Utah immigration attorneys expect delays in cases after judge is fired, blame Trump admin

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah is down two immigration judges since January, and local attorneys think it’s part of the nationwide immigration judge firings. Attorneys said they are worried there will be more delays in cases or rushed deportations.

Immigration attorneys say that three judges will now be responsible for nearly 60,000 cases because a Utah immigration judge was just fired. They think Douglas Nelson, the judge recently removed, was part of a national spate of firings.

“It is concerning to see as immigration attorneys because it will cause massive delays in immigration cases,” Ysabell Lonazco, an immigration attorney, told ABC4.com.

Carlos Trujillo, another immigration attorney, said that the courts were already overwhelmed before this firing.

“In Utah, we were already scheduling hearings for 2029 with four judges, and now we have one less judge, and the community could be waiting until 2032 or 2034 so they can be legal in this country,” Trujilo said.

He said that he blames the Trump administration for these firings.

“This administration is not interested in the due process of immigrants and that an immigrant gets a hearing as soon as possible so that they can remain in the country legally. What we’re seeing is the administration trying to block that as much as possible,” Trujillo said.

These delays will have a real impact on his clients’ lives, Trujillo added.

“One client’s daughter was born, and two days later he was taken into custody,” Trujillo said. “He has been in custody for just about eight months. He hasn’t spent much time with his newborn daughter just because he wants to present his case and be legal in this country, but what this country is asking him to do is sit in jail until that hearing comes.”

Jonathan Shaw, another Utah immigration attorney, said that as attorneys, they now have to scramble to help their clients.

“We are now switching different court rooms to different attorneys, finding strategies to talk to clients who have already paid for services and who have waited years to have meetings with attorneys to explain what’s going on so they can understand what is happening, and just swapping all of our calendars round as well,” Shaw told ABC4.com.

Trujillo said that the best way to move forward is to speak out.

“Contact your senator at the end of the day. We need congress to act, that is the bottom line,” Trujillo said.

The Associated Press reported that it takes as long as a year to recruit a new immigration judge.