JAMES H. BINGER CENTER FOR NEW AMERICANS

Immigration Court Observation- Fort Snelling Court

All immigration hearings are observed in-person at the Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling MN.

The Immigration Court Observation Project brings transparency and accountability to immigration court. Court observers attend deportation hearings at the Fort Snelling Immigration Court and report on issues of concern including access to counsel, family and community support, language interpretation, and the ability of individuals to raise defenses to deportation.

Before signing up for shifts, all volunteers must:

• Register and complete a Volunteer Agreement
• Watch an introductory video
• Attend a training

Visit https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/Immigration_Court to start the volunteer process.

Volunteer court observers primarily monitor three dockets (list of court cases):

DETAINED MASTER CALENDAR AND BOND DOCKET:

Master calendar are short procedural hearings for immigrants to understand why they are in removal proceedings and how they might qualify for relief from deportation. The detained docket is for people being held in ICE detention, or who are in prison serving a criminal sentence while in deportation proceedings (IHP hearings). Bond hearings determine whether an immigrant can be released from ICE detention while their case is moving through the court. Most immigrants will have several master calendar hearings over the course of several weeks. These shifts are 1 ½ - 2 hours in length.

DETAINED MERITS HEARING DOCKET: 

These are the final individual hearings where testimony is taken and the judge rules on the case. The immigrants in these hearings are being held either in ICE detention, or are in prison serving a criminal sentence (IHP hearings). The judge will ask for the immigrant’s consent to have observers present for their merits hearings. If consent is not granted, you will be asked to leave. Observers would benefit from observing master calendar and bond hearings prior to signing up for observation of merits hearings, but it is not required. These shifts are typically 2-3 hours in length.

NON-DETAINED MASTER CALENDAR DOCKET:  

These are short procedural hearings for immigrants who are not detained; they are living in the community while their removal case is moving through immigration court. Most immigrants will have several master calendar hearings over the course of a year or more. These shifts are 1 ½ - 2 hours in length.

Detained Master Calendar/Bond Hearings, Merits Hearings and Non-Detained master calendar hearings shifts are listed separately below.  If no shifts are listed, all shifts are full. New shifts are posted at least monthly.

To sign up for a shift, select the shift's checkbox and then scroll to the bottom of the page to submit.  When signing up you can click on “[see description]” and read the Shift Notes to find out more details about the type of hearing, courtroom and legal representation, etc.

All observation materials, as well as project updates and reminders, will be emailed to you the weekend prior to your shift. 

For questions, or if you need to cancel your shift, please contact: courtobserver@umn.edu.

This project is a collaboration between The Advocates for Human Rights, the University of Minnesota Law School's James H. Binger Center for New Americans, and Robins Kaplan LLP.

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