Albany — Immigration lawyers and advocates say right now only about a third of individuals appearing in immigration court have representation, leaving a vast majority without legal guidance, language assistance and more.
“It was not just a language barrier, but understanding the legal process,” Democrat Catalina Cruz, the Assembly sponsor of the Access to Representation Act, says. “But right now, an attorney could be the difference between you being kidnapped when the judge postpones your case or dismisses your case by masked individuals who claim to work for the government, or you having an opportunity to continue to fight the case. Because what we’re seeing in court is folks who are represented are not being detained, kidnapped and deported by ICE agents in the same manner who have an attorney.”
While everyone in America is entitled to an attorney in criminal court, individuals in immigration court are not entitled to an attorney. The Access to Representation Act would change that in New York State with a mandated defender for an individual going through immigration proceedings. The legislation though, has been stuck in Committee in recent legislative sessions, unable to advance for a vote on the floor, let alone the Governor’s desk.
“The money that comes attached to the legislation has increased significantly over the last couple years, especially under the current Governor, where we have seen the amount go from about $6 million when it first started a couple of years ago, to now closer to $60 million. And I suspect, given everything that we’re seeing, that it’s going to continue to increase, and I’m hopeful that it’ll pass in a year, maybe two,” Cruz says. “I think we’ve made many beneficial edits to the law over the years when we’ve introduced it and reintroduced it, and we’re going to have to do it again this year and find a new Senate sponsor, because our Senate sponsor is going to be Manhattan Borough President, and it’ll be an opportunity for any tweaks. And I’m always, I’m one of those legislators who is in favor of anything that will get us closer to supporting a piece of legislation that will benefit people. And so if we go through this process and we realize we got to change a few things, then we will.”
Opponents of the bill say it will add more funding to undocumented immigrants in New York as opposed to U.S. Citizens, and that these immigration issues should be addressed at the federal level.
Stay tuned for more on this story.