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Border Report
March 23, 2021

Confusion reigns over fast-tracked paperwork issued to newly released migrants in South Texas
By Sandra Sanchez


Austin Kocher, a professor at Syracuse University and a senior researcher with Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), which tracks migration apprehensions and immigration court cases, did his doctoral dissertation in 2017 on NTAs and how the documents are used. He told Border Report they are necessary for asylum applications in many cases. TRAC has found that there are 1.3 million pending immigration cases nationwide. Migrants, including children, do not receive free immigration lawyers in the United States. Immigration law is arguably one of the most complex legal venues and there are not that many migrant advocates, like D’Cruz, who will represent them pro bono. “They are not given immigration lawyers by the government and there are significant barriers to finding good, reliable immigration attorneys on their own, and that will be a significant challenge and add to the challenges they face,” Kocher said. “Let’s say an individual shows up in Boston to file an asylum claim with this new paperwork. Well, what’s their next step? That’s going to be quite interesting to see.” I wouldn't say there's *more* or *less* misinformation about immigration depending on the party in the White House, but I certainly think the politics of misinformation are more complicated during Democratic presidents.


Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University
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