Advocates Demand Baton Rouge Immigration Court Open Its Doors to the Public

Civil rights organizations cite evidence of illegal court closures, citing First Amendment violations and due process concerns

June 15, 2026 8:59 am

ACLU of Louisiana Immigrants Rights Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Jesse Vad, ACLU of Louisiana, [email protected]

Bonnie Byland, Mision Migrante, 225-572-8194, [email protected]

Willliam Quigley, counsel for Mision Migrante, 504-710-3074, [email protected]

BATON ROUGE — The ACLU of Louisiana and nonprofit Mision Migrante today sent a formal letter to the Baton Rouge Immigration Court demanding it restore public access to immigration proceedings that have been systematically closed to observers, legal monitors, and members of the press in violation of the court's own policies, federal law, and the First Amendment.

The letter, addressed to Acting Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Sherron Ashworth, is accompanied by complaints from multiple individuals and members of the nonprofit Mision Migrante who have been denied entry to immigration hearings at the court's 451 Florida Street location. The complaints document a pattern and practice of excluding the public not as a narrow exception, as the law requires, but as a default rule.

Immigration court proceedings are by law open to the public. When a court restricts access, it must articulate a compelling government interest and apply restrictions narrowly. The Baton Rouge Immigration Court has done neither. People specifically invited by individuals with pending hearings have been turned away without explanation — a practice the ACLU of Louisiana argues is flatly unconstitutional.

The letter calls on the court to take immediate corrective action, including: restoring in-person public access to all eligible hearings; providing telephonic or Webex access when physical space is a genuine constraint; and issuing written explanations whenever a hearing is closed, so that closures can be evaluated against the legal standard.

With immigration enforcement surging across Louisiana, and the state continuing to hold one of the highest concentrations of immigration detainees in the country, public oversight of these proceedings has never been more urgent. Closing these courtrooms does not make the process more orderly. It makes it less accountable.