Immigration Judge Renee Renner is on the final case on her morning docket.
The Mexican national in front of her is asking for more time to prepare his asylum application. He’s already pushed off the case many times – it’s been pending since Immigration and Customs Enforcement first issued a charging document, or a “Notice to Appear,” in 2013 – as he waited to secure an attorney.
“I haven’t had money before,” the man explains, adding that San Diego’s steep rents have made things even harder. He finally managed to scrounge and save for an immigration lawyer, but he had only reached out to some a few days earlier, and they all told him the deadline for his application was too close.
He ticks off the names of some attorneys who said they’d take his case if the judge agreed to grant an extension.
The attorney for the government – which is seeking to remove the man from the country – opposes the extension request. After all, his case has already been going for five years.
Renner decides to give the man one last chance.