DENVER — While her 5-year-old son slept in her arms, a woman from El Salvador spoke of fleeing the sexual harassment of violent gang members, as immigration judges in Denver began video proceedings Monday in asylum cases of mothers and children being held at a remote New Mexico deportation center.
The 27-year-old woman, who appeared over a video screen and spoke through a translator, promised a judge she would not flee if she were released to family in Los Angeles and vowed to seek US citizenship.
Hers was among the first of scores of cases that have been moved from Arlington, Va., to judges in Denver. Officials say it makes more sense to hold the proceedings in the same time zone as the detention center in Artesia, N.M.
Advertisement
The change in venue came after immigration lawyers filed a lawsuit seeking to block deportations from Artesia, saying immigrants don’t have proper access to lawyers.