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 Putting TRAC to Work |
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Policy and Public Interest Groups |
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Washington Office on Latin America |
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February 2015 |
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On the Front Lines Border Security, Migration, and Humanitarian Concerns in South Texas
By Maureen Meyer, Senior Associate for Mexico and Migrant Rights, and Adam Isacson, Senior Associate for Regional Security
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The majority of migrants never have access to a lawyer to assist them as they petition for asylum or another form of protection. Several studies point to having a lawyer as the most determining factor in whether or not a migrant is granted some form of immigration relief. Unaccompanied migrant children fare slightly better than adults, as there are more funds available to provide legal screening and “Know Your Rights” presentations to children. However,many children also face immigration proceedings without legal representation. An analysis of immigration court records for FY 2012 to FY 2014 by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University found that, in cases of unaccompanied
migrant children, almost three-fourths of those
who had a lawyer were granted some form of relief, while only 15 percent of the children who did not have a lawyer were allowed to stay in the United States.....[Citing TRAC research].
The analysis found that approximately 32 percent of all children in immigration proceedings had lawyers, with the percentage decreasing during the months of the “surge” in 2014
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Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University
Copyright 2015
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