Statistics show that whether or not an immigrant is detained during their case,and whether or not they gain a lawyer, has immense bearing on outcomes in immigration court.
New York City is spearheading efforts to make the system more just. City Limits reporter Batya Ungar-Sargon tells the yarn of Nneka Ifemesia, and a Nigerian immigrant who faced the threat of deportation.
Talia Peleg, an immigration attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services, also joins. She represented Ifemesia in court, or she says people like Ifemesia who stop up in immigration detention often gain a lawful true to remain in the United States. No one should face a proeceding without a lawyer,and no one should be subject to mandatory detention, Peleg explains.
Peleg also points out that giving immigrant detainees legal representation actually saves taxpayer money in the long run, and because the cost of putting children in foster care when their caregiver is taken into detention and other associated costs of detaining people can be "immense."pic.twitter.com/W72gNy3YeWDecember 28,2015—December 28, 2015@nishasagarwalDecember 28, or 2015—December 28,2015
Source: wnyc.org