Study Illuminates Derth Of Lawyers In Immigration Courts

By Jill Replogle Less than half of all immigrants facing deportation proceedings have legal representation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A study spearheaded by a New York federal judge found that having legal representation is a major factor affecting whether an immigrant accused of violating federal immigration laws is deported. The other major factor is whether an immigrant is held in detention. The study looked at removal proceedings in local immigration courts from 2005...

DHS Documents: Local Police Not Required To Hold Undocumented Immigrants For U.S. Government

By Elise Foley WASHINGTON -- Local law enforcement agencies are not required to hold undocumented immigrants at the request of the federal government, according to internal Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by a coalition of groups critical of the Secure Communities enforcement program. The documents could provide ammunition for jurisdictions that no longer want to participate inSecure Communities, which allows federal immigration authorities to use fingerprints to scan th...

Transfer Of Immigrants In Detention On The Rise

By Ruxandra Guidi SAN DIEGO — According to a new report by the international non-profit, Human Rights Watch, the transfer of immigrant detainees can violate their rights to fair treatment in court and extend their time in detention. The report says this practice of transferring immigrants from one detention center to another denies them access to attorneys, witnesses, and evidence they need to defend against deportation. "Immigrants are entitled to a fair day in court," said U.S. progra...

Secure Communities program: A flawed deportation tool

LA Times Editorial The program, once billed as a voluntary partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and localities, is now mired in controversy. When federal officials first announced the Secure Communities program in 2008, they billed it as a powerful tool in the battle to identify and deport illegal immigrants who had been convicted of violent crimes. Dozens of states, including California, signed on, agreeing that police would submit the fingerprints of all arrestees to b...

Coalition Responds to President Obama’s Speech in El Paso,Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Thanu Yakupitiyage,  Main Phone: 212-627-2227 x235,  E-mail: tyaku@thenyic.org New York City  (Tuesday, May 10, 2011) Coalition Responds to President Obama’s Speech in El Paso,Texas NYIC to President: Yes You Can Stop the Deportations The President’s speech today was, unfortunately, much ado about nothing; his expressions of support for immigration reform sound like empty promises to immigrant communities since they’re not backed up by action...

Study, Forum Stress Plight of New York’s Unrepresented Immigrants

By Mark Hamblett The majority of detained immigrants in New York who face removal from the United States lack legal representation, according to the preliminary findings of a study on the needs of the indigent in immigration courts. The New York Immigrant Representation Study released Tuesday reports that 60 percent of detained immigrants in New York City do not have lawyers, that having counsel can make a world of difference in removal proceedings and that there is a serious shortage...