Hundreds of businesses, tourist locations and county buildings in the Bay Area have closed in an effort to slow down the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the region to a standstill. But the San Francisco immigration court remains open despite shelter-in-place policies and concerns from advocates who fear it could expose many people to the virus.

Organizers, politicians and union groups across the country — including unions representing immigration judges and government prosecutors — have called on the Executive Office for Immigration Review to close the country’s 68 immigration courts.

But officials haven’t budged. As of Friday, the immigration review — a branch of the Department of Justice that oversees U.S. immigration court — has closed only 11 courthouses.

Many judges and court staff, concerned that they’ll get exposed to the virus and infect people in their communities, are calling in sick to stay home. Thirteen judges and 22 staff members at San Francisco immigration court called in sick Thursday, according to Dana Leigh Marks, former president of the National Association of Immigration Judges.

“We’ve been working tirelessly to try to get all courts closed,” said Marks, who spoke to The Chronicle as a member of the union. “At least just to take a pause to understand better how the infection is spreading so that we can take sensible measures related to the science behind it.”

At 65, Marks is considered “at risk” for the virus. She’s chosen to stay home to reduce her risk.

“We’ve only been told basic due process concerns are what is driving these decisions,” she said, referring to the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s decision to keep most courts open. “They’re being made at high levels in the Department of Justice.”

The Executive Office for Immigration Review said it’s reviewing information from local, state and federal officials on the coronavirus.

“The agency continues to evaluate the dynamic situation nationwide and will make decisions for each location as more information becomes available,” said spokeswoman Kathryn Mattingly in a statement Friday. “At this time, immigration courts have postponed all non-detained hearings, and some immigration courts are closed.”

Mattingly did not answer questions about why the San Francisco court remains open despite city and state shelter-in-place policies and did not provide a total estimate on the number of judges and court staff who called in sick this week.

The immigration court in San Francisco is split in two: The courthouse on Sansome Street holds hearings for people who are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The courthouse on Montgomery Street holds hearings for non-detained immigrants.

Immigration review canceled non-detained hearings in San Francisco and other places, which has slowed down foot traffic. But the courthouse remains open for other business, and staff is required to work normal hours.

Immigration courthouses are generally much smaller than criminal courtrooms, and immigrants, attorneys, judges, witnesses and interpreters often share tight spaces. This would make it easy for the virus to spread, they say.

In an unprecedented move, unions for immigration judges, immigration lawyers and ICE prosecutors said the Justice Department has failed to adequately protect the public and court personnel during this public health crisis.

“Our nation is currently in the throes of a historic global pandemic,” the group said in a letter this week. “The Department of Justice’s current response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its spread is insufficient and not premised on transparent scientific information.”

The judges’ union said it consulted with Dr. Ashish Jha, a professor of global health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and expert on COVID-19, who said immigration courts should not be holding hearings.

“He explained that it is impossible to determine which individuals who attend hearings are ill with COVID-19 virus, and stressed that people can infect others even though they are asymptomatic,” the letter said. “In the face of inadequate national testing, Dr. Jha said it is irresponsible to do anything other than close our courts until sufficient testing has been conducted.”

Meanwhile across the country, advocates and families are calling on ICE to release at-risk people from detention facilities, fearing an outbreak will ravage the large populations held in these cramped facilities.

On Friday, 150 advocacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the San Francisco Marin Medical Society and Immigrant Defense Advocates called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to release immigrants from detention, halt the expansion of ICE facilities and suspend the transfer of individuals from state prisons to ICE.

Shelly Clements of Sacramento said she’s concerned for her partner, Charles Joseph, who’s been detained at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield for nearly a year.

“It’s kind of worrisome because it’s related to respiratory problems and he does have asthma and uses an inhaler,” she said. “I don’t even know if they have a doctor there that they’re able to see.”

ICE said it has “comprehensive protocols” to ensure detainees are not exposed to the virus, in accordance with CDC guidelines, including the use of protective gear.

Detainees who are at risk of exposure to COVID-19 are housed separately from the general population, ICE said. Immigrants with fever or other respiratory symptoms are put in a single medical housing room or in an airborne infection isolation room, the agency said.

ICE said it is lessening enforcement at this time but has not released anyone.

Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez.