Immigration hearings are being held in federal buildings in Washington, D.C., and New York City, prompting lawmakers and immigration attorneys to question whether people can find the courtrooms, attend hearings and obtain legal representation. U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, said Tuesday that he was initially denied entry last week to a Federal Emergency Management Agency building in Washington where hearings were taking place. When he returned the next day and was allowed in, he said the courtroom was empty and no one listed on the docket had appeared. Stanton, who serves as the top Democrat on a House subcommittee overseeing public buildings and emergency management, criticized using a FEMA facility during hurricane season. He said there was no sign identifying the hearing room or indicating that immigration proceedings were underway. “Any American citizen should have access to the American judicial system,” Stanton said, arguing that the public should be able to attend immigration proceedings. He and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, have sent a letter to the Justice Department objecting to the new hearing arrangements, Stanton said. Kel White, an attorney with the Acacia Center for Justice, which provides free legal assistance to migrants, said she was also barred from entering one of the hearing rooms while representing a client. “A court system needs to facilitate attendance, not confusion,” she said. Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association said new hearing locations began opening in September and that some are not listed as courts. The organization said in a policy brief that people have received late or no notice when hearing locations changed, and that some buildings lack signs identifying them as courts. Attorneys also say changes to the federal Online Detainee Locator System are making it harder to find detained clients. Chen said the system was no longer reliably disclosing detainees’ whereabouts, complicating families’ efforts to locate loved ones and lawyers’ attempts to stay in contact with clients. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Justice Department office that oversees immigration courts, said it is making scheduling adjustments and opening hearing locations as needed to ensure cases are handled “in a timely and lawful manner.” An agency spokeswoman also said immigration courtrooms may be closed to the public. The dispute carries immediate consequences for people facing removal proceedings: without clear notice or access to a hearing site, they may miss a court date or struggle to communicate with counsel. Stanton said he also backs legislation to move the immigration court system out of the Justice Department, where it currently operates.