Right to Counsel

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Immigrants in immigration court do not have a right to government-appointed counsel. The lack of legal representation has a profound impact on immigrants’ outcomes in removal proceedings.

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  • Blog

Government Regularly Denies Access to Counsel, Groups Seek New Rules

May 25, 2017

When the White House issued its first Muslim travel ban, reports of noncitizens and citizens being held in airports’ secondary detention swirled. Individuals were being held for hours at a time...

  • Press Release

Immigrants’ Access to Counsel Topic of New Rulemaking Petition

May 25, 2017
AILA and the Council have petitioned the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to issue new regulations that will ensure all immigrants have access to legal counsel in secondary and deferred inspection, as well as overseas consular interviews.
  • Advocacy

Petition for Rulemaking Requests New Regulations Governing Access to Counsel

May 25, 2017
This petition, jointly filed by the Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, seeks to provide access to legal counsel for the following individuals.
  • Blog

Ninth Circuit Finds Court Has No Authority to Hear Lawsuit Seeking Access to Counsel for Children

September 29, 2016

In 2014, a legal challenge was mounted against the federal government for its failure to provide legal representation to indigent children in deportation proceedings. The case, F.L.B.. v. Lynch...

  • Blog

Immigrants’ Access to Legal Representation Is Unequal and the Consequences Are Serious

September 28, 2016

Nationally, only 37 percent of all immigrants had legal representation, and only 14 percent of immigrants in detention had a lawyer. In a paper issued today, Access to Counsel in Immigration Court...

  • Special Report

Access to Counsel in Immigration Court

Publication Date: 
September 28, 2016
Immigrants in immigration court do not have a right to government-appointed counsel. The lack of legal representation has a profound impact on immigrants’ outcomes in removal proceedings.
  • Blog

Thousands of Children Now Covered in Access to Counsel Lawsuit

June 28, 2016

Last week, a federal court certified a class in a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s failure to provide legal representation to children in deportation proceedings. Several thousand...

  • Blog

District Court Holds Hearing in Case About Kids’ Right to Attorneys in Immigration Court

March 25, 2016

A federal district court in Seattle heard arguments in a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to ensure that all children in immigration court have legal representation. The case received a flurry of...

  • Practice Advisories

Seeking Remedies for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Immigration Cases

Publication Date: 
January 19, 2016
This Practice Advisory discusses how individuals can seek a remedy for ineffective assistance of counsel in immigration court proceedings by filing a motion to reopen and provides an overview of the...
  • Press Release

Coercion and Intimidation of Detained Mothers and Children Must Stop

September 30, 2015

Today, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the American Immigration Lawyers As

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