Let's be clear about what this means in practical terms: immigration cases that were once handled locally will now require attorneys, respondents, and witnesses to navigate a system that's even more remote and less accessible than it already was. Whether you think current immigration policy is too strict or too lenient, everyone should agree that due process works better when courts are actually accessible to the people who need them.

This isn't just an immigration story — it's a government efficiency story, and not the good kind. The federal immigration court system is already legendarily backlogged, with cases dragging on for years. Reducing SF's court capacity doesn't make that backlog disappear. It just shifts the burden somewhere else, likely creating longer wait times, more travel costs for all parties involved, and less accountability in how cases are resolved.

From a fiscal standpoint, the math doesn't obviously add up either. Satellite courts still cost money to maintain, but they process fewer cases. If the goal is to save resources, actually closing the court and consolidating efficiently would at least be honest. Instead, we get a half-measure that satisfies nobody — not enforcement hawks who want faster case resolution, and not civil liberties advocates who want fair hearings.

San Francisco has spent the last decade loudly branding itself as a sanctuary city. City leaders have given speeches, passed resolutions, and spent taxpayer dollars on legal defense funds for immigrants. But when the federal government quietly guts the actual judicial infrastructure that ensures immigrants get their day in court? The silence from City Hall is deafening.

You can't claim to stand for immigrant communities while shrugging as the courthouse doors close. Either the principles matter or the press conferences do. Pick one.