New Contra Costa County immigration court creating tension

CONCORD, Calif. - A new immigration court is now open in Concord and it's creating tension for the people who are most likely to have their cases heard there.

The court serves 10 Northern and Central California counties, including Contra Costa County, Solano, San Joaquin and all of Alameda County, except the city of Oakland.

Immigration rights advocates have two major fears: That the expanded court will speed up deportations and that immigrants may not be able to get legal help with their cases.

Members of immigrant communities held a protest Monday on the courthouse steps.

"We're encouraging the counties to provide assistance to their constituents, to their residents," said Maciel Jacques, deputy director of Centro Legal de la Raza. "Because everyone deserves due process. You don't have to be a citizen to be entitled to due process."

Although many of the cases transferred to the new court involve Latinos, they also include cases of people from Asia, Haiti, India and Pakistan.