One of the absurd ironies of President Trump’s government shutdown, which is intended to extract money from Congress for a border wall, is that it has brought the nation’s immigration courts to a near-standstill. In his quest to erect a monument to his racist campaign rhetoric, Trump has crippled the system that processes the deportations of the very people he wants out of the U.S. Last month, immigration judges around the country received furlough notices. Clerks and other court staff have been working reduced hours or not at all. Hearings for people not currently in detention have been cancelled.