Charitable Legal Immigration Programs and the US Undocumented Population: A Study in Access to Justice in an Era of Political Dysfunction

Abstract

This study examines the legal capacity available to low-income immigrants on national, state and sub-state levels. Legal professionals working in charitable immigration service programs serve as the study's rough proxy for legal capacity, and undocumented immigrants its proxy for legal need. The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) compiled data on charitable immigration programs and their legal professionals from the:

US Department of Justice's (DOJ's) “Recognized Organizations and Accredited Representatives Roster by State and City,” which is maintained by the Executive Office for Immigration Review's (EOIR's) Office of Legal Access Programs (OLAP).

Directories of two leading, legal support agencies for charitable immigration legal programs, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) and the Immigrant Advocates Network (IAN).

CMS supplemented and updated these sources with information from the websites of charitable immigration programs. It also added legal programs to its dataset that did not appear in any of these lists. It counted as legal professionals, attorneys, federally accredited non-attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants. The paper finds that there are 1,413 undocumented persons in the United States for every charitable legal professional, and far less capacity than the national average in:

States such as Alabama (6,656 undocumented per legal professional), Hawaii (4,506), Kansas (3,010), Georgia (2,853), New Jersey (2,687), Florida (2,681), North Carolina (2,671), Virginia (2,634) and Arizona (2,561).

Metropolitan areas (MAs) such as Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (5,307), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (4,436), Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (3,439) and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (3,099).

San Bernardino County (6,178), Clark County (4,747), Riverside County (4,625), Tarrant County (3,955) and Dallas County (3,939).

The study's introduction summarizes its top-line findings. Its first section describes the importance of charitable immigration legal programs to immigrants, families and communities. Its second details the study's findings on charitable legal capacity and immigrant need. Its third compares the legal capacity of 1,803 charitable legal programs and their 7,322 legal professionals, with the US undocumented population by state and for the 15 largest MAs and counties. Its fourth describes CMS's research methodology and data sources. The paper ends with policy recommendations on how to expand legal capacity for low-income immigrants and better assess legal capacity and need moving forward.

Keywords

legal representation access to justice due process‌charitable legal services pro bono immigration services

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

ABA (American Bar Association, Commission on Immigration). 1994. Board of Immigration Appeals Accreditation and Entering Immigration Appearances: A Checklist Guide to 8 CFR § 292. Washington, DC: ABA. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/commission_on_immigration/bia_accreditation_and_entering_immigration_appearances_1994.pdf

ABA (American Bar Association, Commission on Immigration). 2010. Reforming the Immigration System: Proposals to Promote Independence, Fairness, Efficiency, and Professionalism in the Adjudication of Removal Cases. Washington, DC: ABA Commission on Immigration. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/Immigration/PublicDocuments/aba_complete_full_report.authcheckdam.pdf.

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). 2014. American Exile: Rapid Deportations That Bypass the Courtroom. New York: ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/american-exile-rapid-deportations-bypass-courtroom-report.

Atkinson

Jeanne M.

Wong

Tom K.

. 2018. “The Case for a National Legalization Program Without Legislation or Executive Action: Results from Screening for Immigration Legal Options.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 6(2):161–6. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2331502418771915

Boyce

Geoffrey A.

Launius

Sarah

. 2020. “The Household Financial Losses Triggered by an Immigration Arrest, and How State and Local Government Can Most Effectively Protect Their Constituents.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 8(4):301–17. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2331502420973976

Chen

Greg

Loweree

Jorge

. 2021. Policy Brief: The Biden Administration and Congress Must Guarantee Legal Representation for People Facing Remove. Washington, DC: American Immigration Lawyers Association and American Immigration Council. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/biden-administration-and-congress-must-guarantee-legal-representation-people-facing-removal

CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.). 2021a. CLINIC Releases Key Takeaways from FOIA Requests on OLAP and the Recognition and Accreditation Program. Silver Spring, MD: CLINIC. https://cliniclegal.org/resources/doj-recognition-and-accreditation/clinic-releases-key-takeaways-foia-requests-olap-and

CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.). 2021b. Advisory: Ethical Considerations in Using Technology for Legal Services. Silver Spring, MD: CLINIC. https://cliniclegal.org/resources/program-management/case-management/ethical-considerations-using-technology-legal-services

CLINIC, LIRS and IRSA (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and Immigration and Refugee Services of America.). 1997. Immigration Management: Building Blocks for a Successful Program. Washington, DC and New York: CLINIC, LIRS, IRSA.

10.

de Leon

Erwin

Roach

Robert

. 2013. Immigrant Legal-Aid Organizations in the United States. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/24066/412928-Immigrant-Legal-Aid-Organizations-in-the-United-States.PDF

11.

Eagly

Ingrid V.

Shafer

Steven

. 2015. “A National Study of Access to Counsel in Immigration Court.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 164(1):1–91. https://scholarship.law.upenn_law_review/vol164/iss1/2

12.

EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review of the US Department of Justice). 2020. Policy Manual. Falls Church, VA: EOIR. https://www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-policy-manual/iii/2/6

13.

EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review) of the US Department of Justice. 2021. Recognition and Accreditation (R & P) Program. Falls Church, VA: EOIR. https://www.justice.gov/eoir/recognition-and-accreditation-program.

14.

Guilfoyle

Jennie

. 2017. Managing an Immigration Program: Steps for Creating and Increasing Legal Capacity. Silver Spring, MD: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. https://cliniclegal.org/resources/program-management/managing-immigration-program-steps-creating-and-increasing-legal

15.

Guttentag

Lucas

. 2021. “Immigration Policy Tracking Project.” https://immpolicytracking.org/home/.

16.

IAN (Immigrant Advocates Network). 2022. “About.” https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/about/.

17.

Jasso

Guillermina

Massey

Douglas S.

Rosenzweig

Mark R.

Smith

James P.

. 2008. “From Illegal to Legal: Estimating Previous Illegal Experience Among New Legal Immigrants to the United States.” International Migration Review 42(4):803–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2008.00148.x.

18.

Kamasaki

Charles

Timmons

Susan

Tudi

Courtney

. 2015. “Immigration Reform and Administrative Relief for 2014 and Beyond: A Report on Behalf of the Committee for Immigration Reform Implementation (CIRI), Human Resources Working Group.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 3(3):283–305. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/233150241500300303

19.

Kerwin

Donald

. 2005. Revisiting the Need for Appointed Counsel. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/Insight_Kerwin.pdf

20.

Kerwin

Donald

. 2015. “Unlocking Human Dignity: A Plan to Transform the US Immigrant Detention System.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 3(2):159–204. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241700500205

21.

Kerwin

Donald

. 2020. “Strengthening the US Immigration System through Legal Orientation, Screening and Representation: Recommendations for a New Administration.” CMS Essays. Center for Migration Studies of New York. http://doi.org/10.14240/cmsesy082620

22.

Kerwin

Donald

Alulema

Daniela

. 2021. “The CRISIS Survey: The Catholic Church’s Work with Immigrants in a Period of Crisis.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 9(4):271–96. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/metrics/10.1177/23315024211035726

23.

Kerwin

Donald

Nicholson

Mike

. 2020. “Charting a Course to Rebuild and Strengthen the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP): Findings and Recommendations from the Center for Migration Studies Refugee Resettlement Survey: 2020.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 9(1):1–30. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2331502420985043

24.

Kerwin

Donald

Pacas

José

Warren

Robert

. 2022. “Ready to Stay: A Comprehensive Analysis of the US Foreign-Born Populations Eligible for Special Legal Status Programs and for Legalization Under Pending Bills.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 10(1):37–76. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/23315024211065016

25.

Kerwin

Donald

Suro

Roberto

Thorman

Tess

Alulema

Daniela

. 2017. The DACA Era and the Continuous Legalization Work of the US Immigrant Serving Community. New York: Center for Migration Studies of New York. https://cmsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CMS-Legalization-Report-FINAL.pdf

26.

Kerwin

Donald

Warren

Robert

. 2019a. “Putting Americans First: A Statistical Case for Encouraging Rather Than Impeding and Devaluing US Citizenship.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 7(4):108–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/2331502419894286.

27.

Kerwin

Donald

Warren

Robert

. 2019b. “Fixing What’s Most Broken in the US Immigration System: A Profile of the Family Members of US Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents Mired in Multiyear Backlogs.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 7(2):36–41. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2331502419852925

28.

LaSusa

Mike

. 2022. “Nonlawyers Fill Void at Overwhelmed Immigration Courts.” Law360. March 11. https://www.law360.com/articles/1469550/nonlawyers-fill-void-at-overwhelmed-immigration-courts.

29.

Madison

James

. 1800. “The Report of 1800, [7 January] 1800,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-17-02-0202. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, vol. 17, 31 March 1797–3 March 1801 and supplement 22 January 1778–9 August 1795, ed. David B. Mattern, J. C. A. Stagg, Jeanne K. Cross, and Susan Holbrook Perdue. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1991, pp. 303–351.].

30.

Markowitz

Peter L.

Annobil

Jojo

Caplow

Stacy

Cobb

Peter v.

Morawetz

Nancy

Root

Oren

Slovinsky

Claudia

Cheng

Zhifen

Nash

Lindsay C.

. 2011. “Accessing Justice: The Availability and Adequacy of Counsel in Removal Proceedings.” Cardozo Law Review 33(2):357–416. https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/faculty-artlcles/109.

31.

Nash

Lindsay

. 2018. “Universal Representation.” Fordham Law Review 87(2):503–29. https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol87/iss2/2/

32.

Ramji-Nogales

Jaya

Schoenholtz

Andrew

Schrag

Philip

. 2007. “Refugee Roulette: Disparities in Asylum Adjudication.” Stanford Law Review 60(2):295–412. DOI:10.2307/40040412

33.

Ramji-Nogales

Jaya

Schoenholtz

Andrew

Schrag

Philip

. 2009. Refugee Roulette: Disparities in Asylum Adjudication and Proposals for Reform. New York: New York University Press.

34.

Schoenholtz

Andrew I

Schrag

Philip G.

Ramji-Nogales

Jaya

. 2014. Lives in the Balance: Asylum Adjudication by the Department of Homeland Security. New York: New York University Press.

35.

TRAC (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse). 2022. “Immigration Court Backlog Tool.” https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/.

36.

USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). 2021a. 2020 USCIS Statistical Annual Report: FY 2016-2020. Washington, DC: USCIS. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/2020-USCIS-Statistical-Annual-Report.pdf.

37.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2021b. Number of Service-Wide Forms by Quarter, Form Status, and Processing Time Fiscal Year 2021, Quarter 4. Washington, DC: USCIS. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/Quarterly_All_Forms_FY2021Q4.pdf

38.

Warren

Robert

. 2021. “In 2019, the US Undocumented Population Continued a Decade-Long Decline and the Foreign-Born Population Neared Zero Growth.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 9(1):31–43. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2331502421993746

39.

Wong

Tom K.

Kerwin

Donald

Atkinson

Jeanne M.

McCarthy

Mary Meg

. 2014. “Paths to Lawful Immigration Status: Results and Implications from the PERSON Survey.” Journal on Migration and Human Security 2(4):287–304. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/233150241400200402

40.

Yasenov

Vasil

Hausmana

David

Hotarda

Michael

Lawrencea

Duncan

Siegela

Alexandra

Wolff

Jessica S.

Laitina

David D.

Hainmueller

Jens

. 2020. “Identifying Opportunities to Improve the Network of Immigration Legal Services Providers.” Working Paper No. 20-07. Immigration Policy Lab. Stanford University. https://immigrationlab.org/working-paper-series/identifying-opportunities-to-improve-the-network-of-immigration-legal-services-providers/