This study of immigration cases between 2007 and 2012 provides data to support claims that a public defender system for immigrants facing deportation may be efficacious for both the immigrants and the immigration courts.
Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
Family Court and the Unique Needs of Children and Families Who Lack Immigration Status
This article analyzes the lack of focus on immigrants in family court and the collateral consequences that immigrants can experience from attending family court. Liebmann also finds that most family court judges and lawyers do not know about the implications for immigrants in family court.
Data on access to counsel and reintegration services for children and their impact on improving policies and protection for Central American unaccompanied children
This article demonstrates how improved access to legal representation increases children’s access to humanitarian protection. Increased access to representation would mean more responsive migration policy and greater protection. They use data from approximately 16,000 cases.
Child Maltreatment and Immigration Enforcement: Considerations for Child Welfare and Legal Systems Working with Immigrant Families
This article presents an overview of the issues and challenges facing Hispanic children and families in the child welfare system. It presents risk factors associated with child welfare involvement, child placement rates for Hispanic and non-Hispanic children, and immigration enforcement as a risk for child welfare involvement.
Unaccompanied Children and the U.S. Immigration System: Challenges and Reforms
Chen and Gill take stock of the current legal protections unaccompanied children are protected by. They find that there are many challenges that stem from the lack of guaranteed legal representation for children in immigration court. They provide recommendations for policymakers.
Outcome Evaluation of justice AmeriCorps Legal Services Program
The Vera Institute of Justice to conduct a two-year evaluation of the justice AmeriCorps Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children (jAC) program. The researchers find that for unaccompanied children who receive legal representation through jAC, those children were more likely to obtain positive and successful outcomes than those without legal representation.
Improving the Protection and Fair Treatment of Unaccompanied Children: Recommendations for the Next Administration
This brief presents policy recommendations for the incoming administration, which range from improving border screening practices, improving shelter conditions, increasing access to legal counsel, expedited court procedures and impact on due process, adjudication of children’s immigration and asylum cases, and return and reintegration.
Study Group on Immigrant Representation: The First Decade
In this transcript of a speech, Robert A. Katzmann, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Court, calls out the “deficient representation” of immigrants in the courts. He calls for competent counsel in deportation proceedings.
Legal Aid Research 