A Theater Piece Puts the Immigration Court System on Trial

Immigration court proceedings can determine whether someone is allowed to remain in the United States or faces deportation. But those hearings are rarely seen by the public.

A new work-in-progress theater piece aims to bring that process into the spotlight.

“Notice to Appear” combines documentary storytelling with a staged public tribunal. The performance draws on interviews with immigration judges, attorneys, interpreters, policymakers and asylum seekers, along with firsthand observations of immigration court proceedings.

Award-winning theater maker Irina Kruzhilina said the performance has two parts. The first recreates six different immigration court hearings involving asylum seekers from five countries, including Russia, China, Guinea, Nigeria and Ecuador.

“The idea is to put them all in the same place and in the same time and see how they can all merge and what are the reasons why people are getting deported at this very moment,” Kruzhilina said.

The second part transforms the courtroom itself into a public tribunal, putting the immigration court system on trial. Court actors — including a lawyer, interpreter, ICE attorney and former judge — deliver testimony about the challenges and failures within the system.

Kruzhilina said the project began after an earlier theater piece involving refugee children included a short recreation of an immigration court hearing. After an audience member who was an attorney praised the accuracy of the scene, she began researching the court system more deeply.

She and her collaborators attended immigration hearings, took notes and spoke with people working throughout the system. Immigration judges became consultants and co-writers for the script.

Kruzhilina said one of the most striking parts of the research was hearing how deeply many people involved in the system wanted to contribute to a better understanding of what happens inside immigration courts.

“What was surprising when you ask them what is the problem and who is there to blame, they will point fingers on someone else and I would say that that Congress was often a scapegoat for many people who would talk to,” she said. “We talk to people who are quite pro-immigrant and I would say that overall, [they say] what’s happening now is not sustainable and that we absolutely need to find a new system

She said many members of the public have never seen an immigration hearing and may not understand the complexity of the process, including the role of judges and the limitations they face.

The production aims to explore that complexity without simplifying it. The six cases featured in the performance are each denied for different reasons, highlighting how individual circumstances and legal decisions intersect.

Kruzhilina said the use of multiple languages, including actors who are first- or second-generation immigrants themselves, is also central to the work.

She believes theater can contribute something different to conversations about immigration because it creates a direct human connection.

“It goes to the hearts,” Kruzhilina said during the interview.

Image: “Notice to Appear” will be presented Saturday, August 8 at 7:30 p.m. at NACL in Highland Lake. (NACl)