Long lines at Houston immigration court keeping migrants, lawyers from high-stakes hearings

Critics well acquainted with the bottleneck situation attribute the backup to a rise in passport applicants trying to access another portion of the building.

Many defendants and lawyers miss or are late for hearings every week because of the lines, which are exacerbated by the volume of visitors to the passport agency and other federal entities inside the Leland building, according to Elaine Veatch Morley, a veteran Houston immigration attorney.

In some cases, judges have ordered people who are waiting in line outside the building to be removed from the country. Such orders can be appealed, but that can cause already lengthy cases to drag on.

“No one should have to go through that when they’re standing downstairs in the line and can’t get access to the building,” Morley said. “It’s just gotten worse.”