Government-Funded Immigration Attorneys Proposed for New York
GIULIA MCDONNELL NIETO DEL RIO
MAY 31, 2022
The Access to representation Act (S81A/A1961) would give all individuals in New York the right to legal counsel in immigration court, funded by the government. The legislation would ensure that immigrants had representation in deportation proceedings, but also in any other legal proceedings that were crucial and related to deportation defense. Currently, access to immigration attorneys is not guaranteed in immigration court proceedings.
New York has been a pioneering state in providing funding for immigration court proceedings–but that funding is not guaranteed year to year, advocates note, and depends on the state budget.
Various studies in the past several years have shown that having access to counsel increases an individual’s chance of being granted immigration relief. Immigrants in detention who had legal representation were twice as likely as unrepresented immigrants to obtain immigration relief, and immigrants with legal counsel, who were not detained, were almost five times more likely to be granted immigration relief, according to a 2016 report from the American Immigration Council.
https://documentedny.com/2022/05/31/access-to-representation-act/
