The most essential feature of immigration court is its unpredictability. We have been court watching since June and what we know is that we don’t know. The world we knew was shattered and we don’t know what’s coming next. Eyes on Immigration Court will be on hiatus
Fear and emotional fragility are not reasons to stay home. By Laura Esther Wolfson I know little about the legalities and bureaucratic intricacies of immigration; my grandparents took care of all that long ago at Ellis Island, so that my parents and succeeding generations wouldn’t have to. But really
We were all trapped in helplessness. But we were there with one another. Guest Post by Lee Goodman 1. Tears flowed down the girl’s face as we stood talking outside the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. She didn’t say anything to me. Her older sister, who was also
That day I witnessed different realities on two sides of the courtroom door. By Wanda Siedlecka I try not to think about the place I am heading. It’s easy when I am going there early in the morning. I am half asleep anyway. I suppress the feeling of dread
Anonymous they’re trying to sell iPads to papis on the train they’re saying don’t lock arms not caring if you’re a rightist or a leftist but you can’t catch two spiders at the same time and we’re way past the point of de-escalation webs
So we stood our ground... An excerpt from illdefinitions The boy came dressed clean, with a fresh hair cut. No tattoos, no logos, talking to his brother in Q’eqchi’, one of the indigenous languages of his country rooted all the way back to the Maya. We met up outside
“I can get you some coffee,” I said. Originally published on November 2, 2025 By SEB We charged into the immigration court waiting room, eager to help. It was about half full. I’m a middle-aged white woman, and this was my first day visiting immigration court. My wife, a
One day, everyone will have always been against this, and someday they will be ok with it again. Originally published on October 26, 2025 Earlier today, a woman was brutalized. They had just abducted her husband in front of her and her two kids. I sat in the courtroom with
These cries are not from here. Originally published October 19, 2025 By Kate Levy September 18th There’s an 8-year-old here in a full blue suit, a tie, a white shirt, tiny, shiny shoes. Even his shoes. His dad is dressed in a white hoodie and khakis. It’s like
On Seeing Immigration Differently Originally published October 13, 2025 By Alex Gervasi It’s comforting to imagine ourselves as the heroes. It’s harder to look around, right now, and realize that while we fantasize about “what we would have done way back when,” we are doing very little in
Court Watching Originally published October 6, 2025 by Shifra Sharlin “Do you believe in God?” This was the question that the sad man typed into the translation app on his phone. In reply, my friend Wanda typed into her translation app, “My parents were communists!” I typed, “I’m Jewish.
End of September in NYC's immigration court Originally published October 2, 2025 By PA Clots of large, masked ICE agents clogged the corridors this morning. Some of them seemed clearly rookies, milling around aimlessly. But the muscleman who looks hardened by steroids was around, and he had quite
Notes From Watching Online Originally published September 29, 2025 By Debbie Nathan July 2025 For eight days now I have been low with an illness that my doctor has diagnosed as Covid, though the two tests I took at home – granted, they were leftovers from the pandemic and long ago
Due Process in Tatters Originally posted on September 15, 2025 N.S This is my first time. Most of the ICE agents wear balaclavas. A few wear N95s. You can’t see any faces. Some carry guns and tasers. They all have cuffs. They have on flak vests that say