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Despite the legal restriction on using public funds to pay for their defense, the federal government has contracted with non-profit service providers for legal representation for some
of these children and many selfless volunteers have stepped in. However, the already strained free legal service providers across the nation have been overwhelmed by this surge. This is not a new problem. A study of 100,000 juvenile cases in immigration court stretching back to 2005 reveals that about half of all minors in deportation proceedings were represented. This is consistent with the representation rates for adults appearing in front of an immigration judge,
but children do present a particularly vulnerable population. Evidence strongly supports that legal representation makes all the difference
in the world for these children. In 100,000 cases studied, when a child was represented the immigration judge allowed the child to stay in the United States 47% of the time, but
when left unrepresented, the child was ordered removed in nine out of ten cases........[citing TRAC Research].
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