No Fair Day in Court for Immigration Detainees

I didn't think this was news, but since there's a brand new report on it, I guess so: when it comes to accessing legal counsel and a fair hearing, immigration detainees shouldn't hold their breath.

The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) reports that, as the number of detainees climbs, legal aid organizations cannot keep up the pace or reach them in the remote locates where they find themselves locked up. The government, of course, meanwhile does next-to-nothing to ensure a fair hearing for detainees or to look out for their civil rights. Unlike in criminal trials, those accused of violating immigration law will not have legal counsel provided to them if they cannot afford it. This despite the fact that being deported is one of the most severe punishments a person can face, whether it means being torn from their family in America or sent back to a country where their life is endangered. Judge Dana L. Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said that ruling on asylum cases is "like holding death penalty cases in traffic court."

Being lucky enough to have legal representation significantly increases a detainee's chances of winning his or her case, not surprisingly.  According to the Migration Policy Institute, without representation, only one in five individuals seeking to receive legal permanent resident status won their cases, while those with representation had a two in five success rate. Eighteen percent of asylum seekers with legal counsel won their cases, versus a mere three percent without. Especially for asylum seekers who have fled a traumatic situation or for individuals who don't speak English fluently and lack knowledge of the U.S. immigration system, defending yourself against deportation becomes a trying task. But let's be honest: even the Average Joe who doesn't have those additional barriers isn't an immigration lawyer, and they don't know all the nuances of how to best make their case. Not many people really want to self-represent either in immigration, civil, or criminal court.

Surveying 150 detention facilities representing 97 percent of total immigration detainees, NIJC found that one-tenth of detainees have absolutely no means of accessing legal counsel from their facility. A majority failed to provide detainees with any information about their rights (big surprise there). Meanwhile, one of the most effective ways to alter this situation, implementing humane alternatives to detention, would not only provide accused immigration violators with a fair chance to defend themselves and protect against wrongful deportation (even U.S. citizens have been accidentally removed), it would also significantly cut down on the cost to the tax payer. Remind me why we don't do this already? Does it have something to do with private prison lobbyists, perhaps?

Immigration cases may only represent minor administrative violations, but deportation is a major punishment that destroys lives and tears families apart. So shouldn't it be a priority to make certain these decisions aren't being made lightly? Why do immigration detainees lack the rights that every criminal offender has to a fair trial with legal representation?

Photo credit: bloomsberries