Two Homeland Security vehicles were parked outside the courthouse on June 3, but no agents were in sight as people trickled in to attend their immigration hearings.
Betts Putnam-Hidalgo was among a small group of “accompaniment volunteers serving migrant families” — according to lanyards around their necks — handing out flyers explaining that people have the right to request their case not be dismissed.
“If your case is dismissed, they will put you on an immediate detention list,” she said. “You have the right to ask for your case not to be dismissed. You have the right to ask for more time. You have the right to ask the judge what the consequences will be if your case is dismissed. And if you have credible fear, you have the right to tell the judge that you are in fear of returning to your country so that you can appeal for asylum.”
She says a lot of people they spoke with, entering for their court cases, were not aware of what rights they have in the courtroom, and many are walking in with a lot of fear.
A Venezuelan migrant leaving an asylum hearing said he was nervous when he arrived, but had heard the advice to not consent if his case was suddenly canceled. An accompaniment volunteer offers to walk the man and his partner, also a Venezuelan migrant going through a separate asylum case, to the bus stop.
The volunteers, many with the advocacy group Coalición de Derechos Humanos, offer to accompany people into and out of hearings. If someone were detained, they’d document what happened by filming, if outside, and taking notes. So far, volunteers say they haven’t seen any such arrests in Tucson.
