NYC to provide attorneys for detained immigrants facing deportation

New York City will now become the first jurisdiction in the nation to provide lawyers for detained immigrants who are facing deportation.

On Thursday, the New York City Council voted to approve $4.9 million to fund a program called the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP). The program was launched last year with a budget of $500,000, which wasn’t enough to provide free legal representation to a large group of immigrants.

Now, with the substantial increase in funding, the program is expected to help more than 1,300 immigrants in deportation proceedings who can’t afford an attorney. The funding will benefit immigrants facing deportation in the New York Immigration Court, as well as New York City residents facing deportation in two New Jersey immigration courts located in Newark and Elizabeth.

“There are few more helpless situations that immigrant community members face than when a loved one is in detention and facing deportation,” stated Cesar Palomeque, leader of Make the Road New York’s Immigration Project in Queens. “New York City’s investment in the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project will not only help those who receive legal representation in decisions that will profoundly affect their lives, but it will also send a clear message that the city values and protects all families.”

SEE ALSO: Latinos are disproportionately affected by deportations

Under current laws across the country, immigrants who find themselves in deportation proceedings don’t have a right to appointed council. That’s because deportation proceedings are considered civil, not criminal, matters. As a result, many immigrants are often left to face an immigration judge without representation from an attorney.

In New York City alone, an estimated 60 percent of detained immigrants do not have council by the time their cases are complete. That’s according to a report by the Study Group on Immigrant Representation.

Launched in 2010 by Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the study group seeks to facilitate adequate counsel for immigrants regardless of immigration status. The group is also credited with coming up with the idea for NYIFUP.

On Thursday, Katzmann said NYIFUP is “a substantial step forward toward closing the justice gap for immigrants.”

“Without a lawyer it is virtually impossible for detained immigrants to defend themselves against deportation — only 3% of unrepresented detained immigrants win their proceedings,” he said in a statement. “Lawyers make a tremendous difference, improving detained immigrants’ chances of success in the range of 500% – 1000%.”

Leading the charge to make additional funding for NYIFUP possible were City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, along with councilmembers Carlos Menchaca, Julissa Ferreras and Daniel Dromm.

Menchaca, who chairs the Committee on Immigration, called the council’s expansion of NYIFUP “historic.”

“New York City will become the first jurisdiction in the nation to have a functioning public defender system for immigrants facing deportation,” he stated. “In New York City, no family will have a loved one locked up and deported simply because they cannot afford a lawyer.”

SEE ALSO: Rep. Luis Gutierrez: Let’s unite in asking Obama to stop deportations