The federal vaccine mandate will soon apply to Justice Department employees, contractors and visitors to its buildings, but one group it won’t apply to is illegal immigrants showing up for their deportation case hearings.

The migrants are deemed an exception to President Biden‘s mandates because they are seeking a public benefit or service. That means they will not have to prove they’ve been vaccinated or show a negative COVID-19 test from the previous three days. Their attorneys are also exempt.

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Those exemptions aren’t sitting well with immigration judges and other employees who will have to interact with the unvaccinated. They say allowing in unvaccinated and untested people defeats the purpose of the mandate.

“Everyone coming to immigration court should be subject to the same rules,” said one Justice Department official. “A double standard undermines the rationale for the vaccine mandate and puts everyone at risk.”

In its August memo laying out COVID-19 rules, the department said all employees, on-site contractors and visitors need vaccinations or proof of recent negative tests. The exception is for visitors entering Justice Department buildings “to obtain a public service or benefit.”

The department’s executive office for immigration review has determined that people showing up for their immigration hearings are there to get a benefit and are not subject to the mandate.

“The Biden administration is requiring highly educated and skilled immigration judges to get the COVID-19 vaccine or risk losing their jobs. Meanwhile, the same administration is allowing unvaccinated foreign nationals to stream over our borders and remain in our country illegally,” an employee at the immigration review office told The Washington Times. “And nobody forces those immigration violators — or their attorneys — to get vaccinated before appearing in immigration court. This is patent absurdity worthy of a Fellini film.”

After this story first published online, EOIR issued a statement to The Times saying visitors are still supposed to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines inside the building.

“Immigration judges may ask a respondent or a representative who is not wearing a face covering to verify their vaccination status to determine whether it would be appropriate to wear a face covering, and may ask respondents or representatives to wear a face covering regardless of vaccination status,” the agency said.

What do you think about this exception to the DOJ vaccine mandate?

(Excerpt from The Washington Times. Picture Credit: Getty Images.)