Los Angeles, Apr 18 (EFE).- Democratic congressmen presented a bill on Tuesday that would establish the right to a lawyer financed by the federal government for migrants who face deportation and lack the resources for legal representation.
“The removal of immigrants has life-altering consequences, but because they are civil (and not criminal) in nature, people currently do not have the right to a lawyer” ex officio, lamented Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, one of the promoters. of measure.
More than 1 million people, including adults and children, currently face deportation in immigration court without legal representation, while many more are deported without representation in summary proceedings that take place outside of the courtroom, the congressmen pointed out.
The initiative was presented among others by Senators Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressmen Norma Torres and Grace Meng.
The bill has been promoted by immigrant advocates who have shown that the presence of lawyers for migrants facing deportation makes a “big difference,” as explained today by the Vera Institute, which has promoted the bill.
He cites a study according to which immigrants with legal representation are 5.5 times more likely to win the case in immigration court.
In the United States, immigrants facing deportation proceedings do not have the right to be represented by a public attorney.
In the more than 2.1 million cases pending in immigration court, more than 1.2 million people lack legal help, according to the Vera Institute.
In that sense, Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center in California, said in a statement that “we must commit to due process when correcting the current imbalance in our immigration courts.”
The activist called on Congress to approve and President Joe Biden to sign the so-called Fairness to Freedom Act.
In the absence of legal representation for foreigners in immigration courts, more than 50 jurisdictions across the country, including the states of Nevada and Colorado, Dallas (Texas) and Dane County (Wisconsin) have created their own representation programs. legal financed with public funds.
New York lawmakers are also discussing a state measure that, if passed, would make the state the first to guarantee the right to a lawyer for migrants facing deportation. On April 6, Torres and 57 other House representatives sent a letter requesting $150 million in funds to expand federal programs that provide certain legal representation to immigrants.
