Warren’s letter notes that “Courtrooms and waiting areas remain full of people,” mirrored in an AP report about asylum seekers who have been forced to wait in Mexico by the administration. “Wearing face masks, about 30 asylum seekers who had been waiting in Mexico were escorted by authorities into a federal building in El Paso, Texas, some carrying children,” the report said. “They reported, as instructed, to a border crossing at 4 a.m. Monday and were driven to the court in white vans. Journalists were barred from the courtroom on the grounds that it was too crowded. A lawyer who attended said the judge appeared by video conference, and few, if any migrants wore masks once the hearing began.”

Even Immigration and Customs Enforcement prosecutors have urged a shutdown of immigration courts nationwide, joining immigration judges and immigration attorneys to call the EOIR’s actions so far “insufficient,” they said in a letter. Lacking any leadership from the DOJ, BuzzFeed News reported that some judges have taken initiative and cancelled some asylum hearings on their own as a public health matter. “Judges plan to issue similar orders on a daily basis, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. Delays were also reported in El Paso, the location of another court that hears similar cases,” the report said.

Groups and advocates were initially puzzled why only some courts were getting closed as numerous states were taking initiative to protect their residents, but a recent report from Miami Herald may have explained why. “As state and local courtrooms across the country have shuttered their doors, immigration courtroom closures are being decided on a case-by-case basis by the White House itself, according to records obtained by the Miami Herald,” the report said. So politics as usual, and it’s politics that’s going to endanger lives, Warren says. “I urge you to act responsibly and immediately close all immigration courts until the health risks of keeping them open have diminished."