'Pop-up' immigration courts have opened in Washington, D.C., and Virginia, with hearings scheduled in unexpected locations.

There are cases where people were initially assigned hearings in immigration courts in Maryland and Virginia, then suddenly had their cases changed to other locations, writes NPR.

Immigration hearings have been moved to two other buildings: one in Washington, D.C., and the other in Falls Church, Virginia. Neither building is listed as an immigration court.

The premises in question currently lack facilities equipped for in-person immigration court hearings. Furthermore, the Washington, D.C., building has no such affiliation with the U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the immigration court system.

On the subject: What are the consequences of missing your immigration court date, and how to quickly find out about hearing dates and reschedules?

Immigrants were notified of the change in hearing location several days before the new hearing date, and in at least two cases reviewed by NPR, they were not notified at all.

Legal experts warn that this practice of scheduling hearings in previously unused and unfamiliar locations adds to the confusion and opacity of an already complex immigration court system.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

The US Justice Department did not respond to NPR's questions about why the two buildings are being used for hearings.

A search of open sources revealed that this innovation—"pop-up courts"—appeared quite recently and has so far been little studied.

Read also on ForumDaily:

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ICE is holding a man with stage 4 cancer despite having a green card.

Why is it dangerous for foreigners with open immigration cases to fly? ICE agents are hunting them at airports.

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