Border Dispatch: Inside San Diego's criminal immigration court | Kristina Davis

<p>ourtroom 2A looks unlike any other in the San Diego federal courthouse.<br /> In the courtroom designated to handle the flow of migrants being criminally prosecuted under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy, a towering plexiglass divider has been erected separating the misdemeanor defendants from their attorneys and the rest of the court.<br /> The U.S. Marshals Service says the barrier is a security measure “to ensure the safety of staff, prisoners, and members of the public who attend court hearings,” while defense attorneys see the divider as a larger symbol in the clash over immigration policy.<br /> “It’s using a nonexistent problem as an excuse to build yet another wall,” said Kathryn Nester, executive director of Federal Defenders of San Diego, which provides public defender services.</p>