own communication issues, the court refused to cancel the hearing, instead putting the onus on Muprhy to file for an extension, an action that can reflect poorly on a client.

Advocates are demanding the court fix these technical, logistical, and communication issues to ensure their clients’ due process is protected.