USA-Gov't Shutdown/Immigrants

Immigrants left in limbo as gov't shutdown forces closure of courts

  • English
  • Français

Shotlist


Miami, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Entrance to immigration court
2. Waiting area inside immigration court
3. Immigration court building
4. Window showing working hours at immigration court
5. Various of people talking with security guards at immigration court
6. Various of Leticia Calderson, Guatemalan immigrant
7. Various of Calderson talking with reporter
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish, dubbed with English) Leticia Calderson, Guatemalan immigrant:
"They told me I had to come here today to talk to the judge. I don't know anything. It's my first time here. I will call ICE. Maybe they can give me some answers."
9. Juan, Guatemalan immigrant, reporter standing outside immigration court building
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish, dubbed with English) Juan, Guatemalan immigrant:
"They told me it's closed. So I have to wait for them to send me a new paper and then I will come back here."
11. Juan talking with reporter
12. Notice explaining immigration court's operating status
13. Juan talking with security guard
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Sui Chung, immigration attorney:
"For an administration that has put so much focus on the deportation machine, and making sure cases are being moved quickly through the system, it's really impacted the immigration courts so severely, and all the federal employees involved. So it's really hugely problematic for all of us. It's just increasing the tremendous backlog that we do already have."
15. Various of Calderson sitting on steps

Storyline


The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has left many essential departments closed as President Donald Trump and Congress stand their respective grounds on approving a budget for the 2019 fiscal year. One of the departments that is running out of funds is the immigration court, as many already had back-logs of cases.

The Executive Office For Immigration Review in Miami, Florida, has closed due to a funding shortage and it has canceled a large number of immigration hearings.
One judge said the shutdown would be "devastating" as many would-be immigrants are in limbo.

More than 40,000 immigration hearings have been canceled due to the government shutdown, according to tracking done by Syracuse University. Immigrants are being turned away from the Miami federal building, with a private guard being the only person talking to them.

Leticia Calderson, an immigrant from Guatemala, had no clue about what was going on. She just kept saying that it was her first time at court. Eight months ago, Leticia was detained with her son in a desert area of the U.S.-Mexico border, then sent to Florida. She fled Guatemala after her husband was killed, leaving her daughters behind.

"They told me that I had to come here today to talk to the judge. I don't know anything. It's my first time here. I will call ICE, maybe they can give me some answers," said Leticia.

Juan, another Guatemalan immigrant, showed up for his scheduled hearing but was told to wait.

"They told me it's closed. So I have to wait for them to send me a new paper and then I will come back here," he said.

Sui Chung, an immigration attorney, said the shutdown has caused problems for many people.

"For an administration that has put so much focus on the deportation machine, and making sure cases are being moved quickly through the system, it's really impacted the immigration courts so severely, and all the federal employees involved. So it's really hugely problematic for all of us. It's just increasing the tremendous backlog that we do already have," said Sui.

As there appears to be no end in sight of the shutdown, Leticia can do nothing but wait for her ride back to the farms of South Florida. While the politicians keep fighting, ironically, over the funding of a border wall, her life, like that of so many other immigrants, is in limbo.

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  • ID : 8100987
  • Dateline : Recent
  • Location : United States
  • Category : politics
  • Duration : 1'45
  • Audio Language : Spanish/English/Narration
  • Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)
  • Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
  • Published : 2019-01-18 17:20
  • Last Modified : 2019-01-18 21:20:00
  • Version : 1
  • ID : 8100987
  • Dateline : Récent
  • Location : États-Unis
  • Category : politics
  • Duration : 1'45
  • Audio Language : Espagnol/Anglais/Narration
  • Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)
  • Restrictions : Pas d’accès dans la partie continentale de Chine
  • Published : 2019-01-18 21:14
  • Last Modified : 2019-01-18 21:20:00
  • Version : 1

USA-Gov't Shutdown/Immigrants

Immigrants left in limbo as gov't shutdown forces closure of courts

Dateline : Recent

Location : United States

Duration : 1'45

  • English
  • Français


Miami, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Entrance to immigration court
2. Waiting area inside immigration court
3. Immigration court building
4. Window showing working hours at immigration court
5. Various of people talking with security guards at immigration court
6. Various of Leticia Calderson, Guatemalan immigrant
7. Various of Calderson talking with reporter
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish, dubbed with English) Leticia Calderson, Guatemalan immigrant:
"They told me I had to come here today to talk to the judge. I don't know anything. It's my first time here. I will call ICE. Maybe they can give me some answers."
9. Juan, Guatemalan immigrant, reporter standing outside immigration court building
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish, dubbed with English) Juan, Guatemalan immigrant:
"They told me it's closed. So I have to wait for them to send me a new paper and then I will come back here."
11. Juan talking with reporter
12. Notice explaining immigration court's operating status
13. Juan talking with security guard
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Sui Chung, immigration attorney:
"For an administration that has put so much focus on the deportation machine, and making sure cases are being moved quickly through the system, it's really impacted the immigration courts so severely, and all the federal employees involved. So it's really hugely problematic for all of us. It's just increasing the tremendous backlog that we do already have."
15. Various of Calderson sitting on steps


The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has left many essential departments closed as President Donald Trump and Congress stand their respective grounds on approving a budget for the 2019 fiscal year. One of the departments that is running out of funds is the immigration court, as many already had back-logs of cases.

The Executive Office For Immigration Review in Miami, Florida, has closed due to a funding shortage and it has canceled a large number of immigration hearings.
One judge said the shutdown would be "devastating" as many would-be immigrants are in limbo.

More than 40,000 immigration hearings have been canceled due to the government shutdown, according to tracking done by Syracuse University. Immigrants are being turned away from the Miami federal building, with a private guard being the only person talking to them.

Leticia Calderson, an immigrant from Guatemala, had no clue about what was going on. She just kept saying that it was her first time at court. Eight months ago, Leticia was detained with her son in a desert area of the U.S.-Mexico border, then sent to Florida. She fled Guatemala after her husband was killed, leaving her daughters behind.

"They told me that I had to come here today to talk to the judge. I don't know anything. It's my first time here. I will call ICE, maybe they can give me some answers," said Leticia.

Juan, another Guatemalan immigrant, showed up for his scheduled hearing but was told to wait.

"They told me it's closed. So I have to wait for them to send me a new paper and then I will come back here," he said.

Sui Chung, an immigration attorney, said the shutdown has caused problems for many people.

"For an administration that has put so much focus on the deportation machine, and making sure cases are being moved quickly through the system, it's really impacted the immigration courts so severely, and all the federal employees involved. So it's really hugely problematic for all of us. It's just increasing the tremendous backlog that we do already have," said Sui.

As there appears to be no end in sight of the shutdown, Leticia can do nothing but wait for her ride back to the farms of South Florida. While the politicians keep fighting, ironically, over the funding of a border wall, her life, like that of so many other immigrants, is in limbo.

ID : 8100987

Published : 2019-01-18 17:20

Last Modified : 2019-01-18 21:20:00

Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland

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